Owing to the rise of the groundwater table in the Nile delta the discharge
of fresh water into the brackish waters of the lagoons increased. As a conse-
quence their salt content dropped to 1,400 ppm in the south and to 2,800 ppm
in the north (CAPMAS 1987: 59). This led to a decrease in the fish population
of the lagoons, so that the catch there also decreased from 60,000 tons in 1966
(CAPMAS 1987: 89) to 14,000 tons in 1975 (CAPMAS 1992: 62).
The losses for the fishing industry in the delta and at the Mediterranean
coast could only partly be compensated by the fish caught in the reservoir at
the dam which amounted to 25 tons in 1985 (CAPMAS 1992: 62). This catch
is taking place far from consumer markets. It should be noted, however, that
owing to a much bigger and more modern fishery fleet, and to an improve-
ment in fishing technology and rearing of fish in fish farms, the catches in
the Mediterranean and in the coastal lagoons have recovered over the years
and reached 199,400 tons in 2000 (CAPMAS 2002: 63)