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  Information and data provided by the Czech Fish Farmers Association,
Rybarske Sdruzeni
Ceske Budejovice
A production field multilaterally connected with living environment
The Czech aquaculture is primarily represented by pond fish culture. The carp is a dominant fish species (about 88 %) supplemented by grass carp, silver carp, tench, whitefish and predators (pike, pikeperch, European catfish, perch). An independent small salmonid fish culture (exclusively the white, portion-size rainbow trout) with annual production volume of 700 tonnes is focussed on domestic market.
Historically, the Czech pond fish farming goes back to the 13th century, its ‘Golden Age’ occurred in the 15th and 16th century when the total pond area in the country was double compared with present situation. After a decline in the second half of the 17th century which persisted to the end of the 19th century, a pond fish farming has recovered to a reasonable level.
At present, the Czech Republic has about 50 thousand hectares of ponds (mostly built in the 14th to 16th century), the total pond production is reaching annually about 19 thousand tonnes of market-size fish, mostly the three- to four-years-old carp. About half of production volume is consumed locally, the second half is exported. Nevertheless, apart from its production volume, the Czech pond fish farming has even its unquantifiable value in evaluation of historical heritage left in form of ponds by the former pond builders and fishermen. In this respect, a pond farming itself as a business process is closely joined to history, culture, public and social aspects.
After centuries of its existence, the Czech pond fish farming stands in front of important phase. The fish farmers are preparing to join the European aquaculture structures. In essence, it means not only to look for a space for pond-produced fish species but primarily to decide upon a position of ponds themselves which represent in this country a very marked production sector fulfilling many unreplaceable public nad social tasks from retention of water in a countryside, across an antiflooding measures, ecologically founded nature conservation, retaining of washed-off soil against its runoff into streams, biological self-treatment of retained water, up to landscape-creating task. In this complex, a fish production itself is only one of pond functions, and very often not a dominant function. It is a logical background that pond fish species (and particularly a carp) are produced by extensive and/or maximally semiintensive methods (utilizing only the natural food items together with a supplemental feeding with cereals as a source of energy) which - on the other hand - has its very positive influence onto a quality of fish flesh. Such production could by characterized as a bioproduction based on ecological principles of pond management.
In this connection, the Czech pond fish farming is an unique example of fish production and cannot be compared with the very intensive aquaculture in a majority of the West-European countries. Integration of the Czech pond fish farming into the European aquaculture should take into account this very specific multifunctional character.
A fragmentation of ponds in a landscape is unchangeable feature. It is natural that such ponds require much higher managing costs together with more consistent defence against protected predators. This fragmentation, having a negative economic effects on fish production, is - on the other hand - commonly counterbalanced by surface-retaining of water in a country, positive feedbacks to living environment, conservation of aquatic fauna and flora, creating a cultural landscape and many other contributions; unfortunately these positive aspects are not compensated to producers. For example, a strong impact of protection of predators (cormorant, heron, otter and beaver) on farming economy of pond producers can be seen in the last years. Annually, the damages (both in ponds and streams) reach about 10 million Euro. Also the very tight conditions of pond management in nature conservation regions, demanding and growing requirements of nature conservationist, and unsufficient participation of state in covering the costs to maintain the ponds in standard conditions (e.g. reclamation of ponds filled with washed-off soil not caused by pond farming itself) increase an economic pressure on pond farmers.
On the other hand, among the effects positively influencing the pond fish farming, the subsidies in favour of keeping the gene pools of fish can be mentioned. In addition, beginning 2001 several dominant fish species have been included into the list of commercial animals covered by the new Breeding Act. This both increases a reputation of fish farming sector and contributes to strengthening the breeding works with carp, rainbow trout, tench and European catfish. In a social connection, a fish farming in the Czech Republic offers more than 2 thousand working positions mostly in rural regions with a shortage of working opportunities. At present, the new Fishery Act (covering both the fish farming and fisheries management of running waters) is in progress and it should enter into validy during 2003.
More than ten years the Czech Fish Farmers Association works in the country; its members produce about 85 % of all fish delivered to local and/or export market.
In the forthcoming period, the following tasks will be decisive for the Czech Fish Farmers Association:
- Optimum utilization of subsidies which are directed towards removal of excessive mud from ponds (formed tens of years ago as a result of washings-off the agricultural soil);
- Stronger pressure on enforcement of compensations of damages caused by protected predators (or change of legislation on their protection);
- Compensation of lowered economic results of pond farming due to implementation of out-of-productive functions of ponds in favour of public interest;
- Entering the Czech fish farming into the European aquaculture structures (in a framework of entering the Czech Republic into EU), retaining the status of ecologicaly produced carp as a specific regional product, evaluation of ponds as an integrated part of living environment, nature and landscape creation.
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