According to the public relations office of Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute (ISFSRI), quoting the information center of Agriculture Organization, the Deputy Director of Extension and Transfer of Scientific Findings of IFSRI said: “Aquaculture production in the country is more than 520 thousand tons, about 10% of which belongs to the coastal watershed.”
Dr. Homayoun Hosseinzadeh Sahafi added: “Currently, about 47,000 tons of shrimp are grown on the southern and northern coasts of the country.”
He positively assessed the approach of the Minister of Agriculture Organization to use more of the country's coastal water capacity to strengthen food security and provide protein needed by consumers and increase Iran's share in international markets and said: “Due to some production restrictions And water shortage in non-coastal provinces, the approach of using water bodies in the north and south of the country such as Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf and Oman Sea for aquaculture, has been formed and is expanding.”
Dr. Hosseinzadeh Sahafi continued: "Fish farming and the use of aquatic protein are global approaches to ensure food security, and in this regard, part of aquaculture is done in the coast."
Referring to the statistics of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), he said: " a significant part of a total of 114 million tons of aquaculture in the world, is about 31 million tons of aquaculture in coastal and marine waters."
He declared that according to FAO, in 2018, about 18 million tons of mollusks, including pearl mussels and oysters, 7 million tons of fish and 6 million tons of crustaceans are produced focusing on breeding Shrimp in seawater and coastal areas.
He said that there is a lot of capacity for aquaculture in marine waters as well as in the north and south coasts of the country, he said: Currently, part of the fish farming in cages in the country is done using seawater resources and the Knowledge-based development background of this activity exists in many coastal areas.
Dr. Hosseinzadeh Sahafi added: "IFSRI mainly focuses on research, education and extension of shrimp farming on the coast, especially in the four southern provinces. This is one of the examples of the effectiveness of the relevant achievements, obtaining technical knowledge of the production of disease-free shrimp and the production of probiotics to improve the growth and performance of shrimp by transferring technical knowledge and private sector participation.
In this regard, he stated: In Golestan province, in the marine aquaculture sector, the focus is on shrimp farming.
Dr. Hosseinzadeh Sahafi pointed to the capacity of breeding different species of aquatic animals in coastal waters and said: “Expert researchers of IFSRI, use the capacities of coastal and marine waters of the country and create aquaculture development infrastructure in these areas. IFSRI has focused on broodstock bio-technique, reproduction and breeding of various native species such as Sobaity seabream, Sparidae, Redmouth grouper, sea bass, Cobia and Mullet in the south of the country and a variety of sturgeon, Caspian salmon, Zander and many other species in the north of the country and also, some marine invertebrates such as oysters and crustaceans and various types of algae. This provides employment and currency in the future development of coastal aquaculture.
He informed about the access of researchers in the research institutes of the south of the country to the technical knowledge and technology of reproduction and breeding of pearl mussels and oysters in sea water and said: "Good results have been achieved in this field which can be provided to producers and Investors.”
He added that the annual production of farmed pearls in the world is 26,000 tons. China, Japan and Australia are among the pioneers in growing pearl mussels in sea waters, while there is a potential for activity and development in this area on the south coasts of Iran.
He added: "Some water and soil capacities and locations for the development of coastal aquaculture have been done by consulting companies and some research institutes of this institute. In this regard, the potential capacities for coastal aquaculture in Makran region are considerable."
He said: "It seems that the development plan of coastal aquaculture with regard to the components of sustainable development and integrated management of coastal areas, natural resource and human resource capacities, is one of the priorities."
He announced empowering human resources through education and extension and considering the participation and capacity of local communities, trade unions, knowledge-based companies and startups, universities and research centers considering market capacity (domestic and international) and the future of research in this field as a necessity for the sustainable development of coastal aquaculture.
He said: "Some considerations in achieving the development goals of marine aquaculture with a focus on coastal fish farming in sea cages are: the production chain to consumption, support, guidance and encouragement of investors, strengthen culture of consumption and market traction, supporting researches related to aquatic species diversity and ecosystem monitoring, strengthening accelerators, creating and supporting entrepreneurial ecosystems in aquaculture, recording and processing information in the field of production, allocating funds, facilities and currency supply especially in the field of fish farming in sea cages, strengthening and reforming the governance system in this field and the use of new technologies and smartening of aquaculture systems and farms.
Dr. Hosseinzadeh Sahafi added: "IFSRI is ready to present achievements and related technologies with its scientific capacities in the fields of research, education and extension in the field of coastal aquaculture."