Lack of oxygen and low water levels cause problems for the fish in the farms. But there are even more difficulties that pond owners and farms have to contend with.
Untermassfeld (dpa/th) – The fishing farms in Thuringia are expecting significantly higher prices for Christmas carp, trout and char this year. The companies suffered from high costs, said the President of the Thuringian Fishing Association, Torsten Schmidt, the German Press Agency. Among other things, the sharp rise in energy prices would drive up costs.
In any case, the companies would have suffered a lot this year. Due to the high temperatures, the sensitive fish have come under heat stress. They suffered from a water temperature of 20 degrees. The sunlight also causes the water to evaporate from the ponds, which is particularly noticeable with the carp. Brown trout, rainbow trout and char would also have problems with a lack of oxygen.
Some streams, but also ponds have even fallen dry, explained Schmidt. But even where the water level had only fallen sharply, some fish farmers had to accept losses. “A colleague reported that he saw between 25 and 30 gray herons a day at one of his ponds feeding on the fish.” In other cases, the ponds would have had to be fished out and the fish slaughtered. And marketing is difficult outside of the season.
The pond farmers want to improve the situation with technology. So they try to bring fresh water into the ponds with pumps and increase the oxygen content. In some cases, even pure oxygen is introduced into the water. The pump operation and the other technical measures are reflected in the costs. Nevertheless, Schmidt is – still – certain: “The supply of local fish is secured in Thuringia.”
