Fishery/Hatchery in PE area.

[Jasper]

speak to Martin Davies .. Rhodes Uni Dept Icthiology.

[nicholas]

Just out of interest,under the alien species act are the goverment allowing any new ventures that involve these species?????

[fishmonger]

I hear you Poppernel and Kevin.
Cold fresh water will be a problem and it's just hit home how important it is. I've realised I'd have to "head for the hills" to run it properly, but how does that deter my patrons?

I've been to the dept, and all I have to prove to them is that the stock will not escape into the river system.

Are there any fishery owners here and how are they finding things?

Thanks again.

[nicholas]

I hear you Poppernel and Kevin.
Cold fresh water will be a problem and it's just hit home how important it is. I've realised I'd have to "head for the hills" to run it properly, but how does that deter my patrons?

I've been to the dept, and all I have to prove to them is that the stock will not escape into the river system.

Are there any fishery owners here and how are they finding things?

Thanks again.

Ryan Weaver on the forum runs Jonkershoek here in the cape you can contac him through the forum or theres Phillip Meyer (fish on the forum)he runs Eikendal

[Byron]

You can buy trout in any just about every pick 'n pay in Gauteng, Woolworths definitely stocks it as do most decent fish mongers and supermarkets.

Prices range from about R50 upwards depending on whether you want it smoked, filleted, de-boned or whole. Go look in the fish section of your local p n p you'll be surprised.

Obviously when you are in a trout area like the Quad in Mpumalanga you can buy it everywhere, even the garage shops sell trout pies.

You also don't have to hit the larny eateries to find it on a menu.

[poppernel]

You can buy trout in any just about every pick 'n pay in Gauteng, Woolworths definitely stocks it as do most decent fish mongers and supermarkets.

Prices range from about R50 upwards depending on whether you want it smoked, filleted, de-boned or whole. Go look in the fish section of your local p n p you'll be surprised.

Obviously when you are in a trout area like the Quad in Mpumalanga you can buy it everywhere, even the garage shops sell trout pies.

You also don't have to hit the larny eateries to find it on a menu.

You are right about availability Byron, freely obtainable in the stores you mentioned here in P.E. Very pricy though, prices compare to salmon imported from Alaska etc. Filleted and deboned will cost you more or less R 165.00 kg.

As far as I know, Outenique trout lodge supplies our area.

Dave

[Byron]

You are right about availability Byron, freely obtainable in the stores you mentioned here in P.E. Very pricy though, prices compare to salmon imported from Alaska etc. Filleted and deboned will cost you more or less R 165.00 kg.

As far as I know, Outenique trout lodge supplies our area.

Dave

Damn you guys are being ripped off big time - it's much cheaper than Salmon up here.

[Surly Ghillie]

Just out of interest,under the alien species act are the goverment allowing any new ventures that involve these species?????

Fishmonger, there aint no way you can warrent that fish will not escape unless you aperate a system that is entirely closed; i.e, in your basement

And that's the least of the problems.

SA trout production has been stagnant at about 1000 tons per annum for beter than 2 decades. basically 99% of this production is produced from about a dozen stable hatcheries. there are aboput another 35 hobbyists producing the remaining 1% and they come and go so fast it'll make your head spin. Even in the 'prime area', 3 out of 4 aspirant trout producers go bust. Just in Underberg, over the past 4 decades there have been about 20 trout producers, including some quite big-pocket players (i.e. Tongaat-Hulette) ... who operations have run into insovency and closed down.

The fact is there are limited sites and the 5 MOST important factors are ; position, position, position, position,position. even the 'best' locations in South frica operate in a window-of-risk that is considered 'undoable' by all major salmonid proction players overseas.

From reading your posts and your intended solutions, looks to me you are on a hiding to nothing. High tech hatcheries that rely on technology to control environment cannot compete with hatcheries that utilise nateral configurations. And in South Africa, your production cost is higher than the prices of imported product produced by facilities in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and other first world countries that subsidise aquaculture to the hilt. You can buy danish subsidised raw imports cheaper than we can produce it here. Good luck dude

[clarias]

I;m with Wolf on this one- except that aquaculture and even trout farming is gaining favour again with the state.

What I'd say you need to become a fish farmer that will swim and not sink:

-A suitable location
-Sufficient background literature and experience,as well as good consultants
-A couple of million rands for startup infrastructure,as well as enough in reserve for all the initial years in which you will not be producing due to mistakes, diseases, corrections and keeping the operation running smoothly.
-some engineering background

Good luck, and please don't go around phoning people trying to get free advice until you have done a lot of background research...

[poppernel]

I;m with Wolf on this one- except that aquaculture and even trout farming is gaining favour again with the state.

What I'd say you need to become a fish farmer that will swim and not sink:

-A suitable location
-Sufficient background literature and experience,as well as good consultants
-A couple of million rands for startup infrastructure,as well as enough in reserve for all the initial years in which you will not be producing due to mistakes, diseases, corrections and keeping the operation running smoothly.
-some engineering background

Good luck, and please don't go around phoning people trying to get free advice until you have done a lot of background research...

HI Clarias,

Maybe Fishmonger should make a point of popping into Grahamstown and meeting Martin and checking the scene out.

By the way, was hoping to meet you last week tuesday when fetching fish for stocking. Met Halfstone, good youngster that. Anyway, maybe sometime.

Dave