A total of 306 tons of bony fish have been harvested from the Iranian territorial waters of Caspian Sea in Mazandaran Province since the beginning of the fishing season on Oct. 6, which shows a 46% decline compared with the similar period of the year before.
“Over the same period of last year, fish yields amounted to around 600 tons with mullets and common carp accounting for the lion’s share of the harvest,” Director General of Mazandaran Fisheries Organization Hassan Es’haqi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official added that the main reason for the decline in yields is the increased activity of illegal fishermen in Mazandaran’s coasts.
“Based on what we have learned from sea patrol officers, illegal activities carried out by using well-equipped vessels are on the increase in the northern coasts. Our estimates are that illegal fishermen yield almost as much as our licensed fishermen operating under the provincial fishing cooperatives,” he said.
Last year, Mazandaran’s fishermen harvested a total of 7,000 tons of bony fish, which showed a 200% increase compared with the previous year.
The northern province of Mazandaran has the biggest share in Iran’s total annual sea fish harvest.
Every year, the harvest season for bony fish in the Caspian Sea begins in October and lasts until April of next year.
