Azernews.Az

By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade

As many as 45.5 million fry were released into the natural water basins of Azerbaijan. This is stated in the data of the State Statistics Committee on the results of the year 2018.

Fry farming is one of the measures for the artificial expansion of fish stocks in the water basins of the country.

According to official data, during the past year, 37.7 million carp fry, 7.7 million sturgeon fry and 0.1 million salmon fry were released.

For this purpose, 2.9227 million manats was spent, of which 91 percent was allocated to fish breeding plants, and 9 percent to fisheries.

In 2018, 194 legal entities and individuals received catch quotas for 1,707.1 tons of fish. As a result, 1614.1 tons of fish were caught, which exceeds the figures for 2017 by 67.3 percent.

In particular, 1072.9 tons of sprat were caught, 85.4 tons of mullet, 82.3 tons of herring, 69.4 tons of carp, 54.7 tons of bream, 48.2 tons of carp, 30.7 tons of crucian carp, 21.2 tons pike perch, 13.6 tons of shamayka, 5.0 tons of catfish, 3.1 tons of asp and 15.2 tons of other fish species.

Fishery is considered one of the important industries in Azerbaijan. Factories for the use of fish stocks of the Caspian Sea and the Kura River operate in Mingachevir, Hajigabul, Khili, Lenkoran, and the Absheron economic region. The main enterprises for the processing of fish products are the fish factory in Hudat, in the village of Z.Tagiyev in Khovsan. There are fish breeding factories in the country, most of which are located in the Neftchala district.

However, taking into account the threat of depletion of biological resources and poaching, it is necessary to develop aquaculture in the Caspian regions of Azerbaijan and involve the population in a new activity.

As an example, 90 percent of the world stock of sturgeon is concentrated in the Caspian Sea. But population of sturgeon drastically dropped due to overfishing both in rivers and in the sea. The future of valuable stocks depends on the effectiveness of measures to ensure natural and artificial reproduction, as well as to combat illegal fishing in the Caspian basin and trade in poaching products.

In addition, at the end of 2018, the delegations of all Caspian countries gathered in Baku to participate in the second meeting of the Commission on conservation, rational use of aquatic bioresources of the Caspian sea and management of joint reserves. One of the outcomes of the meeting was the decision to extend the ban on commercial fishing of sturgeon species in the Caspian sea until the end of 2019 and the development of general recommendations for the restoration of their population.

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