A group of Kazakh scientists from the National Agrarian Scientific and Education Center has patented a new pike perch (Stizostedion) breeding method that they say could help restore the species population in the area.

With the new technology, the pike perch are caught in natural reservoirs and transported to a fish hatchery, where the reproduction is carried out in artificial conditions, the scientists said in a statement.

Pike perch are spawned in cages, and the eggs are incubated in the Amur machines, the technology that the scientists have patented. The juvenile pike perch are reared in cages, while fingerlings are reared in ponds with carp, producing high-quality viable broodstock of pike perch with a high survival rate, the scientists said.

This is the first time a biotechnical method of growing two-year-old pike perch in ponds in polyculture conditions have been developed in Kazakhstan. The technology is being made available to farmers and can be used when growing pike perch at fish farms. This technology will help restore pike perch populations in natural reservoirs, the press office of the National Agrarian Scientific and Education Center said.

The Kazakh government has provided state aid of 430 million tenges (US$1 million) to subsidize the operation of 30 hatcheries. Since August 2020, the government has subsidized up to 25 percent of the new fish farms and hatcheries in the state.

Several fish farms are expected to be built in the country over the next few years, with production capacity between 20,000 and 40,000 tonnes. During the past decade, 13 fish farming projects have been financed in Kazakhstan worth 13.9 billion tenges (US$33.2 million), the government estimated.

Kazakhstan exports 30,000 tons of fish products to 36 countries every year. The government eyes ramping up fish export by developing the domestic aquaculture industry.

Source: https://www.hatcheryinternational.com/kazakhstan-scientists-tout-new-pike-perch-rearing-tech/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kazakhstan-scientists-tout-new-pike-perch-rearing-tech