Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 25
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran’s fishery output stood at 460,000 tons last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2017), Hossein Ali Abdolhai, deputy head of Iran Fisheries Organization, said.
The country exported $400 million worth of fishery products to European and Asian countries, including Spain, South Korea, China, Taiwan and Vietnam, Abdolhai said, IRNA news agency reported Apr. 25.
He further said Iran is among the top four countries in the world in terms of trout farming, adding that entering the Russian market is a priority for the Fisheries Organization as Russia enjoys a high-capacity trout market.
According to Abdolhai, 200,000 Iranians are active in about 70,000 aquaculture and fishing centers.
He said Iran’s aquaculture output increases by 20 percent averagely on yearly basis.
The Iranian fishery officials had previously said that seafood production is expected to exceed 1 million tons in the fiscal year to March 2017.
Iran has the capacity to produce 1 million tons of fish in cages in the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, according to Hassan Salehi, head of Iran Fisheries Organization.
Cage fish farming is a relatively new method in Iran, whereby cages are placed in lakes, ponds, rivers or seas to breed fish until they can be harvested.
Per capita fish consumption in Iran is 10 kilograms, below the global average of 20 kilograms.