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rearing and juvenile nursing and pre-growing. Its initial temperature is around 12°C, and the temperatures in the units vary between 4 and 29 degrees centigrade. Larvae grow at temperatures from 16°C when they are larvae up to 25°C when they are ready to be moved to the next unit. The juveniles are nursed at 20-22°C, as it is better for bone development, and because temperatures higher than that may promote cannibalism. At the outdoor facility during cold months the water temperature is around 4°C. So, depending on the destination the incoming water is either heated up or cooled down to provide the optimal conditions.
One of the novelties of Mr Vida’s approach is to send the wastewater to the walled-off section of a large pond to allow the sludge to settle. Some 70 percent of the sludge is pumped out to be used as agricultural fertiliser while the rest sinks to the bottom. The water from the settling pond is slowly mixed with that of the larger pond and then pumped back into the cultivation system. This arrangement combines recirculation with the use of existing infrastructure and is among the factors contributing to the high quality of the final product. According to Mr Vida getting certified to an international standard would not call for any major changes in the way of production. An organic certification would
call for the use of organically certified feed, of course, but it would be relatively easy to comply with maximum density requirements and with stipulations on the use of medicines. The fish is already being sold abroad but buyers are limited because of the modest
volumes. Once we increase the production so that we can offer more than the current 20 tonnes or so I expect greater interest from foreign buyers, he says. Aleksandra Petersen, Eurofish, aleksandra@eurofish.dk
Fodina Fish KFT Chief Executive Officer: Istvan Vida Scientific collaborator: Dr Uros Ljubobratovic Activity: Breeding of pike-perch Market size: 0.8-1.2 kg Volume: 20 tonnes/year Markets: Hungary, Germany Employees: 2
Varosmajor u. 30 2900 Komarom Hungary Tel.: +36 30 436 6637 fodina@tvn.hu https://www.fodinafish.hu/en/ fodina-fish-en/
Hortobágy Fish Farm adapts production to more unpredictable climate conditions
Summer droughts and warmer winters are the new norm Hortobágy Fish Farm (Hortobágy Halgazdaság Zrt) has a history of more than 100 years and is the largest lowland diversion pond system of Hungary owned entirely by the Hungarian state. Regular monitoring of the water in the ponds, chemical and biological analysis of water samples, stock transfers to wintering ponds, and the use of defences against predatory birds are some of the measures the company uses to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
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ix independent but centrally managed pond units are used to farm carps at Hortobágy Fish Farm. The 3,000 hectares of pond surface are in a strictly protected Natura 2000 area of Hortobágy National Park. Ponds replaced the swamps drained during the regulation of the Tisza River 150 years ago. The soil underlying the ponds is saline and so unsuitable for crop production. Water from the Tisza River is channelled to ponds where carp for the table is produced in polyculture with other species within three-summer
periods. The company works with three strains of carp, Hortobágy mirror, Hortobágy scaly, and Hortobágy wild, developed by themselves on site.
Vertical integration of production A full production system basically means that the company produces everything from roe to table-size fish entirely on its own. It maintains its own broodstock and has developed its own breeding protocols as well. Chemicalfree manure from organic farming
is used for the production, which is based on algae and plankton. The fish is fed on cereals together with vegetable protein in addition to the naturally occurring feed in the pond. Seventy percent of the production is common carp, while the remainder includes silver and bighead carps, grass carp, European catfish, perch, a small volume of pike and wild fish (e.g., crucian carp), which ensures the entire nutrient base of the ponds is utilised. Each age group raised in polyculture is removed from the ponds at the end of the summer and, to increase living space,
is usually stocked in smaller populations into other, larger (50-100 ha) ponds. The primary target is to sell table-sized fish (2-3 kg), but the surplus from younger age groups is also marketed. Market-size fish are sold both live and processed at a primary level mainly to Hungarian consumers through large supermarket chains—Auchan, Metro, Spar—or they are exported live to Romania. For these reasons, the company needs to harvest all year round. For the sake of profitability, ponds fished during the breeding season
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