Mariculture in Israel

Abstract

Israel is a long narrow country occupying 180 km of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean and 12 km of the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat, Red Sea. More than half of the country, the southern half, is desert and receives less than 200 mm of rain annually. Therefore, the country suffers from a chronic shortage of fresh water and it is not surprising that governmental agencies encourage the development of food production systems using sea water. Governmental activities began in the early 1970s with the establish- ment of the National Center for Mariculture (NCM) in Eilat, as part of the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institution (IOLR).