LATVIA
RR Fish moves from experimental to commercial production
Rapidly maturing sturgeon for meat and caviar What started as an experiment with the puriďŹ cation and recycling of water has now moved into a new phase. RR Fish is using recirculating technology to farm sturgeon for the production of meat and caviar.
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turgeons belong to the family Acipenseridae under which all the genera including Acipenser and Huso are listed by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Two species, Acipenser brevirostrum and Acipenser sturio, are listed in Appendix I, while the remaining 17 are listed in Appendix II. Appendix II includes species which may be threatened with extinction unless their trade is subject to strict regulation, while Appendix I covers species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in Appendix I species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. The restrictions on the trade in sturgeon has prompted a boon in sturgeon farming with global production increasing from 26,400 tonnes in 2008 to 64,800 tonnes in 2012 an increase of 145, according to FAO statistics. China is by far the biggest producer farming almost 55,200 tonnes. It is followed by Russia with 3,270 tonnes and Armenia with 1,636 tonnes. Within Europe it is Italy that produces the most with an estimated 850 tonnes in 2012. The increase in sturgeon farming is partly in response to the restrictions www.eurofishmagazine.com
Andrei Tjutjunnik, chairman of the board; Ivars Grinbergs, member of the council; Ingus Grinfogels, director of the marketing department; Anastasia Tjutjunnik, and Dmitry Zalutskiy.
on the trade in the fish, increasing demand for caviar as the number of wealthy consumers increases globally, and improvements in farming technologies. Sturgeon species are farmed chiefly for their roe which is a highly valued delicacy. The roe of different species has different characteristics, colour, taste, size of the eggs, and commands different prices.
Technology to purify and reuse water is deployed to farm fish RR Fish is a Latvian company that has seen the potential in cultivating sturgeon. Originally, the company focused on the benefits of a water cleaning system that could be used in different applications, and so to test their ideas set up a pilot plant.
Over the next five years a number of experiments were conducted to refine the system, reduce the input of electricity, improve the water cleaning mechanisms and decrease the need for fresh water. As the results improved the company began to consider using the system to farm fish. The question was what kind of fish to farm? For Ivars Grinbergs, member of
Eurofish Magazine 3 / 2014
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