Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

It's safe to say that both adults and children do not mind eating caviar and tasty fish, but have you ever thought about the usefulness and value of caviar, and how difficult it is to get it without injuring the fish?

For throughout of years, poachers have cruelly destroyed the Caspian sturgeon, the source of black caviar, causing the sturgeon population in the Caspian Sea to decrease 38.5 times.

In addition to black caviar, the red caviar, whose source is the Salmonidae, is especially popular among gourmets.

Living in the rivers of Azerbaijan, salmon (or 'gold fish') is an anadromous fish, meaning it moves from the river to the sea and back. Many species of salmon spawn only once in their lives and then die. But before that, salmons swim from the sea to the mouth of the river and go up against the current for many miles.

Salmon is one of the most important commercial fish species in the world. Salmon's meat is excellent in taste and most of these fish have long been objects of fishing and fish farming. In the recent past, salmon catches accounted for more than half million tons annually. But now stocks of this valuable fish species have dwindled considerably. To increase the number of salmons, it is necessary to breed salmon artificially and return them to their natural habitat.

In order to save the fish from extinction, various measures are taken, including salmon breeding in captivity.

There are two salmon hatcheries in Azerbaijan - in Goygol and Gabala, where workers hatch larvae out of the hard roe and bring them to the desired weight. And only then are these baby fishes brought to Azerbaijan Experimental Marine Hatchery. Several thousand young salmon are released into the Caspian Sea in spring.

Obtaining hard roe at the Gabala fish breeding plant usually starts in mid-November, but it started in December this year.

Head of the Gabala plant Oktay Mammadov said the plant, established in 1956, provides the Caspian Sea and other reservoirs of the country with different kinds of salmon and trout.

One of the important components of increasing salmon population in Gabala is the presence of ​​mountain rivers in the area. The temperature of the water delivered to the plant must not exceed 12-18 degrees, and sufficient oxygen allows the fish to grow in a healthy environment.

Salmon is a great gift of nature. We are proud of it, but should preserve the great taste of the Caspian salmon for the next generations.