Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- An electronic platform will be launched in Uzbekistan to ensure accounting and identification of nets permitted for industrial fishing. This is envisaged by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers “On approval of fishing rules in natural reservoirs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.”

According to the resolution, the procedure for amateur and industrial fishing, the rights and obligations of persons engaged in fishing, control over the use of ichthyofauna, protection of fish resources and calculation of damage caused by illegal fishing, fishing rules, including the destruction of fishing tools and gear confiscated from offenders, were approved. and rewarding the authorized person who detects cases of illegal fishing with a monetary reward.

Ichthyofauna objects in natural reservoirs are objects of national importance, and their rational use is protected by the state. Fish that live in natural reservoirs, as well as those released into their natural habitat, are the property of the state. Fishing also includes being in fishing areas with fishing gear or fish products. All natural reservoirs on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, where amateur and industrial fishing are permitted in accordance with the established procedure, are fishing areas.

In turn, nature reserves, environmental, health, recreational and historical and cultural sites, zones of sanitary protection of water supply sources, lands intended for industry, transport, communications, defense and other purposes, border zones, dams, water separators, bridges and other protected areas in within a radius of 500 meters from the borders of farms on which there is a moratorium on fishing are not considered fishing areas.

Based on the decision, within three months a standard for nets permitted for industrial fishing will be developed and approved. Also, with the involvement of research and educational institutions in the field of ecology, GPS tracking devices will be installed as an experiment on nets allowed for fishing.

In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Protection and Use of Wildlife,” this decision serves to protect the fish resources of natural reservoirs and their rational use.

The decision will come into force three months after its official adoption.

The rules prohibiting fishing do not apply to intensive fish farming technology and aquaculture in artificial reservoirs and cage structures in irrigation networks that are not natural reservoirs.

In natural reservoirs, individuals are allowed to catch 1 fish weighing up to 5 kg for free within 1 day. In other cases, fishing is carried out on the basis of an agreement with the persons to whom these reservoirs are assigned. Recreational fishing in natural reservoirs is prohibited during the moratorium period.

Fishing is prohibited during the following period: from 11 March to 31 May in Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers, from 26 April to 10 June in natural reservoirs of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and Khorezm region, and from 16 April to 31 May in all other natural reservoirs.

For industrial fishing, it is necessary to have the appropriate documents (a lease agreement for a natural reservoir, a permit (quota), a fishing record book, documents for fishing gear registered with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, an extract from information about the marking and registration of fishing gear. Fishing is carried out with nets made of artificial and plant fibers. In natural bodies of water, fishing with artificial fiber nets less than 1 mm thick is not allowed.