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Aquaculture output up 32% in seven months: IFO
Hossein Hosseini also stated that comparison of export statistics in the first six months of the current year with the same period last year shows a 44% increase in weight and a 28% increase in value, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Approximately 142,500 tons of fisheries, worth $219.5 million, were exported in the six months to September 21, while during the same period last year, 99,000 tons of aquatics valued at $170 million were exported.
In the last Iranian year which ended on March 19, the targeted production for aquaculture was set at 1.38 million tons as the country reported fisheries production of 1.418 million tons.
Noting that 778,000 tons of the fishing in the country during last Iranian year was related to the sea, Hosseini said 640,000 tons of aquaculture production were carried out on the coasts and inland pools, so in total, 1.418 million tons of fish were produced last year.
The IFO head went on to say that 144,000 people work as fishermen, and 117,000 people are involved in aquaculture, of which 18,000 people are directly engaged in breeding fish in the sea and coastal areas for fishing and shrimp farming.
To achieve the goals set in the top-level documents, the Food Security Document, which was developed for 2032, foresees the production of 2.6 million tons of fisheries in the aquaculture sector, while under the Seventh Five-Year Development Plan (2024-28), the production of 1.8 million tons of fish has been targeted, Hosseini said.
He also stated that according to the recommendations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the population of the world is likely to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, of which seven billion people will need to source their protein from fisheries.