The Changing Dynamics of Kazakhstan’s Fisheries Sector: From the Early Soviet Era to the Twenty-First Century
Graham N.A. Pueppke S.G. Nurtazin S. Konysbayev T. Gibadulin F. Sailauov M.
May-1 2022MDPI
Water (Switzerland)
2022#14Issue 9
Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic that is now independent, lies near the center of arid Eurasia. Its sparse hydrographic network includes a small number of large rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, many ponds and smaller streams, as well as littoral zones bordering the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. A diverse fisheries sector, initially based on wild fish capture and later including aquaculture, developed in these waters during the Soviet era, when animal agriculture was unable to meet the protein needs of Soviet citizens. The sector, which was originally centered on the Volga–Caspian basin, was tightly managed by Moscow and benefitted from coordinated investments in research, infrastructure, and human resources, as well as policies to increase the consumption of fish products. Independence in 1991 administered a political and economic shock that disrupted these relationships. Kazakhstan’s wild fish harvests plummeted by more than two-thirds, and aquaculture collapsed to just 3% of its previous level. Per capita consumption of fish products also declined, as did processing capacity. Favorable recent policies to define fishing rights, incentivize investments, prevent illegal fishing, and make stocking more effective have helped to reverse these trends and stabilize the sector. Continued recovery will require additional steps to manage water resources sustainably, prioritize the use of water for fish habitats, and minimize the effects of climate change. This comprehensive assessment of Kazakhstan’s fisheries sector over the past century provides the basis to understand how long-term dynamic interactions of the environment with the political economy influence fisheries in Eurasia’s largest country.
aquaculture , Eurasia , fisheries , hydrological regime , Kazakhstan , Soviet Union , water resources
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Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, Michigan State University, 427 North Shaw Lane, East Lansing, 48824, MI, United States
James Madison College, Michigan State University, 842 Chestnut Road, East Lansing, 48824, MI, United States
Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, 1405 South Harrison Road, East Lansing, 48823, MI, United States
Asia Hub, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 Al-Farabi Avenue, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan
Kazakh Research Institute of Fishery, 89a Suyunbay Avenue, Almaty, 050006, Kazakhstan
Center for European
James Madison College
Center for Global Change and Earth Observations
Asia Hub
Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology
Kazakh Research Institute of Fishery
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