A Hungarian innovation helps prevent mass fish kills

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 02. 08. 10:46

The Agricultural and Food Business of MBH Bank and its professional partner, the Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Inter-professional Organization (MA- FISH). One of the main advantages of the entirely domestically developed system is that it helps to predict the lack of oxygen in the lakes that causes mass fish deaths, thus providing an opportunity for preventive intervention. In addition, it can enable more effective management and be the basis for defining sustainability goals.

In Hungary, according to 2022 data, the size of lake areas operated for fish production was almost 26,700 hectares. About 20,000 to 22,000 tons of fish are produced each year – mainly carp – 80 percent of which is in the Great Plain and South Transdanubia, with the largest amount in Bács-Kiskun, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and Hajdú-Bihar.

“Fishing and fish farming generated HUF 20.8 billion worth of output in 2022. However, due to weather conditions, such as drought, and the condition of fish ponds, fish die-off can occur in all farms. One such disaster can affect 5-15 percent of the stock in lake units, causing significant damage. In terms of maintaining the safety of production and supply, as well as protecting the environmental value of fish ponds, monitoring water quality is therefore an extremely important task.”

– emphasized Dr. Dávid Mezei, head of the credit institution responsible for agricultural and EU relations, and Ede Timmel, managing director of MA-HAL.