
Armenia: Water Recyling Law Angers Ararat Valley Fish Farmers
Three fish farmers in Armenia’s Ararat Vally, last April, filed a lawsuit against the government, demanding the cancellation of a December 2023 law requiring them to install a system that recycles forty percent of the water they use.
The law requires fish farmers to pay for the installation of such recirculation systems, albeit with government assistance.
The fish farmers claim the price is prohibitive.
Aram Barseghyan, who’s been raising fish since 2013, threatens to turn over his assets to the banks and leave Armenia if the law remains on the books. He exports his fish to Russia.
“Whoever drew up that project is miles away from fish farming. With this step, they will close all fish farms. I will close mine, because working with a closed cycle system is simply impossible,” says Barseghyan.
He says the government pushed fish farmers to expand their operations and are now leaving them in the lurch.
Levon Asatryan is one of the plaintiffs. His son Aram tells Hetq that installing a closed-loop system costs about $1 million, a sum they don’t have.
The government argues that fish farming in the valley uses too much water drawn from the underlying water table and that recycling makes sense.
Fish farmers hit back by saying that the price to install recycling systems is prohibitive and that they’d have to shut down production to install them.
A Yerevan court has suspended the requirement to install the water recycling systems until the case is hear and a judgement reached.
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