Abundant water will enable Krofish to significantly enhance Croatian trout output

High quality fish for domestic and foreign markets

A trout farming company is relying on imported eggs, high quality feed, and a rich supply of rapidly flowing water to produce large trout. If all goes to plan production from the farm will at least equal the current national total.

Production in Croatia of common carp, the dominant freshwater farmed species, averaged some 2,000 tonnes a year between 2016 and 2020. Croatian fish farmers also grow trout. Total production of this species has been more or less stable averaging 400 tonnes a year for the last five years (2016-20) although the water surface devoted to trout production has fallen by 20 to 35,300 sq. m, according to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. However, trout production is likely to increase in the future with the reactivation of the ponds owned by the company Krofish in the district of Otok.

Major investments in renovation and rebuilding

Denis Erceg, the new operator of the ponds, has the capacity to produce 600 tonnes of fish at the site in Otok and a further 600 tonnes at another site further downstream if he so desires. If he succeeds in his ambitions to produce at full capacity he will singlehandedly have increased the production of Croatian trout by 300. The ponds at Otok date back to the early 80s when they constituted the biggest trout farm in Yugoslavia. However, the ponds had not been used for five years before Mr Erceg took over the facilities in October 2021 renovating the raceways and rebuilding the 700 sq. m hatchery, where he intends to produce a new generation of trout every few months. The current owner is not interested in fish farming and so has given Mr Erceg a long-term concession to run the farm. The strength of the farm lies in its water which comes from a spring a couple of hundred metres away. We get 6,000 litres of water a second, says Mr Erceg, throughout the year in both winter and summer. Moreover, this copious quantity of water is at the perfect temperature—a minimum of 7 degrees C in winter and a maximum of 13.5 degrees C in summer. As the water stems from a spring the risk of disease is minimised. This water will be fed to the hatchery which has been completely disinfected and is waiting for the installation of new incubators. Eyed eggs from Poland and the US all female and all triploid will be introduced into the hatchery. The benefit of triploid eggs is that the fish are sterile and because of this they tend to grow bigger as less energy is spent on reproduction. The inability to breed ha the added advantage of allowing the genetic conservation of local populations even if the fish escape.

Production will be carbon neutral

By September the farm should be fully functional and Mr Erceg

expects to produce some 150 tonnes of trout in the first year of operations. Already the first generation of eggs has hatched and the fry have been introduced into tanks in the hatchery. And within the next couple of weeks the second lot of eggs is expected to hatch. The low temperature of the water makes it possible to use the hatchery also in the summer. The production is intended both for the local market and for export thanks to the high product quality. In time, Mr Erceg also expects to invest in value added products such as fillets and modified atmosphere packaged products. He also intends to reduce the carbon footprint of the production by using the rapidly flowing water to generate electricity. With 6,000 litres of water per second I do not need to invest in solar panels because the water will generate more than enough electricity to supply my needs, he states. The water supplying the farm is not only fast flowing but also highly oxygenated. At the outlet of the water from the farm it has an oxygen content of 8 mg/l, a level usually associated with the inlet water, according to Mr Erceg. The more the oxygen content the better the fish will thrive as they need oxygen for the metabolic processes that make them grow. Since the natural level of oxygen in the water is as high as it is there is no need to use aerators or liquid oxygen to supplement it. However in the hatchery a degasser is used to strip the water of carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

Denis Erceg, entered the trout farming business partly because he was struck by the natural beauty and peacefulness of the area surrounding the trout farm.

Good farming conditions and quality feed will deliver a sought-after product

The quality of the fish is closely correlated to the feed. At Krofish the feed is sourced from the Italian factory of a reputable supplier. We use high-energy feed and premium feed and we can see the results when we gut the fish. With these feeds the stomach of the fish is smaller than it is with cheaper feeds which means that the proportion of waste is less. Even a small difference in the volume of waste generated per fish can make a big difference to the total volume of saleable fish meat. Demand for bigger individuals is increasing. A couple of years ago the typical market size was 250 g, but today this has increased to 330 g (three pieces per kilo). Consumers are also looking for greater convenience, for example, fillets, and it is easier to fillet a large fish than a small one. Mr Erceg counts on being able to produce a market-sized fish within 11 months from the time the fry start to feed. Although this is a rapid rate of growth, the high quality feed and the good growing conditions on the farm should make it feasible. Quality is also influenced by the natural flow of the water in the raceways. This is rapid forcing the fish to swim just to stay in the same place. The constant motion has a beneficial effect on the muscle tissue and thereby the texture of the meat which is firm and not flabby as a result contributing to the high quaity of the fish. Production will be clean too with as little impact on the external environment as possible. Waste generated will be removed by truck and disposed off and the water at the outlet will have no polluting impact.

Close collaboration with feed supplier

For Mr Erceg the farm is something of a dream come true. After 30 years in the tourism industry the farm is a place where he can commune with nature. When he first saw it he was sold. It is a place without a cell phone signal, he says, all one can hear is the sound of the water and the birds, and there are very few people. This has the disadvantage that if there is a problem on the farm there are not many experts who can help solve it. Mr Erceg depends therefore on his feed supplier who has the necessary experts who can offer him advice and even visit the farm if necessary. One of the main challenges currently is not a technical one though. It is inflation which has pushed up the price of several important inputs like feed, fuel, and electricity. And while the market price of fish has also increased it has not done so proportionately. Mr Erceg hopes that by finding markets for the fish in western EU countries where he can charge a higher price, he will be better able to defray the increase in costs. He is fully aware that reliability of supply is critical for retailers and is therefre looking at a production volume of 10 tonnes a week or 520 tonnes a year. To achieve this, production will follow a regular cycle that will be initiated several times in the year. With these volumes he hopes to bring down his unit cost of production and improve his competitivity. The biggest Croatian retailer imports trout from neighbouring countries where, he says, production is subsidised. The majority of EU countries support their own production, he complains, leaving Croatian producers in a very unfavourable position.

Krofish has a good chance of realising the ambitions of Mr Erceg. With bountiful water, a clean operation, high performing feeds, and thorough biosecurity, production should follow the plan. The last part of the equation is the market, and whether that responds to the product as envisaged remains to be seen.

A water ow of 6,000 l per second gives plenty of scope for expanding the production when the need arises.

Krofi sh

Ruda 271 21238 Otok Croatia

+385 91 3337654 info@krofi sh.hr https://krofi sh.hr/en

Owner: Mr Denis Erceg Production: Rainbow trout Size: 330 g and above Annual volumes: Currently 150

tonnes, target 520 tonnes (10 tonnes per week) Water source: Spring Flow: 6,000 l/sec Product forms: Fresh, fi lleted, MA packaged No. of employees: 9