The fishing industry in Turkmenistan has been of benefit to the

economy of Turkmenistan The economy of Turkmenistan continues to recover from the 2014 downturn in hydrocarbon prices, but remains "in the grip of its worst economic crisis since the immediate post-independence period, driven in part by low gas prices, the suspension of g ...

and food supply, particularly on the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

for centuries. The fishing industry took off around 1910 in Turkmenistan but declined between 1950 and 1990, with the banning of sturgeon catching in Turkmen waters. Today, the fishing industry is developing rapidly, due to technological modernization and renewal schemes and the growth of

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

. Under the command of the Turkmen president, fishing facilities in the country have been reconstructed and constructed with modern industry infrastructure, particularly in the Caspian Sea 610 km coastline of western Turkmenistan in

Balkan Province Balkan Region ( tk, Balkan welaýaty, Балкан велаяты) is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), ...

Overview

Turkmenistan sea fishery resources primarily consist of kilka ( clupeonella delicatula) and are exploited by Balkanbalyk, a state-owned company which had some 11 large vessels, 12 medium-sized vessels, 10 transport vessels supporting the fishing fleet, 4 tug-boats and 3 others in the mid 1990s. As the industry has become modernised since independence so has the capabilities of the vessels. Fish, however, is not widely consumed all across Turkmenistan and it is mainly confined to the coast and eaten by people living in the coastal area. Therefore, the total employment in the whole sector in 1996 was about 2,200 persons. Fish consumption has continued to decline in Turkmenistan from about 8 kg in 1991 to 1.3 kg in 1995.

Protection

Annual quotas limit the catch of sturgeon and in the Turkmen waters of the Caspian Sea the fishing of sturgeon is prohibited, having been limited in 1942 and finally banned in 1946. The quota is therefore caught in Russian waters for a fee, and the products are then shipped to Turkmenistan. Fishing is however permitted in the several small lakes and rivers in the country, notably the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

, Murgab, and

Tejen River The Hari River ( or prs, هری رود, translit=Harī Rōd; ps, د هري سیند) or Herat River is a river flowing from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it forms the Tejend oasis and disappears in the Karakum D ...

s. The Perspectives of Fish Industry of Turkmenistan and International Co-Operation Scientific Conference have played a role in the fishing industry in Turkmenistan, particularly in environmental issues, such as ensuring the preservation of the largest population of

sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Early ...

in the Caspian Sea. In 2008, the Fishing Industry of Turkmenistan International Exhibition was opened at the Exhibition Centre in the Turkmen capital of

Ashgabad Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

with the aim at linking the national industry and issues on an international level. Guests from some 16 countries including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The Turkmenistan Fishery Protection is also active in the country and is closely tied with some of the topic marine institutes in the United States. In November 2008, a 50–60 cm long

Alligator gar The alligator gar (''Atractosteus spatula'') is a ray-finned euryhaline fish related to the bowfin in the infraclass Holostei . It is the largest species in the gar family, and among the largest freshwater fish in North America. The fossil rec ...

was caught in the north of

Esenguly Esenguly (formerly Hasan-Kuly, Gasan-Kuli) is a city in and administrative center of Esenguly District, Balkan Province, Turkmenistan. In 1989 its population was 5,823. Etymology The name is of obscure origin. A clan of that name, part of the Y ...

by two officials of this group. Later Dr. R. Mayden,

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, ...

and Dr. Eric Hilton,

Virginia Institute of Marine Science The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is one of the largest marine research and education centers in the United States. Founded in 1940, VIMS is unique among marine science institutions in its legal mandate to provide research, educatio ...

studied the remnants of the fish and confirmed it as such.Nature Protection

References

External links

{{fishing by country Turkmen Economy of Turkmenistan Water in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...