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Environment and Security
60
The basin of the Atrek river
64
, with a total area
of 27 000 sq km, is shared by Iran and Turk-
menistan. The river, which is 530 km long,
rises in Iran, flows for some 150 km along
the border between Iran and Turkmenistan,
and ends in the Caspian Sea.
Historically the southern part of the Turkmen
coast was the Caspian’s second fishery site
by value and productivity. In the Esenguly
district of Balkan province, the fish catch
amounted to more than 10 000 tonnes a year
in the 1930s. In the 1980s and 1990s com-
mercial fishing gradually declined to almost
nothing. Local people link it to excessive di-
version of water for irrigation in Iran, affecting
theflowof theAtrek river, an important spawn-
ing ground for roach (
Rutilus rutilus caspicus
)
and carp (
Cyprinus carpio
). Reportedly with
the development of irrigation in the Iranian
section of this transboundary river, the flow
dropped substantially. Furthermore Turkmen
experts estimate that climatic changes could
further reduce river flow by 50% in the long
term (Atamuradova, 2007). In the 1960–70s
the river was dry for five to seven months.
Since the 1990s (in 1990, 1995–97, 1999–
2000) the river has not reached the sea, vir-
tually putting an end to fishing in the delta
and coastal zone (Berkeliev 2006). In this
respect local experts consider the Atrek river
delta a regional environmental “hot spot” be-
cause of its essential role in the supply of fish
and work for local people, coupled with the
transboundary causes of degradation to the
river delta. Among noteworthy positive de-
velopments, Turkmen and Iranian authorities
are currently discussing new cooperation ar-
rangements on the Atrek river. Furthermore,
there are plans to establish a national park
along the upper reaches of the Atrek river in
Turkmenistan.
Fishery in the lower reaches of the Atrek river, Turkmenistan
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