Iranian fishermen caught over 840 tons of tiny Kilka fish (Caspian Sea sprat) from Caspian Sea in the past Iranian calendar month 1401 (ended on July 22), an official with Iran’s Fishery Organization said.

“Last [Iranian] month [from June 22, 2023, to July 22, 2023], a total of 843 tons of kilka were caught in the northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran, showing a 12 percent decline compared to the same period last year,” Reza Abbaspour Naderi said recently.

511 tons of the total amount belongs to Mazandaran province, and 332 tons goes to Gilan province, he added.

“Unfortunately, the lion’s share of our Caspian Sea sprat harvest -nearly 90%- in the country is delivered to seafood factories for converting it into fish powder,” Abbaspour Naderi said.