Uzbekistan to increase fish production to 500,000 tons

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree titled "On additional measures for the development of the fish farming industry." The document, adopted on 2 July 2026, provides for increasing the production of fish products to 500,000 tons in 2026–2027 by converting artificial reservoirs to intensive rearing technologies.

According to an annex to the decree, the regions must produce 363,000 tons of fish in 2026 and 500,000 tons in 2027.

The highest target metrics have been set for the Syrdarya region at 65,000 tons, the Khorezm region at 60,000 tons, and the Ferghana region at 55,000 tons. Starting from 2027, cold-water fish farming is planned to be developed in the foothill districts of the republic, with an annual rearing capacity of 20,000 tons.

To manage the industry, a Fish Farming Development Center is being established under the Ministry of Water Resources with the status of a state institution and territorial divisions.

The total number of its employees is capped at 70 staff units, of which 29 are allocated to the central apparatus and 41 to regional structures. The center will be located in the Bektemir district of Tashkent. Based on the fund of the Uzbekbaliksanoat association, a Fund for the Development and Support of Fish Farming will be formed under the Center.

The decree changes the procedure for accessing water bodies. From 1 January 2027, reservoirs, collector-drainage networks, and natural water bodies will be leased to fish farming enterprises exclusively through open electronic online auctions.

Of the rental receipts, 15 percent will be directed to the local budgets of the respective districts and cities, and the remainder will go to the industry fund. In water bodies that supply the population with drinking water, as well as at sites protected under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, only traditional fish farming is permitted.

By 1 May 2027, in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Technologies, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Tax Committee, and the Cadastre Agency, the electronic platform "e-baliq" will be launched.

It will consolidate data on the use of water resources, fish rearing volumes, feed consumption, and applied technologies, as well as records of water bodies transferred under lease.

From 1 August 2026 to 1 August 2030, farms will be provided with financial support measures financed from the state budget. These include subsidies for installing solar panels and aerators, compensation of up to 10 percent of costs for closed water supply technologies up to a limit of 5 billion soums, coverage of 50 percent of expenses for importing pedigree fish up to a limit of 5 million soums, and compensation for half of the wages of ichthyologists and fish disease specialists attracted from abroad, not exceeding the equivalent of US$1,000 per month per expert.

To fund these measures, the Agency for Agricultural Payments will be allocated up to 100 billion soums in the current year, and an additional up to 1 trillion soums is provided for concessional lending to the industry until the end of the year.

A separate block of the decree is dedicated to personnel training and science. In cooperation with the Dalian University of China, it is planned to establish a faculty of fish farming and aquaculture starting from the 2027/2028 academic year, which will annually admit up to 50 applicants on the basis of state grants under a "2+1" education formula.

In addition, the annual training of 100 specialists in the field of fish farming and aquaculture is provided for.

Within three months, mobile laboratories will be introduced in the regions for the prompt detection of fish diseases.