POLAND
Global Fish: Tilapia from Polish aquaculture
Fresh tilapia products for the European market The product range offered by Global Fish comprises fish products from tilapia that are raised in a modern recirculating aquaculture system near Warsaw. The system’s capacity is 1,200 t per year which is equal to about 3 million fishes. That probably makes the company the biggest producer and supplier of tilapia in Europe. If the project is successful the investors want to set up further farming facilities in other European countries.
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lthough from a global point of view tilapia is undoubtedly one of the most successful fish species within aquaculture it is still largely unknown in Europe. The aquaculture producer Global Fish wants to change that. In Bon’ki near Płon’sk, about 70 km to the northwest of Warsaw, they run what is probably at present the biggest and most modern warm water recirculating system in Europe. The facility is located in a poorly developed region that is nevertheless fairly central, i.e. in the middle of Poland which is an advantage for marketing the fresh products. Nearly 45 million Zloty (10.7 m EUR) were invested in the project. About half of this was provided by six shareholders who hold almost equal shares in the company. The other half comes from EU funds. Among the investors are several aquaculture specialists from Israel who have not only put money into the venture but also supplied the business model and the concept that was followed at Aqua Maof Aquaculture Business. Some Polish partners also already had experience with aquaculture in recirculations systems as they have been successfully operating a 120 t barramundi farm in Wymój (Masuren) 15 km from Olsztyn for many years. This farm in the meantime belongs to Global Fish, www.eurofishmagazine.com
too. The fishes that are produced there are mainly marketed in the company’s own restaurant which is an open secret almost nationwide. The experience gained in barramundi farming went into the technical design of the tilapia farm. The tilapia project was realised in an amazingly short time. It took only two years from the idea to finalisation of the concrete planning, and building approval was given already six months after application. In 2010 the investors purchased a four hectare plot of land in Bon’ki: abandoned agricultural land that was going for a low price. Building work began a year later. It was carried out mainly by Polish firms. In August 2012 the first tilapia were already swimming in the round tanks within the generously dimensioned production hall. This hall takes up three quarters of the company building’s total area which, together with the office, social, storage and technical rooms measures about half a hectare. There are two farming modules with a total of 15 tanks in which altogether 5,000 m3 water circulate. Although they were already well filled with fish in mid-April the company had still not reached its full capacity potential. Global Fish will soon be producing 100 t of tilapia every month, however, or over
Sales Director Richard Marciniak, CEO Jacob Kicerman and Export Director Przemyslaw Drozdz. The tilapia project of Global Fish is unique in Europe for its type and size.
the course of one year 1,200 t. The company might even manage 1,300 t, speculates Jakob Kicerman, one of the shareholders and the President of the organisation. The results so far certainly justify such hopes.
Farming without hormones or medication The farm produces solely Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in a reddish and a wild colour
Eurofish Magazine 1 / 2014
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