Bio-economic studies on the catch of Bardawil Lagoon, North Sinai, Egypt

The paper aims to give a comprehensive descriptive survey on the production of Lake Bardawil from 1985 to 2015. The average production in this period was 2970 tons. Monthly samples were collected for 12 species of fish during fishing season 2015. The results showed that the Length at first capture (Lc) of different species in Bardawil Lagoon was less than the length at first maturity (Lm); Lm of Mugil cephalus, Sparus aurata and Dicentrarchus labrax was 31.1, 24.5 and 31.0 cm, meanwhile, Lc was 29.0, 18.5 and 27.8 cm respectively. The percentage of small fish with less than the Length at first maturity (Lm) constitutes 67.3% for inexpensive species and 77.05% for expensive species. The loss of biomass in the inexpensive species was estimated at 3268 tons and the loss in income was 199 million Egyptian pounds (LE). The loss of biomass of expensive species was calculated at 1455 tons and the loss of income was 175 million LE. The total loss of biomass was 4723 tons and 374 million LE due to fishing violations and the use of illegal nets in only one fishing season. For proper management, the Length at first capture (Lc) must be increased by widening the nets mesh size. Legal fishing methods and the development of appropriate non-traditional methods for the management of Bardawil Lagoon must be applied.