VIDEO: Fish Farmers Protest Again

Fish farmers have taken to the streets once again. This time, they started their protest by blocking a road. The fish farmers unilaterally closed the section leading from the Hrazdan Sports Complex to the Victory Bridge and marched toward the Government building to continue their protest there.

Their demand is the repeal of the law concerning fish farming enterprises that was adopted in the National Assembly. It is worth noting that on November 22, the parliament adopted a draft amendment to the Water Code, which mandates that fish farming enterprises in Armenia that obtain water from underground boreholes must use water circulation conservation systems only.

According to the fish producers, if this law is implemented, they will not be able to operate and will be on the brink of shutting down. One of the fish farmers stated in a press briefing with journalists that there are 969 illegal boreholes and demanded that to save water resources, those should be closed first.

“There are abandoned boreholes from which 7,000-10,000 liters of water flow out every second. If they close all the abandoned boreholes, we won't have a problem closing ours. We are not refusing; we say, let’s close them. If the water is not restored, we agree to close ours,” he said.

The fish farmers also met with Minister of Environment Hakob Simidyan; however, they did not come to a mutual agreement on the matter. It should be noted that fish farmers have been protesting against the law that comes into force on January 1 for a considerable time.

Additionally, from November 25 to January 20, catfish fishing is prohibited, yet there is no shortage of fish in Yerevan. By another decision of the executive, starting from the beginning of the year, the export of catfish fry will be prohibited for six months, aiming to maintain the stable fish population in Lake Sevan. To prevent illegal fishing during the catfish spawning season, increased monitoring is being conducted in the lake area by inspectors and the 'Sevan' National Park. During patrols, fines have been imposed on street fish vendors, and their batches have been seized.