All the isolates of the present study were found to be
positive for catalase, citrate, and motility and were all
negative for Gram’s reaction. The isolated bacteria
include species of the genera Proteus, Pseudomonas
and Enterobacter, this supports the previous work of
ICMSF (1998) who reported that bacteria present in
fishes are normally associated with those found in their
natural environment and influenced by the season and
the harvesting conditions. The proportion of the initial
population can easily be changed after harvesting but this depends on the ability of those bacteria to adapt to the new conditions.