Allowed Catch of 23.5 Thousand Tons of Fish

In 2015, fishing companies and individuals will be given permission to catch more than 23,500 tons of fish in water reservoirs and the Caspian Sea. However, as the experience of last year showed, fishermen are not as lucky as projected on paper.

The Department of Reproduction and Protection of Biological Resources in Basins of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources told Turan that quotas were defined, based on the research of the Scientific Research Institutes of Fisheries and Zoology.

This year, the Caspian Sea is permitted industrial catch of roach -115 tons, kutum - 255 tons, mullet – 1,000 tons, asp, shamayka, bream and other ordinary fish species - 70 tons in all. In addition, it is permitted to catch 20 000 tons of sprats and 2,000 tons of herring.

On two internal reservoirs there is 67.7-ton limit on catch of ordinary fish species, including in the Mingachevir reservoir - 57.7 tons and in the Shamkirchay reservoir - 10 tons. During the year, these limits may be revised.

Note that, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, in 2014 13 legal entities and 226 individuals caught sprats - 195.5 tons, herring - 349.2 tons and ordinary fish - 753.6 tons. For scientific and breeding purposes 4.5 tons of sturgeon was caught.

Note that the fish market in Azerbaijan is controlled by Caspian Fish Co. Azerbaijan, which informally regulates the fish imports from abroad. --08B