Fishing and the production of fish and fish products in Azerbaijan declined considerably in the early 1990s, with annual fish production falling from more than 20,000 tonnes in the early twentieth century to just 1,570 tonnes by the end of the century. Fish imports are relatively stable, while sturgeon and black caviar make up the majority of fish exports, states a report on Azerbaijan’s fisheries and aquaculture industry from the FAO..
Compared with the global average consumption of fish and fish products, consumption of fish-derived products in Azerbaijan is low as a result of both high product prices determined by insufficient domestic production and the immaturity of the distribution network.
The Republic of Azerbaijan, which greatly exceeds the other republics of the Southern Caucasus in terms of size and population, has the lowest reserves of freshwater compared with the other countries in the region. One of the undoubted advantages of Azerbaijan is the length of its sea coastline about 840 km.
The rich culture in fisheries and fish consumption in Azerbaijan is reflected in its large fishing fleet (which is geared towards sprat fishing), its being the first country to develop biological technology for the artificial culture of sturgeon, and the presence of the Kura River (which is the largest river in the Southern Caucasus and bisects the country, resulting in considerable resources of anadromous and semi-anadromous fish in the regional waters). After the collapse of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, and in the early years of independence, the fishing industry lost efficiency and there was a major decline in commercially valuable fish species both in the Caspian Sea and in inland waters. The total volume of the fisheries shrank to less than one-tenth of their size between 1990 and 2005, and a similar reduction was recorded in the same period for aquaculture production. The poor economic situation throughout the region and the impossibility of meeting the traditionally large demand for fish caused prices to rise and, as a result, reduced fish consumption to the critically low figure of 3.4 kg per capita.
A growth in investor interest in aquaculture has been observed in recent years. This has been due in part to the increased attention the State has given to this sector as a food-producing sector, especially because it is also part of the State Programme to Ensure Food Security. In addition, the high consumer prices for fish and the growth in the population’s purchasing power against a backdrop of high growth in the economy have encouraged greater interest in fisheries. However, the development of aquaculture is rather chaotic because it lacks a legal basis for its purposeful development.
The expected extension of the credentials of the state regulating authorities in fish breeding and fishery, the imposition of a moratorium on the catching of all sturgeon species in the Caspian Sea, and the incipient development of a draft Law on Aquaculture will provide great impetus to the development of the sector. According to experts, the expected measures, together with efficient collaboration with international experience in the framework of various programmes and FAO projects and other international organizations operating in this sphere, will make it possible to expand the output of aquaculture production in the coming few years. It is expected that such an expansion will not only stem from an increase in production volume caused by adopting more piscicultural practices, but also reflect the achieving of higher productivity from existing units and greater use of technology.
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