WATER FOR FISH, LAND FOR FISH-BREEDERS
ArmInfo
2010-04-21 14:35:00
ArmInfo. The payment for water consumed by fish farms must me charged
reckoning with the interests of both the state and business, says
Arkady Gevorgyan, Chairman of the Association of Fish Breeders of
Armenia. "In March the government raised the issue of legalizing all
the fish-farms. I support such approach. But payment for water can be
charged by different methods. For instance, our fish- breeders offer
paying for water after sale of fish. However, there is another problem
connected with drainage that needs serious repair, our fish-breeders
say," Gevorgyan says.
Another serious problem that hampers activation of fish farms are
difficulties with registration of land property. "Many fish-farms
are established on solonchak soils, where lands are cheaper and
cost nearly 50,000 drams per ha. But establishing a fish-farm on
such lands requires change of the category into industrial land,"
Gevorgyan explained. In such case, he said, the land will cost almost
20 million drams per ha, or 50,000 US dollars. "Having so big money,
a fish-breeder will develop his own business," he says. This sector in
Armenia encompasses 250-270 fish farms. In 2009 nearly 5.8 thousand
tons of fish worth a total of 8.4 billion drams were produced and
fished.