Leyla Aliyeva Participated in the Ceremony of Releasing Sturgeon Fish into the Water

On May 31, a sturgeon release ceremony was held as part of the large-scale "Rich Basins" project, which aims to protect and restore the bioresources of Azerbaijan's inland water bodies. This project is jointly organized by the IDEA Public Union and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. The event saw the release of 550,000 sturgeon fingerlings raised in the fish breeding plants of Xilli-Balıq LLC, AzVarvara LLC, and Azerbaijan Fish Farm LLC.

Leyla Aliyeva, vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of IDEA Public Union, participated in the event.

Over the past decades, the populations of rare fish species in the Caspian Sea have reached the brink of extinction due to human activities, pollution, smuggling, and overfishing.

To address this issue comprehensively, IDEA Public Union, in collaboration with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the UK's "Blue Sea Fund" (BLUE), is implementing various protection, restoration, and public awareness measures.

The "Rich Basins" project aims to increase the natural population of fish species by releasing different types of fingerlings grown in fish hatcheries into the natural environment. It also seeks to reduce pollution in inland water bodies and promote fishing according to legal and sustainable practices.

Notably, since the project's launch in May of last year, more than 3 million fingerlings of various species have been released into water bodies.

The implementation period of the "Rich Basins" project coincides with the 4-month moratorium announced on May 1, which is due to the fish spawning period.