Dr. Jahangiri referred to the report presented by the director of the Iranian Fisheries Science and Research Institute regarding the mariculture development plan and the goals and benefits of this project and said: The cage fish farming development plan is supported by government agencies in every way and the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad is seriously pursuing this issue. He described the plan developed by the Iran Fisheries Organization to develop cage fish farming as one of the important projects of the resistance economy and said: In the first years of implementation of this plan, the government will support it as much as it can. It is necessary to form a headquarters in the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad to be responsible for following up on this project. The Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade needs to plan to build the equipment needed for the cage fish farming industry in the country and to follow up to meet the needs of the industry. Referring to the long coastline in the north and south of the country, the first vice president said: The coasts of the country in the north and south are great blessings that God has given to our country that can play a very effective role in the development of the country but unfortunately, the coasts of the country have not been used as they should be and the areas around these coasts, such as the Makran coast, are usually considered as deprived areas. Dr. Jahangiri emphasized that a serious step should be taken in the country for the sea - based economy and added: To develop the sea - based economy, the private sector, the Plan and Budget Organization, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade as well as all related agencies must be mobilized because if the sea - based economy is activated, thousands of job opportunities will be created in related industries and services. Emphasizing that the country's industrial capability is far beyond the current level, the first vice president said: The Plan and Budget Organization should follow up on the issue of manufacturing equipment in the country and meeting the needs of the cage fish farming development plan from the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology of the Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade. Dr. Jahangiri announced the readiness of the National Development Fund of Iran to provide facilities in Iranian Rial and foreign currencies for the cage fish farming development plan. He called on the head of the National Development Fund of Iran to extend the repayment period of the facility and to consider a suitable breathing period for the repayment of this facility. The first vice president added: If appropriate policies and programs are put in place to develop the cage fish farming industry and the government supports this project, given the proper return and return on investment, it will soon find its place and grow and the plan will not require government support. The director of the Iranian Fisheries Science and Research Institute also presented a report on the mariculture development plan and the goals and benefits of this project and said: Employment creation in local communities especially in the fishing community, exploitation of the capacity of the islands to increase gross national product, exploitation of saline and brackish water resources due to limited freshwater resources, achieving production of 200,000 tons of aquatic organisms by the end of the Sixth Development Plan and 400,000 tons of aquatic organisms until 1404 Horizon as well as the exploitation of marine areas and less use of land especially in the north of the country are among the goals of this plan. He presented a report on the capacities of the waters of the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman for the cage fish farming development plan and added: The capacity of the water of the Caspian Sea is one million tons, whereas the capacities of the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea are 3.6 million tons. The head of the Iran Fisheries Organization also presented a report on the current situation of aquaculture production in the country and the balance of trade of the Iran Fisheries Organization during the years of the program and raised some issues and challenges facing the implementation of this project. In the course of the meeting, one of the private sector producers active in the field of aquaculture and cage fish farming also presented a report on its ongoing plans and programs and while explaining some of the issues and problems ahead, he called on the government to support the new industry.