Anzali Lagoon

The lagoon divides Bandar-e Anzali into two parts, and is home to both the Selke Wildlife Refuge and the Siahkesheem Marsh.

[3] The lagoon's water ranges from fresh near the tributary streams to brackish near the mouth into the harbor and the sea.

[7] Prior to 1950 the Anzali Lagoon provided about 70% of the commercial fish taken in Gilan Province, with catches of over 5,000 tons annually.

[2] Commercial fishing was done during the spring and autumn spawning cycles when the kutum, pike-perch and bream, would enter the lagoon from the Caspian.

[2] However, a number of factors acted against the continuation of the fishery and by the time commercial fishing ceased in 1960 annual catches were less than 100 tons.

[15] This wetland has a special environment due to the presence of animals and plants, the morphology, shape of the stream bed, the connection with the rivers and the sea.

[16] Anzali Wetland is a spawning place for aquatic animals and a habitat for native and migratory birds.

Anzali lagoon is also one of the most important sources of reproduction and production of sturgeon and bony fish in the Caspian Sea.

[17][18] Anzali International Wetland, located in the southwest of the Caspian Sea, plays a strategic role in establishing an ecological balance between animals and birds due to its special characteristics.

This wetland serves as a place for natural reproduction and recovery of various groups of Caspian Sea fish.

It also serves as a habitat and spawning ground for migratory Caspian Sea fish in the early stages of their lives.

Anzali Lagoon
Anzali Lagoon showing growth of Caspian lotus (Nelumbo caspicum) and mats of Azolla filiculoides fern.