Floods in Azerbaijan reduce fish hatchery's production capacity

Azerbaijan's Khilli Sturgeon Fish Hatchery released half a million sturgeon fry into the Caspian Sea during 2010, Hatchery Director Zaur Salmanov told Trend.

"The floods that occurred in the country this spring due to the increasing water level in the Kura and Araz rivers, have created serious obstacles to the normal operation of the plant. The hatchery stopped collecting water from rivers for about two months due to this," Salmanov said.

He said according to the design documents, the plant's production capacity is 15 million fish a year. The Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry's staff was able to eliminate all the negative consequences of flooding at the plant.

"Thanks to the activities undertaken by the ministry's staff to address the effects of debris flows and floods, it is planned to increase the number of fry produced in the Caspian Sea in 2010," he said.

The Khilli hatchery in the Neftchala region was estabilshed in 2003 has since released 41 million sturgeon fry into the Caspian Sea.

The 15-hectare hatchery has a capacity of 15 million fingerlings a year. The water in which the fish are grown in weight from 150-200 grams to 10 kg is collected from the Kura River by treatment plants. Sturgeon fish grown here include beluga (Huso huso), sevruga and blacknose (Acipenserida), spike (Acipenser nudiventris) and long-nosed sturgeon (Suruga).

He said the agreement to a moratorium on sturgeon fishing will allow to more effectively combat poaching and increase the number of sturgeon in the sea.

At the third summit of the heads of Caspian states in Baku on Nov. 18, the presidents of the littoral countries noted that the Caspian Sea Water Bioresources Commission should discuss the issue of catching sturgeon within three months and reach an agreement on a five-year ban.


/Trend/