October 20, 2016
Uzbekistan aquaculture undergoes rapid growth
Trainings provided by FAO and CACfish in the last decade have helped to boost the Central Asian country's aquaculture output to a significant amount last year.
Aquaculture and inland fisheries production in Uzbekistan had grown rapidly in recent years to 60,000 tonnes in 2015, the country's Agriculture and Water Resources Deputy Minister Botirjon Sulaymonov said.
At the opening of the 5th session of the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on October 10-12, Sulaymonov thanked the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and CACfish for the training sessions over the last 10 years that have improved the sectors' performance.
The Deputy Minister also informed the Commission about the steps being taken by Uzbekistan to become a member of CACFish, a body established in 2011 under the FAO.
In its first four sessions held between 2011 and 2015, CACFish adopted 11 recommendations, guidelines and better management practices for inland fisheries and aquaculture.
The fifth session recognised that the "Guidelines for Sturgeon Hatchery Practices and Hatchery Management for Release" were considered extremely relevant by all countries in the region and are widely implemented.
The guidelines for "Responsible introductions and transfers of fish in Central Asia and the Caucasus" and the "Guidelines on the application of the environmental impact assessment procedure in aquaculture in the Central Asia and Caucasus region" were also regarded highly relevant and their national level implementation is making good progress.
Other recommendations made at the 3rd and 4th sessions of CACFish in 2014 and 2015 were regarded relevant to most member countries, but more time is required to see the effects of implementation of these recommendations on the fisheries and aquaculture sector, according to the commission.
FAO's ad interim secretary to the commission, Dr. Raymon van Anrooy, said the countries in the region have made tremendous steps with implementation of the CACFish guidelines and better management practices.
Improvements in fish production, fisheries employment and contributions to rural livelihoods provide the evidence that CACFish' work is bearing fruits and is boosting the sustainable development of aquaculture and inland fisheries in the member states, he added.
CACFish is a regional fishery management organisation with five member countries at present: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkey. The commission members have an interest to cooperate in responsible inland fisheries and aquaculture management and development in the Central Asian and Caucasus region.
