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Azerbaijan – Taking steps to expand sturgeon stocks

The Zoology Institute of Azerbaijan’s National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) has unveiled plans to build an experimental farm for culturing sturgeon at the country’s Mingachevir laboratory. It is hoped that this development will lead to the expansion of sturgeon stocks in the Caspian Sea and accelerate production of commodity sturgeons through aquaculture.

         According to a report from the region, institute director Ilham Alekperov announced that the project will be the first sturgeon facility in Azerbaijan, but if it’s successful, it won’t be the last.

         Of the 140 fish species registered as native to the resource-rich Caspian Sea, shared by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Iran, sturgeon is the main one, still producing a substantial portion of the world’s black and red caviar.