No fishy taste: “El Bibane” lagoon committed to quality and sustainability
TUNISIAONLINENEWS- In a country where the sector of fisheries represents 13% of the country’s GDP and employs 100 thousand people, it is easy to understand the importance of the sector in the country’s economy and the need to boost productivity at sea or in fish breeding lagoons.
More than 5000 fishermen exercise their activities in fish breeding lagoons such as the “El Bibane Lagoon”, in the governorate of Medenine, between Sfax and the Libyan border.
The importance of the wetland is recognized by the “Ramsar Convention”, an international treaty for wetlands conservation and sustainable development.
World famous for its high quality of its fish production, and covering 23 thousand hectares, “El Bibane Lagoon” is conducive to the development of several varieties of fish, namely “the pataclet”, sea bream, and mullet. It is also ideal for the preservation of environmental characteristics with the adoption of traditional fishing methods, such as angling and netting.
Since 2008 a private company, “Al Jazira “ is currently exploiting “El Bibane”.
Hundreds of permits were granted to local fishermen to sell their products exclusively to the company, yielding an estimated production of 250 tons of fish per year, a sizeable part of which is exported to neighboring countries, as well as to Europe.
Aware of the depleting fish stocks in the Gulf of Gabes, “El Bibane” has launched a program to ensure the sustainability of its production and to secure the livelihood of some 200 families of the region.
