Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan traveled to Gegharkunik Marz on a working visit.

The Premier visited Lchap and Karchaghbyur communities to get acquainted with the process of rehabilitation of trout resources and fish breeding development in Lake Sevan basin. The project is being implemented by Sevan Ishkhan and Sevan Aqua closed joint-stock companies, established by the Trout Resource Rehabilitation and Fish Breeding Development Foundation. Note that the Foundation has been allocated 9 billion drams from the Government Reserve Fund to implement a complex program in 2013-2017.

Nikol Pashinyan first called at Sevan Aqua’s lumbering facility in Lchap community. The Head of Government was shown the nets unfolded on the Lake and the process of releasing fish fry of Gegharkouni and Summer Trout species into the lake. It was noted that the actual amount of fish was 92 tons as of July 1, 2018.

The Premier left Lchap for Karchaghbyur community where he toured the fishery complex belonging to Sevan Ishkhan CJSC and got acquainted with the plant’s production process and output capacity. Then the Premier chaired a consultation, involving heads of government agencies and the Foundation’s senior executives who reported back the results of the activities implemented so far.

About 2,355,000 fingerlings were released in the period between 2015 and 2018. The ecological problems faced in the Lake Sevan Basin were identified. In addition, water quality control measures have been implemented; a 50-pound fertilizer plant operating under the 1st water-closed circulation system in Armenia has been built, and a grass-root farm has been established, followed by relevant marketing efforts.

In the meantime, the executives noted that the expected sales volumes had somewhat missed the projected targets for a number of reasons, such as fishing, fish diseases, irregular abstraction of the rivers, and fungal problems.

Prioritizing the effective implementation of the aforementioned Lake Sevan Trout Reserves Rehabilitation and Fishery Development Program, the Prime Minister told the stakeholders to submit a profitability forecast report in order to discuss the matter at the forthcoming meeting.