Mechanical and biological methods are used to regularly clean the bed of the Karakum River in Turkmenistan. Mechanical methods include clearing using dredgers and bulldozers, which widen and deepen the riverbed, maintaining the capacity of hydraulic networks and reservoirs. Biological methods include purification with the help of large herbivorous fish - white and bighead carp, carp, white and black carp.
Kadyrberdi Shiriyev, chief engineer of the Research and Production Center “Ecology” of the Garagumderýasuwhojalyk Association of the State Committee for Water Resources, said on the pages of the newspaper “Neutral Turkmenistan” that the SPC has at its disposal 35 ponds of various capacities, which occupy an area of 28 hectares, for breeding stock, breeding fry and juveniles.
According to the plan, 16 tons of fry are released annually into reservoirs and heavily overgrown areas of the river bed. The spawning process until live juveniles are obtained is a period from April to June, and the fish are released into the wild in August–September, when they gain weight from 25 to 55 grams.
Now, in November, the ponds are being emptied, quarantine and other preparatory measures are being carried out for the new season of obtaining fry, the specialist specified.
