Developing and increasing production is one of the strategic plans of the Kurdistan Region Government’s ninth cabinet. As a part of this plan, the largest fish production project has started in Dohuk with 65 percent of it already completed.

The project’s goal is to maintain domestic needs as well as sending fish products abroad. In the first stage of the production, it is expected to make 21 million Rohu fishes and 1200 tonnes of canned fish in one year.

Shokri Omar, the manager of the fish production project told the official website of Kurdistan Region Government: “This project is strategic and part of agricultural production in Kurdistan. The amount of money invested in this project is 10 million dollars and it created 500 direct and indirect job opportunities for citizens.”

Omar added that “None of the previous fish projects in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq has a system like the one we are working on. Advanced technologies have been used in this project.”

The area of this project is 57.25 hectares and consists of a fish incubator, lab, earthen pond, and fish cage. There is also a plan to build a factory to produce seeds. The aim of the project is to maintain local needs and export fish to Iraq and Gulf countries.