Pike Perch Farming in The Netherlands

Pike perch farming in the
Netherlands
Sustainable farmed fish can be a good alternative for wild caught fish. In the Netherlands several
companies are farming pike perch in recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS). From 2013 – 2015
four of these companies investigated the possibilities to make pike perch farming in RAS more
sustainable, together with consultancies ACE and SAS, research institutes IMARES Wageningen
UR, Livestock Research Wageningen UR and Good Fish Foundation/Stichting De Noordzee.
Solid improvements were made reducing energy consumption. The energy consumption of the
farms could be reduced by 10% – 50%. The possibility of electric stunning of pike perch was also
investigated, a method which is already being used for eel and catfish This turned out to be a
feasible stunning measure for pike perch as well, with no changes tot he quality of the product.
Before electric stunning can be implemented further testing is necessary. One point of attention
was the occurrence of malformed fins in several batches of fish. The occurrence of this decreased
during the project.
At a few farms the water quality could be improved, which will increase the welfare and growth
of the fish. Good Fish Foundation assessed the sustainability of cultured Dutch pike perch using
the Common Aquaculture Method used by WWF and GFF for their seafood guides. Pike perch
cultured in recirculation systems is currently the most sustainable pike perch on the market.
The sustainable pike perch collective

In the Fisheries Improvement Project sustainable pike perch collective four pike perch farmers
(Excellence Fish BV, Aquacultuur Enkhuizen, Maatschap Janssen van Maris and Van Slooten
Aquacultuur BV) collaborated with consultancy’s ACE and SAS, research institutes Wageningen
IMARES and Livestock Research Wageningen UR and Good Fish Foundation in improving the
sustainability of pike perch farming in recirculation aquaculture systems. The project ran from
2013 – 2015 and was partly financed by the “Rijksdienst Voor Ondernemend Nederland” and the
European Fisheries Fund within the framework “collective actions in the seafood supply chain”.
ACE, SAS and IMARES visited the farms and compared them in the areas of energy
consumption, fish health and water quality, and gave advice for improvements. IMARES also
studied the possibility of using electric stunning of the fis hand the effect of this on product
quality.
Recirculation systems
In the Netherlands indoor recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are the most common method
of fish farming. This farming system is completely closed off from the environment. Waste water
is treated and recycled, reducing water use at a minimum. Water quality can be controlled quite
quite well which enhances the farming efficiency. Frequently occurring problems associated with
fish farming such as release of waste, parasites or escaped fish into the environment do not occur
in RAS. The use of antibiotics is also not necessary.
Project results
Water quality
Overall water quality was high. At a few farms the CO2 levels were elevated. By increasing the
pH and the addition of an extra trickling filter the CO2 levels could be reduced. This had a
positive effect on fish production and it appeared that the feed conversion rate; the amount of food
needed to farm one kilogramme of fish, was also lower.
Energy use
The energy use of RAS is relatively high, whereby most energy is used for heating and pumping.
One of the goals of the project was to reduce energy consumption by at least 10 percent. This goal
was reached for all farms. In some cases energy consumption could be halved. Examples of
measures were optimising the filtering capacity fort he production level, increasing the efficiency
of pumps and blowers and reducing the resistance in the pipes. A few of the measures are already
implemented, but some major changes tot he culture systems have to be implemented during
scheduled breaks in fish production.
Fish welfare
In fish farming the animals are kept at densities which are higher than those in the natural
environment. This can lead to problems with animal welfare such as stress, parasites and diseases.
Within the project the health of fish at the four farms was investigated by SAS and IMARES in
close collaboration with the farmers themselves. Parameters investigated were fish condition,
growth, presence of parasites and interna land external malformations.
There were small differences in condition and health, which could be attributed to several factors.
At one farm there was an elevated presence of parasites, which was adressed by a salt treatment.
A point of attention that became apparent was the relatively high occurrence of fin malformations
in a few batches. It is known that these malformations occur in several species of farmed fish. The
cause is likely a combination of factors. As the problem only occurred in a few batches it might
have a genetic component. In the EU-project “diversifyfish” genetic variation of farmed pike
perch originating from different areas was high. A clear cause of the fin malformations could not
be found. During the project the frequence of occurrence of malformations decreased, perhaps
because of the increases in water quality.
Stunning and killing

Killing of the fish at the end of the culture cycle can be done by several methods; the most used
method being chilling the fish in ice water. To prevent the fish from experiencing stress, pain or
fear during this process they should be stunned prior to being killed. At the moment there are two
methods considered humane stunning methods; percussive stunning and electric stunning. The
latter is already used in eel and catfish. Within the pike perch project the suitability of electric
stunning for pike perch was investigated. Effectiveness was measured by measuring the brain- and
heart activity of the fish prior and post stunning using EEG and ECG. The electric stunning was
investigated using an experimental stunning machine of Wageningen IMARES. The feasibility of
stunning the fish tail-first was tested. This avoids having to placet he fish in the stunning device
by hand.
The results of the experiments show that it is feasible to stun pike perch using electricity in
several positions. Quality of fillets was equal between stunned and non-stunned fish. Before the
stunning method is implemented additional tests are needed.
Pike perch on the”VISwijzer” sustainable seafood guide

Dutch pike perch farming is comparable tothat in other western European countries such as
Germany and Denmark. In the international database of seafood sustainability assessment there is
thus a single assessment including all these countries. The database is used by Good Fish
Foundation and several seafood guides of WWF. Results from the Dutch project were included in
the recent update of the assessment.
Wild caught pike perch from the Netherlands and other western European countries scores yellow
on the seafood guides as a “good alternative” because the species is sensitive to overfishing and is
overfished in some local areas. Pike perch from the Baltic and Russia scores red “avoid” because
it is likely overfished in many areas and information on stocks is lacking. Pike perch cultured in
recirculation systemsscores green “best choice” and is currently the most sustainable pike perch
on the market.
Improvements
There is still room for improvements in pike perch farming. The main points of improvements are
in animal welfare. The tested stunning method should be implemented in the farming process so
the fishes can be killed humanely. There are also no guidelines for fish welfare during farming,
partly because welfare is difficult to measure. Direct indicators of welfare are not included in
assessments or sustainability certifications. Indirect measures such as survival, growth and feed
conversion are used. Increasing the welfare shoudl be an important focal point for new research
on fish farming in genera land pike perch farming in particular. As pike perch is a carnivorous
fish, fish meal is used in the feed and between two and three kilos of wild caught fish are needed
to farm one kilo of pike perch. By looking for alternatives for fish meal and fish oil and by
increasing the feed conversion ratio this could be reduces.
Dit project is geselecteerd in het kader van het Nederlandse Operationeel Programma
“Perspectief voor een duurzame visserij” dat wordt medegefinancierd uit het EVF.

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Pike perch farming in the

The sustainable pike perch collective

Stunning and killing

Pike perch on the”VISwijzer” sustainable seafood guide

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