Iran stands as main producer of ornamental fish in Mideast
Iran’s annual production of ornamental fish stands at over 380 million pieces, announced Mohammad Hassan Elahi, the head of the Iran Fisheries Organization’s Ornamental Fish Department, adding that the country has the largest amount of ornamental fish production among Middle Eastern countries.
Talking to Iran Daily, Elahi said the country’s export of ornamental fish has faced a lot of ups and downs in recent years, and now it stands at over $2 million dollars per year, but the figure hit $2.8 million some years ago.
“The recent pandemic of Corona Virus (COVID-19) has been one of the factors in reducing the export of ornamental fish in Iran and has created problems in the field of export to neighboring countries,” Elahi said.
He pointed to Iraq as one of the largest importers of ornamental fish from Iran in the past which re-exported a part of Iranian ornamental fish, but during the pandemic, the Arab country limited the import of the product due to a series of health considerations.
Fish production was around 230 million pieces 10 years ago, which has gradually increased, Elahi stated, noting that the figure of the production of aquarium fish was 330 million pieces during the year to March 19, which is expected to top 380 million pieces during the current year.
As the breeding and rearing of ornamental fish in Iran is a new industry, the country’s share in the global market is small, he said, adding that the country holds about one percent of the world ornamental fish market.
“Iran enjoys a suitable climate for the production of ornamental fish, based on which the production of ornamental fish is now carried out in all provinces of the country.”
The official went on to say that aquarium fish production in our country is done in the form of small businesses or mass production in large farms in urban and rural areas.
Considering the potential that the country enjoys in the field of ornamental fish production and breeding, if measures are taken to build ornamental fish breeding farms, we will succeed in fetching more forex from the production and export of ornamental fish along with further job creation.
Pointing out that 12,600 people are employed in the ornamental fish industry in Iran, he said the financial turnover of the ornamental fish industry in the country is about $120 million. According to the official, currently more than 125 species of freshwater and saltwater aquarium fish are being bred across the country.