TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, seven fish farming projects will be implemented in Hamedan province by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2023).

Jafar Kaviani Delshad, the acting head of fishery affairs department of the province’s Agriculture Department, said that 190 billion rials (about $704,000) has been allocated to these projects which will create jobs for 22 persons.

He mentioned the most important of these projects as fish farming in cages and ornamental fish breeding and added: "Other measures are being pursued this year, including the establishment of ornamental fish parks in the cities of Hamadan province. In this regard, the first park will be set up in Hamedan city and then more parks will be created in other cities”.

He also announced that 100 billion rials (about $370,000) of facilities has been allocated to the mechanization in the fishery sector of the province.

Kaviani Delshad further said that six idle fish farming units with the capacity of 120 tons were revived in the province during the past three months.

As stated by an official with Iran Fisheries Organization (IFO), production of 714,000 tons of fishery has been targeted for the current Iranian calendar year.

Morteza Afrasiabi, the acting head of the IFO’s fishery development department, said that of the mentioned figure, 277,000 tons will be fishes bred in cages and 70,000 tons will be shrimps.

Achieving the targeted 714,000 tons of fishery requires infrastructure as well as credits and banking facilities, the official added.

Fishery production has increased noticeably in Iran in recent years.

Enjoying high quality, Iran’s fishery products were sold easily in the export markets, and also some new export destinations welcomed these products in the past three years; as new markets including China, South Korea, and the Eurasian Union nations opened up for Iranian fishery products.

MA/MA