Caspian Fishing Season Starts

EghtesadOnline: Fishing season in the northern Iranian provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan has begun, as some 10,000 fishermen started catching bony fish in the Caspian Sea, according to an official with Iran Fisheries Organization.

News ID: ۷۷۹۸۸۶

23 October 2017

“Every year, the harvest season for bony fish in the Caspian Sea begins in October and lasts until April the next year,” Mokhtar Akhoundi was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

The official added that last year (March 2016-17), some 5,300 tons of bony fish were caught from the Caspian Sea, registering a 3% decrease compared with the year before.

The Caspian Sea is the world’s primary and largest habitat for the beluga, the most famous sturgeon, as well as four other sturgeon species. However, the deteriorating condition of the sea has long been threatening this fish with extinction. The declining sturgeon population and the ban on their fishing have also caused a downtrend in Iran’s caviar exports, Financial Tribune reported.

Latest figures show close to 388 kilograms of caviar worth nearly 31.5 billion rials (around $965,400) were exported from Iran during the five months to Aug. 22, registering a 10.5% and 3% fall in weight and value respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration announced.

Germany, Hong Kong, the UAE, Japan, Italy, Belgium, France, Kuwait and the UK were the main export destinations for Iranian caviar over the period, Young Journalists Club reported.