TEHRAN - Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute (IFSRI) and the country’s Agricultural Services Specialized Holding Company (ASSHC) signed a memorandum of understanding for protection and reproduction of sturgeon, IRNA reported.

Signed by the ASSHC managing director and the IFSRI head, on Tuesday, the MOU is aimed at expanding cooperation between the two parties for using each other’s capacities and facilities for the conservation and reproduction of sturgeon.

As reported, in this memorandum, research cooperation and conducting joint research, as well as holding training workshops has also been emphasized.

The Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) is a species of fish in the family Acipenseridae. It is found in the Caspian Sea and to a lesser extent the Black Sea and ascends certain rivers to spawn, mainly the Volga, Kura, Araks, and Ural Rivers.

According to Nabiollah Khoun-Mirzaei, the head of Iran Fisheries Organization, currently, sturgeon breeding is carried out in more than 20 provinces of the country.

The threats faced by this fish include excessive fishing with the removal of immature fish before they have bred, damming of the rivers, loss of spawning areas, and water pollution.

In the last Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), the share of the Caspian Sea from 773,000 tons of fishery was 42,000 tons which constitute 5.4 percent of the whole country’s fishery, and more than 94 percent of which is related to the Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s fishery output reached 1.28 million tons in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), the head of Iran Fisheries Organization has announced.

Khoun-Mirzaei said it is while the planned figure was 1.25 million tons, and underscored that this amount of output was achieved despite the sanctions and related difficulties in the previous year.

The official noted that the output, which was more than the projected amount, was achieved through the help of research sectors as well as the ground laid by the private sector.

Referring to the high quality of Iran’s fishery products, the head of IFO said that these products were sold easily in the export markets.

In mid-January, the official had also said that new export destinations have welcomed Iran’s high-quality fishery products in the past Iranian calendar year.

New markets including China, South Korea, and the Eurasian Union nations have opened up for Iranian fishery products in the current year, Khoun-Mirzaei said.

“Based on the negotiations and agreements signed between Iran and China by the minister of agriculture, the Chinese fishery market has been opened to Iranian products. The Eurasian nations and South Korean markets have also welcomed Iranian fishery products and have the potential for exports,” the official explained.

According to the deputy head of Fishery Organization Hossein Ali Abdolhay, some 12 aquatic species are already bred in Iran and the figure is planned to reach 17 by the end of the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (March 2021).

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Iran’s Agricultural Parks Company (APC) Ali Ashraf Mansouri has recently announced that some 1,500 hectares of fishery parks are planned to be inaugurated in the country in the current year.

EF/MA