BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 15. One of the promising areas of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan in the field of aquaculture is sturgeon breeding, the Director of the Fishery Department under the Ministry of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan Edil Niyazov told Trend.
He made the remark on the sidelines of the II International Forum of Agrarian Innovations in Baku.
“Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan cooperate within the framework of the Commission on Fisheries and Aquaculture in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Both countries are members of this commission. Within the framework of this initiative, we have an intensive exchange of existing experience. First of all, we are talking about the reproduction of aquatic bioresources. Both Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan face common tasks - stocking of both artificial and natural water bodies, preservation of biodiversity, and sustainable fish populations. Azerbaijan has good practices and experience in this regard. We adopt this experience,” he said.
Niyazov noted that another area of promising cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan is aquaculture.
“For instance, it is the breeding of certain fish species, which are not cultivated in our country, but are cultivated in Azerbaijan. We are talking about sturgeon farming. Sturgeon farming is one of the promising areas of cooperation in aquaculture today. Historically, we have never had sturgeon. Therefore, it is important for us to adopt the experience that Azerbaijan has,” he said.
According to Niyazov, another possible area for cooperation is the prevention of fish diseases.
“We have different climatic conditions, but fish diseases can be the same. Therefore, how prevention is carried out here in Azerbaijan, how diagnosed, how treated - this is also important for us,” he said.
The official said that if Azerbaijan is interested, Kyrgyzstan is ready to supply fish products, in particular rainbow trout, which is grown in the country.
“If Azerbaijan can offer us fish feed or sturgeon breeding products, especially fish planting material, we are ready to cooperate with both state and private companies,” he noted.