61 An overview on desert aquaculture in Central Asia (Aral Sea Drainage Basin) Bakhtiyor Karimov Institute of Zoology of Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences Tashkent, Uzbekistan E-mail:
[email protected] Karimov, B. 2011. An overview on desert aquaculture in Central Asia (Aral Sea Drainage Basin). In V. Crespi & A. Lovatelli, eds. Aquaculture in desert and arid lands: development constraints and opportunities. FAO Technical Workshop. 6–9 July 2010, Hermosillo, Mexico. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings No. 20. Rome, FAO. 2011. pp. 61–84. SUMMARY Central Asian countries are bounded in the northwest by the Aral Sea, a basin which dominates the whole region. The climate is extremely continental and arid. The average annual precipitation is about 100–200 mm in the plains; 30–50 percent of the total rainfall is in the spring, 25–40 percent in winter, 10–20 percent in autumn and 1–6 percent in summer. There are three main climatic zones in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan: (sand) deserts and dry semi-deserts (steppes); foothills (piedmont areas); and mountains. The history and present status, traditions, main production systems, technologies, cultured fish species, etc., in desert and arid lands aquaculture development in all former Soviet Republics/Central Asian countries have very common characteristics. The end of commercial fishery in the Aral Sea in 1983 due to desiccation has had a significant impact on the aquaculture development of this region. Uzbekistan can be considered as a model for this review as it has typical characteristics for the region. The aquaculture sector in the Aral Sea Drainage Basin (ASDB) countries was established under Soviet rule.