«Fish Farmers Should Come to Meet Us» - Deputy Minister of Environment

By March 1, 2024, Armenian fish farming businesses must implement a 40% water conservation strategy, Deputy Minister of Environment Tigran Gabrielyan announced at a press conference today. He indicated that the water level of Lake Sevan is declining amid climate change. Additionally, over the past 10 years, the level of the artesian basin has significantly decreased by 1.57 meters. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce water usage for the restoration of water resources.

Gabrielyan also emphasized that the largest water users are farmers and fish farms. “To conserve resources, it has been decided to introduce new systems used by fish farming businesses and to promote water saving. Our calculations suggest that a 40% reduction in water usage in fish farms will lead to the recovery of the artesian basin. If this is not sufficient, more stringent measures will be taken,” said Gabrielyan.

In response to a journalist's observation that there are more than 900 illegal and abandoned wells in the regions of Armavir and Ararat, the deputy minister assured that the water loss in those cases is not significant. According to him, there are only 49 artesian well drillholes and the maximum water loss amounts to 64 liters per second, while large fish farming businesses have permits to use 2400 liters per second.

“If we close these drillholes tomorrow, the question of water recovery will not be resolved. Serious measures are necessary. And fish farmers should come to meet us,” he said.

It should be noted that according to amendments adopted on November 22 to the RA Water Code, fish farming businesses in Armenia that receive water from underground sources must use only water circulation conservation systems. As stated by RA Minister of Environment Hakob Simidyan during the presentation of the bill, such systems should allow for the reuse of at least 40% of the water.

During the discussions in the National Assembly, the opposition criticized the bill, stating that businesses should have been warned in advance about the necessity to install such systems, which require significant expenses.