Biharugra Fish Farm combines environmental with economic sustainability

A model for pond fi sh farmers everywhere

The Biharugra Fish Farm has a long and complex history. Today, however, it not only produces fi sh for the market but also contributes signifi cantly to the biodiversity of the area thanks to the management methods that are used to run the farm.

Once there used to be a marshy area in the place of the current fi sh ponds of Biharugra Fish Farm. But, as in many other regions, the large-scale regulation of rivers and draining of wetlands, which started in the mid-1800s, significantly changed the landscape. After the draining of the Kis-Sárrét marshes, the better-quality soils were farmed, while huge grasslands and pastures appeared in the rest of the area. As a result of the erratic location of wetland areas around Biharugra, a mosaic of bare sodic patches (areas with a high concentration of sodium) and saltland pastures developed on most lands.

The fi rst ponds date back to the early nineteenth century

Over the years ponds have been added to the Biharugra Fish Farm so that it now extends to almost 2,000 ha.

The construction of fi sh ponds near Biharugra was started by the Chorhus brothers in 1910 and lasted until 1944. The farm was nationalised in 1946. Construction of new ponds started in 1951, which increased the pond area to more than 1,000 ha by the end of the 1950s. On the territory of the other pond unit of Biharugra Fish Farm, there used to be a village called Begécs. This medieval settlement was destroyed by the Nagyvárad campaign of the Turks. After the destruction, wetlands occupied the place where the village had been until river regulations transformed the landscape into a large grassland. From 1950, it was used as a reservoir of the oxbow lake of the canalised dead arm of River Körös, with the main purpose of receiving excess waters from Romania. Between 1962 and 1967, the Begécs fi shpond system was built in this area, increasing the pond area of the farm to 1920 ha.

A part of the aquatic and surrounding terrestrial areas were declared a nature reserve on 1 August 1949 and were managed as such until 31 January 1955, when the protection was lifted. The idea of establishing a landscape protection area emerged once more in the 1970s, mostly because of the area ’ s ornithological value, but it was only on 31 March 1990 that it really obtained protected status. Since 1997, the territory has been a part of the core area of KörösMaros National Park. A part of the fish ponds is a strictly protected area, which has also been included into the list of wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar convention since April 1997. Since 1989, it has been an Important Bird Area and as part of the Natura 2000 network, it is also a Special Protection Area for birds.

Livestock and crop farming activities stop leaving only fi sh cultivation

The fishpond areas were managed in a unified way until the fall of the communist regime in Hungary in 1989 and the subsequent privatisation. Until then, the fish farm was operated as an agricultural company with activities including cultivation of arable crops, aquatic poultry, and sheep farming in addition to aquaculture production. The fish farm was clearly the economic, cultural, and social

centre of the region at that time. However, during and after privatisation, the farm lost all its agricultural and livestock activities, and the fishpond areas were also divided creating considerably more difficult conditions for a unified operation. Following the nature conservation ideas of the time, pond aquaculture—and, practically, any management— was given up in about half of the pond area. As a result, the fish ponds deteriorated with a loss of jobs and the collapse of the nature conservation functions of the wetland. This important lesson would inform decisions about fishpond operations in the future.

The other half of the area was used for pond aquaculture production, but the farm nearly went bankrupt in late 2010 because of poor management. However, this operation at least preserved a major part of the fishpond area, creating an opportunity to implement better ways of exploiting this valuable resource. The all-encompassing reorganization of the company started in 2011 with a new professional management. The core elements of reorganization were the development of the farm along with the introduction of unique, complex, and sciencebased pond fish production technology with a special focus on nature conservation. These developments—along with the associated technological innovation—not only created the conditions for a safe and effective aquaculture production, but also helped to significantly improve the conformity with conservation objectives and the environmental efficiency of aquaculture production and water management, with special regard to the reduction of carbon emissions.

Valuable support from European funds to clean up the environment

In relation to these developments, investments were also made to improve the fishpond landscape in agreement with the area ’s nature conservation status (orderly removal of construction, metal, and other wastes, tree planting, revegetation etc.). The importance of support provided under the European Fisheries Fund operational programme in the financing of this development should be highlighted.

Today, Biharugra Fish Farm Ltd. operates as a full-cycle pond fish farm, i.e. it produces all the three age groups in polyculture, with special attention to indigenous species. An important element of the applied production technology is the maximisation of the natural yield, i.e. the plankton biomass growing in the ponds. This biomass is the source of proteins (as well as other micro- and macro nutrients, vitamins and enzymes) required for the growth of the fish. As a result, grain-based feeds (with an FCR below 1.5) are the only external feed source used. Protein feeds (formulated feeds, soybean etc.) and performance enhancers (e.g. hormones) are not used in fi sh production, which ensures that the fi nal product is both highquality and 100% GMO-free. This technology is not only desirable in terms of economy and healthy human nutrition, but it also has a special importance from a conservational point of view, as planktonic organisms form the base of the food pyramid of the fishpond ecosystem. As a result, the species diversity and abundance of the wildlife of these ponds—many protected reptiles, amphibians, birds, and

The farm produces one, two, and three-summer-old common carp in polyculture with other species.

mammals—are much higher than those in natural waters.

Producing fi sh and benefi ting nature are not mutually incompatible

To sum up, this technology simultaneously ensures the long-term sustainability of the fi sh ponds and, as a result, full compliance with economic and nature conservation requirements. The need to increase social acceptance and acknowledgement of the role of pond aquaculture management in the maintenance of nature connected to wetland habitats should also be highlighted here. The evidence justifies support for this type of management practices.

Sustainability and sustainable management have recently become extremely fashionable terms. At the same time, very little is spoken about how such sustainable management and its parameters can and should be defined in different sectors and industries. The very fact of using the term “sustainability” in general language and context creates the need to examine the sustainability of a given form of management from several aspects. And, when studying sustainability from different aspects, it is important also to highlight the interrelations between these aspects. The evaluation of management forms using sustainability as the point of departure should be done, as a general principle, from both an economic and an ecological perspective. During the study of Biharugra Fish Farm, it became clear that these two main aspects cannot be separated, and sustainability can only be interpreted taking into account their interaction.

As a young person worried about my future, it fills me with hope that, in the tide of media news and information about environmental hazards, there is a farm and a form of farming that, from the point of view of the complex defi nition of sustainability, can serve as an example for our generation.