4
23. When being asked about the total estimated number of recreational fi shers, it was confi rmed that
many fi shers are not registered and that more than 10 percent of the population fi shes; particularly
in rural areas many people fi sh because they are forced to fi sh for household food security reasons.
Poaching is widespread and even high value species such as trout are, when caught illegally, used for
household consumption, because markets are often far away from the fi shing sites.
24. Mr Ibragimov confi rmed that no specifi c lakes or reservoirs were solely used by the recreational
fi shing sector. Commercial fi sheries and recreational fi shers are fi shing the same water bodies. It was
recognized that this provides diffi culties for restocking. It was added that at present no restocking
activities are being conducted as the Union does not have its own hatchery or lakes that may be used
solely by the members of the Union. TajikRiba was requested to issue licenses that would allow the
recreational fi shers associations to use and manage lakes and reservoirs in a sustainable manner.
25. In terms of protective measures it was noted that there are no penalties for catch of endangered
species, but that there are plans to introduce programs for restocking of these species (e.g. shovelnose)
and penalties that are higher than a monthly salary for capture of such endangered species.
Uzbekistan
26. Georgiy Narmin, president of the Union of Hunters and Fishermen Societies of the Republic of
Uzbekistan made a presentation on behalf of his country. He emphasized that the presentation and
related status report was prepared by a group of qualifi ed experts. Mr Narmin pointed out that almost all
reservoirs available in Uzbekistan are used as recreational fi sheries. He presented a list of 13 species
that are of most interest to recreational fi shers in Uzbekistan. The total estimated catch by recreational
fi shers in Uzbekistan in 2008 was around 90 tonnes, of which only a very small percentage (about 1
Percent) should be considered as catch-and-release. At least 90- 100 thousand recreational fi shers are
active in the country. It is recognized that this fi gure maybe a signifi cant under-estimation, as no data
are available and limited research into this subject was carried out. In terms of participation by gender
in recreational fi sheries, it was noted that 99% of the members of the Union were men. Moreover, it
was shown that fi shers under 20 years of age were hardly represented among the members of the Union,
an issue which should obtain more attention from the union in the near future. The large majority of
recreational fi shers fi shes between once and tree times per month.
27. Mr Narmin also presented the structure of the Union of Hunters and Fishermen Societies of the
Republic of Uzbekistan (UzbekOkhotRybolovSoyuz), its activities, guidance to fi shers and an overview
of the fi sh tackle and methods used in Uzbekistan. He concluded his presentation by describing the
policy, legal and institutional frameworks in place for recreational fi sheries and pointed towards main
opportunities for increasing the sector’s sustainable development.
28. The complete status report of recreational fi sheries in Uzbekistan, as presented to the workshop,
appears in Appendix E.
29. The discussion which followed the presentation concentrated on areas where recreational fi shing is
allowed in Uzbekistan and where commercial fi shing is prohibited. Moreover some clarifi cation was
presented on the number of members of the Union. The workshop was informed that in 2009 the Union
has over 25 000 members, of which 23 000 have a license for both hunting and fi shing and 2000 members
have a license for only fi shing. It was estimated that there are at least 100 thousand frequent recreational
fi shers in the Tashkent region in Uzbekistan; people that are not presently member of the Union.
30. In terms of its contribution to food security and income generation in rural areas, it was estimated
that some 50 to 60 percent of the men are frequently or less frequent fi shers. Food and income in
support of household needs are considered higher objectives than just leisure or sport for most of these
recreational fi shers.
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