Atyrau, 3 November. By 2030 eight large investment projects in the fisheries sector, with a total value of more than 25 billion tenge, are planned in the Atyrau region, the Ministry of Agriculture said.
They are meant to increase commercial fish farming, expand production, create jobs and supply a wide range of high-value-added products.
The largest project is the modernisation of the Shortanbay fish-processing plant in the Kurmangazy district, with investment exceeding 12 billion tenge. Construction of 11 new facilities has already begun. The plant will get reception, freezing, salting, smoking and canning workshops, a caviar and fillet workshop and a mechanical repair shop; once it reaches design capacity, it is planned to produce up to 200 products. By 2030 commercial fish farming in the region is planned to reach 2,600 tonnes; in nine months of 2026 about 7,000 tonnes of fish were processed in the region.
Separately, the ministry cites the protection of fish stocks. This year about 4 million fry of sturgeon species were released into the Zhaiyk river. Since the start of the year 2,400 anti-poaching violations have been recorded, and 168 cases were sent to court. Sixteen fishing cooperatives received catch limits of about 16,000 tonnes, of which 44% has been used. The Atyrau region accounts for 31% of Kazakhstan’s national fish catch.
The source of funding for the projects is not named in the statement, nor is the completion date of the Shortanbay modernisation; the other seven of the eight projects are not named either.
What it means: The region accounts for almost a third of the country’s fish catch, and the ministry describes the plans as developing processing and commercial fish farming, not just fishing. At the same time sturgeon are being restocked in the Zhaiyk river and poaching is being fought.
Who benefits: According to the ministry, the winners are processors and fish farmers who will get new capacity, residents of districts where jobs will appear, and fishing cooperatives that have been allocated catch limits. How much the state and private investors will put in is not stated.
Background: Zhaiyk is the Kazakh name of the Ural river, which flows through Atyrau and into the Caspian Sea.
