Cairo’s fishermen, who have seen their daily catch dwindle because of heavy plastic pollution in the Nile, are now helping to clean up the river in a government-backed project that also helps to boost their income.
The Nile has always held a special place in Egyptians’ hearts, providing not just fish but more than 90 per cent of the country’s fresh water and most of its fertile soil.
But over the years, the river has suffered from increasing levels of plastic and industrial pollution.
“When I throw my cast net, it is supposed to sink to catch the fish, but when it hits a plastic bottle, the bottle makes the net float on the surface and we catch nothing but waste,” said Ahmed Abdel Miguid, 40, a fisherman from Cairo.
There are no official statistics on the amount of plastic pollution in the Nile, but a Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research study found it is one of 10 rivers contributing 90 per cent of the plastic waste in the world’s oceans.
The plastic waste seen floating along the country’s lifeline is affecting its ecology as well. A recent study carried out by Sky News and overseen by a British scientist found out that 75 per cent of the Nile fish analysed contained microplastics.
The fishermen in Cairo say the plastic waste usually accumulates around algae in the river and along its banks, where the fish feed. Many of them get stuck in the plastic debris and die, especially the young ones.
The fishermen blame the plastic for a considerable drop in the river’s stocks of edible fish species that not only affects its ecological balance but also threatens their livelihoods.
These alarming pollution indicators and the deteriorating livelihood of the fishermen prompted VeryNile, a Cairo-based environmental initiative, to start a collaboration with fishermen to clean the river in exchange for money.
VeryNile, which is supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Environment and some local and international institutions, was started in 2018 to clean the Nile and raise awareness about the dangers of single-use plastic to the environment.
The initiative does this through volunteer clean-ups and campaigns to convince businesses to stop using plastic bags.
These clean-ups collected more than 40 tonnes of waste in two years. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, VeryNile had to alter its approach.
“We couldn’t organise any cleaning events, so we decided to start the fishermen project as we’ve always wanted to help them … It’s a more sustainable solution to the fishermen and the environment than our events because they would work and clean on a daily basis, unlike our irregular events,” said Mostafa Habib, a co-founder of VeryNile.
Mr Habib said the fishermen had been of great help to VeryNile as they knew the river best and their boats could reach areas that volunteers could not.
The Reviving Cairo Fishermen project was officially launched in September last year but VeryNile began working with the fishermen five months before that, he said.