POLAND
The carp farm Topornica uses its well-known name to sell ďŹ sh in the Zamosc area
Nudging farmers to trade around the year The head of the producer organisation, Polski Karp, Pawel Wielgosz, wears another hat. He is also the owner of Topornica, a farm producing common carp in polyculture with several other species of freshwater ďŹ sh. This makes him well aware of the potential and pitfalls of carp farming.
T
he carp farming sector in Poland produced an estimated 21,000 tonnes of common carp in 2018 from some 850* farms. Of these the vast majority were under 50 ha while just over a quarter were between 50 and 500 ha. Carp ponds date back several centuries in Poland and provide a number of ecosystem services such as biodiversity. As a result, pond areas often form the basis for a Natura 2000 designation. With warming weather and more drought, however, ponds and farmers are suffering.
A comprehensive background in the fish farming business Having started with his father back in 2002, Mr Wielgosz decided four years ago to take the plunge and invest in his own farming operation. Today, close to Zamosc, a town in eastern Poland, he has 215 ha split into four complexes (a group of ponds) from which he produces 140 tonnes of carp plus about 30 tonnes of other fish species. Three of the complexes are located fairly close to each other while the fourth is about 100 km away. Between visiting his ponds and running the affairs of Polski Karp, which is headquartered in Krakow 300 km from Zamosc, Mr Wielgosz clocks thousands of kilometres on the road each year. I spend more time in my car than
at home, he grins. His operation includes a processing plant and a shop where he sells fish all the year around. His company, Topornica, is an old one and well-known in the area. The previous owner had bought it from the state, but it was put on the market a couple of years ago following an unfortunate accident. Ponds are often hundreds of years old as building new ponds is prohibitively expensive so farmers typically either inherit or buy existing ponds. Topornica, is a historical name derived from the name of the river and the settlement above it, and the ponds associated with it have been around for many years, so fish cultivated there needs no introduction to the local community. Despite the ready recognition that the production from Topornica enjoys, Mr Wielgosz admits the market is difficult. The facts speak for themselves: Only 5 of his production is sold from January to November, the rest when Poles traditionally eat carp—around Christmas. Piotr Slowik, Head of Markets and Fish Processing, Department of Fisheries, agrees. Building year-round sales is difficult even for Mr Wielgosz who has a high-quality product, brand recognition, is personally wellknown as the head of Polski Karp, and is closely involved in efforts to promote carp consumption.
Pawel Wielgosz, the owner of the fish farm Topornica and CEO of the producer organisation, Polski Carp.
Replacing the Christmas trade in carp with year-round sales is not easy But while the focus on Christmas sales is logistically easier for carp famers who can ship large
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quantities of product during a few weeks in the year, it is not without disadvantages. For one, farmers cannot anticipate the price they will get for their fish in December. This depends on demand and supply and until the fish is harvested it is difficult to &VSPl TI
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