Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 13
By Gazenfer Hamidov – Trend:
Iran’s fishery exports has experienced significant rise during the current fiscal year, started March 2017, according to the country’s deputy agriculture minister, Hassan Salehi.
Salehi, who heads the Iranian Fisheries Organization, said that the country’s fishery exports has witnessed a 37 percent increase during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the state-run IRINN TV reported Feb. 13.
Iran’s overall fishery exports reached 82,451 tons, worth $283 million in the 9-month period.
Salehi said that Iran’s fishery imports also has witnessed 24 percent fall in the period.
Iran’s fishery exports in the last fiscal year (ended on March 20, 2017) accounted for $412 million.
Salehi said that Iran’s fishery sector output reached one million tons in last fiscal year, of which 45 percent belongs to cultivated fishery products.
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 the country’s fishery officials.
The country started producing fishes in cages in last year with an output of 10,000 tons. During the current fiscal year 20,000 tons of fish were cultivated in cages. Currently, 470 cages in sea are in use for fish cultivation.
Salehi further touched upon the country’s fishing capacity saying that over 1,000 Iranian vessels are active in fishing in India Ocean.
He added that the Islamic Republic owns the largest fishing fleet in the Ocean after Indonesia.
About 200,000 Iranians are active in about 70,000 aquaculture and fishing centers across Iran.