Azerbaijan continues to protect bioresources in water basins

The Department of Reproduction and Conservation of Bioresources in Water Basins of the Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry successfully continued its consistent activities regarding the rehabilitation, reproduction, preservation of reserves of hatchery fish species inhabiting the Caspian Sea, as well as rivers and internal reservoirs, alongside the regulation of utilization of bioresources within 2011.

Last year the enterprises attached to the Department, providing the reproduction of various types of hatchery young fish, naturally and artificially reproduced 335.02 m young fish (sturgeon species – 3.41 m, salmon – 171.6 k, carp species – 326.84 m, White Amur (Grass Carp) – 4.6 m), and left them in the natural reservoirs.

During the past period the Department officers revealed 73 law violations, drew up 19 acts and 54 protocols, and 54 violators were called to account afterwards. 8 boats, 70 fishnets, 740 various types of fish were confiscated from the law violators, 3 cases were sent to the regional courts of the Republic, while 22 of them were handed on the law enforcement bodies, and 29 cases were administratively reviewed by the Department. 38419 claims overall were made with respect to the damages inflicted on bioresources.

In 2011 the Department gave permission to 22 legal entities and 119 natural persons on the use of fish reserves, commensurate with the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Fishing”. During this period certain quotas were allotted to the hunting of fish species i.e. sprat, herring and Caspian salmon for the industrial hunting, factories of sturgeon species reproduction were allowed to be provided with sires, and catching of sturgeon species for scientific-research purposes was permitted.

The directorate of the Caspian Water Bioresources Commission set up by the five Caspian littoral countries (Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran), visited the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2011-2012, and 32nd meeting of the Commission were held in Baku on December 14-16, 2011.

The Commission provides the research of the state (number, type, distribution) of water bioresources of the Caspian Sea through scientific-research expeditions, defines overall Sea hunting quota, as well as distribution of national hunting quota among the five Caspian coastal countries. Likewise, it determines the amount of export quotas of flesh and spawn of sturgeon species presented to the Secretariat of C?TES Convention for approval.


/eco.gov.az/