Trout farm goes for full cycle operation

OOO Ekon (ltd) fish farm, owned by a leading processor and based in Priozersk District of Leningrad Oblast surrounding Saint-Petersburg, is investing more than RUR150 million to open a unit for fry culture within the framework of the national agricultural project, according to Delovoy Peterburg.

So far the farm has been purchasing young fish in Finland because there is no producer of stocking material in the province. When the new unit is launched, the stocking material will cost twice less. The farm is planning to create a closed cycle from roe production to fish culture. Their plans provide for the output of up to 1 million juveniles per year and that stock will be sufficient both for the farm's own needs and for sales to other farms, said Ekon's general director Vladimir Piskun.

The project is regarded very promising as it makes the farm independent from suppliers of stocking material and opens new possibilities for sales of stocking material to satisfy the strong demand in the province. General director of SPKh Kuznechnoye (a member of OkeanProduct Holding) Vladimir Surovitsky commented on that saying that his farm has been also trying to culture juveniles, but the output has been not large so far.

In the current year 2007 Ekon plans to breed 300 tonnes of trout. As the farm is owned by Fish Processing Combine No.1 (ROK-1 for short in Russian), it has no problems to sell its harvest. On the contrary, the farms supplying retail outlets are facing potential problems because producers from Karelia may beat down prices during peaks of supply of farmed fish to Saint Petersburg.

There are 24 fish farms in Leningrad Oblast and last year they produced 2000 tonnes of fish. This year Tikhvin-based Agrofirma Shugozero and Lodeinoye Pole-based Akvakorm are commissioning new farms with the annual harvest planned at correspondingly 100 tonnes and 300 tonnes. The national project however covers only Shugozero and OOO Rybnaya Federatsia (Sosnovyi Bor).

Figures

Last yea Leningrad Oblast-based farms supplied 1000 tonnes of market-size fish to Saint Petersburg and Moscow with 1000 tonnes of fish remained in cages for further culture.

The total output 2000 tonnes included 95% of trout and 5% of sturgeons, whitefish and carp.