Aral Sea Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake (one with no outflow) lying between Kazakhstan (Aktobe and Kyzylorda Regions) in the north and Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan autonomous region) in the south. The name roughly translates as "Sea of Islands", referring to over 1,100 islands that had dotted its waters; in the Turkic languages "aral" means "island, archipelago". The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Iran. Formerly the fourth-largest lake in the world with an area of , the Aral Sea has been shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that
Torrentfish to feed. Torrentfish are solitary and benthic, but may be found in high densities where there is a large population. Because part of their life cycle is spent in the sea, they are found in higher numbers near the coast. Torrentfish are mainly found in gravelly rivers, particularly braided rivers with wide, open channels. They favour rivers with highly unstable substrates, as the regular movement of the gravels maintains open gaps around and underneath the stones where the torrentfish can take refuge from fast water. Although they are strong swimmers, they are poor climbers and are only found far inland