Ermənistan-Türkiyə sərhədindəki Axuryan su anbarında su kifayət etmir, balıqlar ölür
Photos from Andranik Ohanjanyan’s Facebook page
A sharp drop in the water levels at the Akhuryan water reservoir on the Armenian-Turkish border has led to a mass die-off of fish population.
According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia, the lack of water also led to a drop in oxygen levels, and therefore, the fish remaining in the reservoir swim to the water surface.
The agencies in charge haven’t named the causes of mass die-off of fish population yet. The Ministry of Nature Protection has just reported as follows: ‘Since the reservoir is located on the border, the work is underway to obtain a permission from the border services in order to take a water sample and find out, whether the fish die-off was caused by a drop in water levels or some other reasons.
As Sona Martirosyan, a spokesperson for the State Committee of Water System told Armenpress news agency, ‘given that the water reservoir has been designed only for accumulation of the irrigation water, fish farming at the reservoir is not regulated by the legislation.
Fish farming at the Akhuryan water reservoir is an arbitrary action and the State Committee of Water System has never issued a permission or consent thereto. Consequently, the agency is, in no way, responsible for fish protection…Moreover, the agency isn’t authorized to issue such permissions without the Turkish side’s consent.”
The Akhuryan water reservoir is located on the Armenian-Turkish border. It extends along the border for about 20km. The capacity of the water reservoir makes 525million cub.m. Turkey and the Soviet Union agreed on construction of the water reservoir back in the 90s. The agreement was formalized by the joint Soviet-Turkish committee on 25 April, 1063. The water reservoir has been operating since 1982. Under the agreement, it shall be used jointly by the parties on equal terms (50/50).
Silva Adamyan, an environmentalist, noted that this situation was the result of negligence on part of the responsible services and the environmental organizations. “People report the problem, but the responsible agencies don’t provide any information on the causes of mass die-off of fish population and drop in water levels. It clearly points to the fact that the resources aren’t managed properly. I don’t know, what Mr. Premier thinks about it”, she said.
According to the press service of the State Committee of Water System, water from the reservoir is used for irrigation of about 30,000ha. of land in Armavir and Shirak Provinces. On 2 September, the Armenian side stopped water consumption from the Akhuryan water reservoir. As a result, the water levels in the reservoir slightly increased on 3 September.
“Meanwhile, the Turkish side has been using water throughout this period at the rate of 10cub.m./sec.,” said Sona Martirosyan, a spokesperson for the State Committee of Water System. System.
