POLAND
Fario farms and processes trout
Fresh MAP trout for retail chains The aquaculture industry in Poland mainly produces trout and carp. Whilst carp production is decreasing in Poland, however, trout production is enjoying a slight upward trend. Annual production is currently 18,000 t and companies like Fario make a considerable contribution to this total. Fario produces 850 t of trout per year in its two raceway systems, and owns a hatchery and modern processing plant as well. Looking at the trout farm in Zochowo you wouldn’t think that the company was founded a good 35 years ago. The farm covers an area of nearly two hectares and the concrete channels installed there are completely covered with netting to keep birds off the young fishes. A computer controlled feed dispenser provides the fishes with feed from three big silos whose contents suffice for about 10 days. There is plenty of water available at the farm’s location. It comes from a neighbouring stream whose temperature does not rise above 21°C even during the summer. About 10t of trout swim in each of the channels to which additional pure oxygen is added about halfway downstream. There are also paddlewheel aerators in some tanks. Grzegorz Balcerzyk, the Company Director, tells us that problems only sometimes occur during the winter if a layer of ice forms on the water’ surface. “We reduce fish density during the cold season and only give small quantities of feed but we leave the trout in the water. Under these conditions the fishes hardly grow at all and biomass in the raceways can even fall, but to compensate, it means we can start up again immediately once the weather warms up.” Zochowo is Fario’s main base. It is situated almost exactly halfway between Slupsk and Lebork. This is the location of not only the trout farm but also the company’s 48
Eurofish Magazine 1 / 2014
The feed in the three big silos that suffice for about 10 days when the farm is working to capacity comes from Biomar and Skretting.
The computer-controlled feed dispenser supplies feed to all the tanks on the farm. Halfway along the channels there is a second feed dispenser. www.eurofishmagazine.com