High quality is ensured in the Christmas fish offer this year as well

(Photo: Pixabay)

The year 2024 showed a mixed picture for extensive fish-producing pond farms. Similar to last year, the weather, especially the fluctuations in water quality and water level, had a significant impact on the production processes for fish farmers. Many Transdanubian fish farms have struggled with a serious water shortage, which has had a negative impact on production, as low water levels provide an unfavorable production environment for fish. One of the main consequences of this phenomenon is the death of fish due to lack of oxygen and the slowdown in weight gain. All this causes serious financial losses for pond farms. In the Great Plain, water supply can be better ensured thanks to the existence of an irrigation canal network, but due to the operation of pumps, this requires significant electricity, which means additional costs.

Domestic fish farms are already working at full speed, which is no coincidence

55-60 percent of the fish produced for food purposes are sold during the Christmas period. Preparation is complete, as the most suitable period for autumn fishing is the period between October and December. The biggest difficulty for farms at this time is recruiting the appropriate number of seasonal workers, as fishing, sorting and transportation require significant resources at this time of year.

In the case of edible carp and predatory species – these include the gray catfish, African catfish and pike perch, which are popular among Hungarians – the usual high quality is ensured

Domestic consumers can thus also purchase the ingredients for the 2024 Christmas menu, selected from high-quality Hungarian fish. During the end-of-year holiday period, traditional customs come to the fore, which is why carp is still the best-selling product. The range ranges from live fish to products with various degrees of processing (horseshoe, fillet). In addition to carp, the most sought-after fish species are also busa and amur, while consumers who shy away from flounder prefer predatory species, catfish and pike perch. The trend observed in recent years is expected to continue this year: while the older generation prefers live fish, the younger generation prefers products with an increasingly high level of processing. The changing consumer demands have also been perceived by domestic pond farms and they are trying to serve their customers with a wider range of products. At the same time, domestic farms do not only raise fish for food purposes; they always take the needs of anglers into account when starting the production cycle

Fish farmers allocate approximately 40 percent of their annual production to the production of fish for fishing purposes

Thanks to the strategic cooperation between MOHOSZ and MA-HAL, the volume of fish stocking for fishing purposes is increasing year by year, which is also encouraged by the increase in the budget allocated by MOHOSZ for targeted stocking applications. In recent years, anglers have been looking not only for carp, but also for native predators and breams, which greatly contributes to the diversification of the fish composition of our natural waters.

NAK