TURKEY
Akuvatur - vertical integration for higher quality
Commercial production of new species The aquaculture industry in Turkey farms ďŹ sh in both marine water and freshwater. The main production in the latter is rainbow trout which is grown inland using water sourced from springs and rivers. Carps are also grown in freshwater ponds, but the production is very limited. Saltwater production on the other hand is dominated by seabass and seabream.
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any companies however are experimenting with other Mediterranean species, but commercial production is mostly limited to meagre (Argyrosomus regius). There is at least one exception to this general trend and this is the company Akuvatur, which for the last several years has been producing real dentex (Dentex dentex), pink dentex (Dentex gibbosus), and red seabream (Pagrus caeruleostictus), in addition to seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and seabream (Sparus aurata).
Broodstock for all produced fish Akuvatur was established in 1990 by Dr Haluk Tuncer, a biologist by profession, and someone who, from the outset, was interested in creating and supplying a market for farmed species other than seabass and seabream. Over the years Akuvatur has gradually increased its capacity, which today is 80m fry and 2,000 tonnes of fresh fish per annum, and has become a vertically integrated company with its own broodstock facility, hatcheries, feed plant, grow-out sites, packaging plant and sales channels. Controlling every aspect of the production means that the company can ensure the quality of the final product and is not dependent on outside suppliers www.eurofishmagazine.com
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for any of the inputs. There are only a few big hatcheries in Turkey who supply more or less the entire market. Akuvatur’s hatchery is one of them. The facility is spread over two sites; one in Adana in the south of Turkey which is 120 ha in size has a capacity of 39m fry, while the other is in Milas and has a capacity of 38m fry. In addition the company has a broodstock facility at yet another site. Here the company carries out its R&D activities to improve egg quality, breed new Mediterranean species, and genetically select superior seabass and seabream. It is at this site that company scientists research ways of getting fish to produce eggs through the four seasons. The total capacity of the hatcheries of about 80m fry represents about a fifth of the market and the output is intended both for the company’s own production and for sale to other farmers. Producing fry is in fact Akuvatur’s main activity responsible for 65 of the total sales (of fish and fry) by value. The main production at the hatchery is seabass and seabream juveniles. In addition, the company maintains a broodstock of the other species it produces – real dentex, pink dentex, and red seabream. The juveniles of these species are used only for the company’s own production and are not supplied to the market. Once
the fry from the hatchery are ready to be introduced into sea cages they are taken to the Karaburun Peninsula on the west coast of Turkey, where the company has its four cage sites in an area where the depth of the water is 70 m and the currents are strong. This year there will be a new addition to the production – the first batch of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) will be ready for harvesting in October.
Location in protected area with no run off The small dock on the peninsula where the boat that goes to the cages is moored is part of a protected area. This means that no permanent structures can be built there and the area is kept free from industry and agriculture, even the roads are not macadamised, but are dirt tracks. This has the disadvantage that the company can only use temporary shelters for the staff that are working at the cage sites. On the other hand the purity of the water in which the fish grow is under no threat from any industrial or agricultural run off. The on-growing sites are continuously monitored by several authorities including the Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, and the Coast Guard, who can and do make random checks at the site. The company has also
invested in certification to the ISO9001, 14001, and 18001 as well as the GlobalG.A.P. standard which applies to the entire production chain, broodstock, hatchery, growout, harvesting and post-harvest handling. The standard covers food safety, worker health and safety, hygiene, medicinal residues,
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Eurofish Magazine 2/ 2014
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05/04/14 5:48 PM