By Neil Ramsden

Aquapri: Pike perch RAS a valuable diversification.

For Danish firm Aquapri, its pike perch recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) facility has been a valuable diversification away from relying on trout and trout roe, sales manager Morten Holm told Undercurrent News.

In April 2016 the company – a trout farmer for some 60 years – inaugurated its RAS unit (after archaeological findings in 2014 postponed construction, and necessitated relocation of the entire construction).

“Germany is quite a big market for pike perch; at the moment we do a little bit of sales here, but we see the potential for more,” said Holm. The RAS unit produces between 500 and 700 metric tons of pike perch per year, largely sold in Scandinavia and central Europe.

Being RAS-produced the fish is of course marketed on its sustainability credentials, though Holm noted the Aquaculture Stewardship Council does not yet have a standard for pike perch, “which is maybe a bit sad”.

Trout, and its roe, tends to follow salmon in price, and so has been volatile over the past year, he said. 

"There are a few RAS in Denmark now, but none, I think, are profitable yet. For us, it's improving. It will be profitable."

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https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2018/02/25/fish-international-2018/#10144

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