Conducted in English, Russian and Turkish, the webinar gave participants from across the sector an opportunity to learn about Uzbekistan’s fishery and aquaculture potential and to exchange regional perspectives on the FISHCap project.

The FISHCap country webinar series continued this week with an installment on the state of the fishery and aquaculture industry in Uzbekistan. The FISHCap project (Capacity Building for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Management in Central Asia, Azerbaijan and Turkey (FISHCap)) is part of the FAO-Turkey Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture (FTPP II), funded by the Government of the Republic of Turkey, and aims to encourage collaboration between the private and public sector through a series of country webinars.

On this basis, the webinar on Uzbekistan discussed the current situation of fishery and aquaculture in the country and explored avenues for private sector involvement. The webinar also facilitated the exchange of experiences, success stories and ideas about the industry’s vision for building and supporting regional dialogue for sustainable aquaculture and fisheries. The webinar further provided participants from across the sector with an opportunity to learn about Uzbekistan’s potential and to exchange regional perspectives on the FISHCap project. The webinar was conducted in English, Russian and Turkish.

The first set of opening remarks were delivered by Ayşegül Selışık, Assistant FAO Representative in Turkey, who explained that the FISHCap webinar series was conceived as a set of concrete steps to promote efficient, inclusive and participatory fisheries/aquaculture management in the subregion, with a focus on boosting employment especially among women and youth. 

Selışık was followed by Sherzod Umarov, Assistant FAO Representative in Uzbekistan, who noted that while Uzbekistan is a landlocked country – like many of the countries in Central Asia – it has abundant inland water resources, especially in the form of rivers and lakes which are suitable for freshwater aquaculture. Sherzod Umarov also emphasized that the webinar will help participants analyse the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Uzbekistan and promote inter-industry cooperation and stakeholder involvement in strategic decision-making.

The opening remarks continued with a contribution from Turgay Türkyılmaz, Deputy Director-General of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey, who pointed out that the FISHCap project encourages the development of the fishery sector and regional trade, and contributes to the strengthening of bilateral relations among beneficiary countries. Türkyılmaz also stated that Turkey is very glad to share its experiences in the fishery and aquaculture industry with countries in the subregion. 

Highlighting the efforts of the Government of Uzbekistan in developing fishery and aquaculture industry in the country, Shukhrat Rakhmatov, Deputy Chairman of the Association of Fishery in Uzbekistan, noted that a legal framework for the aquaculture sector has been prepared. Rakhmatov also welcomed Turkey’s intention to share its experiences in the fishery and aquaculture industry with Uzbekistan. 

The final remarks were delivered by Haydar Fersoy, Senior Fishery and Aquaculture Officer, who reminded the participants that the basic objective of the FISHCap project is to disseminate best practices in the fishery and aquaculture industry among the beneficiary countries. 

The webinar consisted of three sessions moderated by Haydar Fersoy which covered a wide range of topics. The first session provided a platform to exchange opinions on themes such as the status of women and youth in the industry, governance frameworks and strategic priorities. The second session focused on industry performance, allowing the participants to explore more technical areas including market structure, and business opportunities and constraints. In the last session, the participants discussed ways to improve industry sustainability and productivity, options for business transformation, and avenues to increase collaboration among industry partners.