Karakol, Kyrgyzstan (December 27, 2011) – Association of fish farms of Issyk-Kul province received 829,662 soms ($ 17,850) worth of equipment for production of fish food (feed mills and floor scales). Each of the three piece equipment can provide for up to 1 ton per hour of balanced fortified fish feed. This volume is sufficient for fisheries of the region to reach the planned maximum level of fish production - 500 tons per year - estimated needs of the population of the Issyk-Kul region in fish products.

The equipment was handed over to association fish farmers "Pond Keepers of Issyk-Kul" (Jety-Oguz, Lipenka) and "Kol Torou" (Tup), which currently brings together 32 fisheries, employing about 150 people. The new equipment will be installed set at three points at the optimal distance from the major fish farms.

The equipment was provided by the UNDP / GEF project "Strengthening the policy and regulatory framework for mainstreaming biodiversity in the fishing industry" project to pursue one of the objectives of the project – reducing human pressure on the fish fauna of the lake. The project implements a programme to develop fish farming and fish farms in Issyk-Kul province, which will help provide local population with fish products and satisfy market needs. Organization of new jobs and new income sources in legal fishery industry is intended to distract the public from illegal poaching.

The program on development of pond fisheries has already completed the following steps:

• Organized study tour to Hungary where owners of fish farms studied the experience of advanced fisheries of Hungary.
• Fish farmers received $30,000 worth of fish stocks of carp polyculture.
• Farmers were also provided with legal assistance and consultations in establishing their associations.

The main objective of the GEF / UNDP project is to recover populations of endemic fish of the Issyk-Kul lake through practical activities like protection of spawning areas of chebak and chebachok by reducing the number of unwanted invaders, the invaders (pike-perch and bream), incubation of naked osman marinka fry, technical assistance to environmental protection authorities and public research institutions exploring the lake.

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