Inspections Planned at Lake Kobeytuz to Stop Illegal Pink Salt Harvesting

Authorities are preparing mass raids at Kazakhstan’s unique salt lake, Kobeytuz, where tourists continue to collect and sell its pink salt online for as much as 5,000 tenge per kilogram, Orda.kz reports.

According to KTK, people are openly gathering salt from the lakebed, ignoring surveillance cameras and warning signs.

Another group of harvesters was caught on video this week. Police are now trying to identify them to issue fines. The Ministry of Ecology has taken the situation under control,
 the report says.

Kobeytuz is a closed, saline lake in Aqmola Region’s Yereymentau district, covering 690 hectares with a depth of up to 1.5 meters. Its name roughly translates as “to multiply salt.” The lake is known even beyond Kazakhstan for its rare pink hue, caused by special algae that appear only every few years.

In 2021, photos circulated on Facebook showing the lake dried up, prompting concern. At the time, a deputy Akim reassured the public, calling it a normal seasonal phenomenon.

Original Author: Natalia Ovchinnikova