AQUALIFE GEORGIA

The development of aquaculture in Georgia began in the 30s of the last century. Initially, aquaculture activities were carried out in lakes, reservoirs, some rivers (Alazani, Mtkva-ri) and ponds.

In the period 1930-1950. There were about 50 aquaculture farms in the country with a total pond area of ​​2,500 ha. Among these farms there were two nurseries in the west of Georgia and three nurseries in the eastern part. The nurseries were responsible for the reproduction, rearing and breeding of various carp species, including common carp (Cyprinuscarpio), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthysmolitrix), bighead carp (HypophthalmichthysnobIIIs) and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodonidellus) [1, 2].
In the 1980s, there was a significant increase in the amount of fish caught at sea, and the importance of aquaculture as a source of fish decreased. During this time, the number of aquaculture farms decreased from 50 to 13. Only two farms cultivated rainbow trout (Oncorhynchusmykiss). Fifteen reservoirs and 20 lakes with a total area of ​​30,000 hectares were used to grow freshwater fish to marketable size.
Subsequently, the difficult economic and social situation in the country, lack of financial resources, inflexible banking and credit policies, as well as the loss of the former consumer markets in the former Soviet republics had an extremely negative impact on the Georgian economy in general and the fisheries sector in particular. At this time, aquaculture farms and lakes were privatized. Unfortunately, the new owners of the farms did not always have the necessary professional fish farming skills.