Iran has the capacity to culture 900,000 tons of fish and other types of aquatic species in marine fish cages, said Najafali Rahmati, head of Iran Jihad Nasr Institute.
He said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed last year (ended March 20) between the institute and the Iranian Fisheries Organization, by which the institute is committed to produce 80,000 tons of aquatic species over the next 10 years in cages placed in the northern and southern aqua zones, including the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf,” IRNA reported.
Based on studies by Iranian and Norwegian experts, Iran has the potential to produce 900,000 tons of fish annually in its marine waters.
“We are planning to culture 10,000 tons of shrimps and 10,000 tons of different types of sturgeon, mostly in the Caspian Sea, as studies show that the Caspian Sea “is promising for the species.”
Although caged fish culture is new to Iran, it has been employed by most countries active in aquaculture in the last decade, Rahmati said. The method, however, should be indigenized.
Domestic production of fish cages has been undertaken by several local factories, and as per a contract, Norway will supply materials for production of marine cages.
Raising fish in cages has proved a success, and replaced the traditional fish-growing method in earth ponds in many parts of the world. An advantage is the unlimited amount of water surrounding the cages, which provides vast amounts of oxygen and running water necessary for productive fish farming. The financial costs are also lower and culturing caged fish is simpler in comparison to any other commonly used method of growing fish so far.
