Start-up and financial analysis of commercial freshwater cod farming in Belgium (LotaBEL)
LotaBEL
The Aqua-ERF started research on freshwater cod farming in 2009. From these AquaVlan and ERF studies, we gained a lot of knowledge and experience about this fish in its different life stages. The industry itself is looking for new fish species suitable for Belgian aquaculture, with the goal of providing our country with as much of its own consumption fish as possible. The freshwater cod could be a suitable candidate for this. Its low feed conversion and potentially rapid growth as a cold-water species are important assets that have emerged from our studies. Its high scores on taste tests combined with its history as an ingredient of Ghent waterzooi make this fish a culinary recommendation.
To date, potential growers lack real production and market data to start freshwater cod farming. To fill in this gap, Aqua-ERFaims to guide growers in the breeding and production of freshwater cod.
Aqua-ERF will provide fry and know-how to growers who participate in the project. Growers will be supervised and the rearing to market weight will be followed up by Aqua-ERF. In collaboration with KU Leuven, derived products will be created and tried out by a taste panel. This product diversification should lead to increasing the market potential of farmed freshwater cod. Fish sales and consumer appreciation will also be analyzed during the project.
The research line around larval rearing on the Aqua-ERF will also be continued in this project. By optimizing the weaning protocol, Aqua-ERF aims not only to increase the fry production, but also to guarantee a stable and quality production of fry to the industry.
The follow-up of the complete rearing of freshwater cod and related studies should provide a clear overview of the different aspects (consumer appreciation, production parameters, profitability ...) that determine the feasibility of commercial farming.
Based on the research results, a profitability study will be conducted. This should become a backbone for potential farmers, with which we want to pave the way for the full-fledged commercial farming of freshwater cod in Belgium.