29.03.2024

Pike fish: economic significance and characteristics of commodity cultivation

Sudak is quite common in the Western part of the country fish, but ordinary anglers he knows quite weak. Some firmly believe that pike caught is bad or not caught at all, others do think it is a marine fish that you can catch only with the aid of fishing vessel with nets. Let’s get this veil of ignorance and understand what is a walleye actually.

Family of fish perch

The first step is to be clear about pike sea or river fish. Actually both, so both sides are right.

The fact that perch is not a separate species, but a biological genus that includes several distinct species. Two of them are found directly on the territory of Russia (freshwater) and one in the North-West of the Black sea and the Caspian sea (sea perch). Also there are at least two kinds of perch that live in North America.

To begin, consider the freshwater perch.

River fish pike perch

Often under this name involve the kind of “common pike”. He lives everywhere in the rivers and large freshwater reservoirs of the Eastern part of Europe and the adjoining regions of Asia. We are talking about the Baltic, Black, Azov and Caspian seas, lakes Issyk-Kul and Balkhash, as well as what was once called the Aral sea. Besides the ordinary population of pike-perch are found in brackish areas in the river deltas of these seas.

Walleye – the fish is large enough, by the time of puberty (in the fourth year of life) weight from 600 to 1000 g. Moreover, this growth does not stop on reaching four years old she already weighs on average about 1.4 kg in five years – 2.4 kg. registered cases of catch individuals weighing up to 15 kg, although probably this is not the limit.

The pike has an elongated long body, which at the age of three years, up to 40 cm Fish is covered with gray-green scales with a lighter belly and a darker back. In the Central part of the body has dark spots that sometimes develop into quite clear of vertical stripes. Being an aggressive predator, Zander is endowed with a set of powerful klikovich teeth, almost like dog or cat. While the male is easily distinguished from females by much larger canines.

The basis of the diet is smaller fish, mainly gobies, minnows, bleak, and whitebait. Ponds where the fish lives Sudak, certainly clean and rich in oxygen. In muddy and marshy waters will never find it.

The second freshwater species perch, common in Russia – a Volga pike perch, also known as or bersh bersh. Visually, it is quite similar to an ordinary perch, but has a smaller size (usually less than 45 cm and 3 kg). Also, the Bursch is almost devoid of massive fangs, though is also a predator. In addition to the Volga river, this fish also inhabits the other rivers of the Caspian, and Azov and Black seas. Cases of its access to the Caspian sea.

Marine fish walleye

Visually, the sea perch is very slightly different from its common relative. The body is painted in a light gray color, on sides well marked transverse dark bands.

Overall description fish perch common is true for the sea bass. The only difference in size. Although the body length is quite substantial (50-60 cm), body weight usually does not exceed 2 kg. All because the torso he has a very elongated and flattened laterally. On the jaws there are also klinovidnye teeth, but not as impressive as that of the common perch.

There are two isolated habitat of this species, which gives us, in fact, two separate populations. The first population lives in the northwestern part of the Black sea, where a fall in such large rivers as the Dnieper, southern bug, Dniester and Danube. Moreover, the perches do not love to go to freshwater estuaries, and are permanent inhabitants. Sometimes they even swim directly into the mouths of the rivers.

The second population inhabits the Caspian sea. Local specimens have some slight differences in appearance from the black sea. In addition, the Caspians on the contrary, they avoid to appear in the desalinated parts of the sea, for example, near the Volga Delta.

Economic importance of walleye

For their excellent taste properties Zander fish valued highly enough. Its meat is considered a dietary and overall a very useful product. The content of protein is more than 18%, also contains all 20 amino acids, nearly half of which are irreplaceable, that is, the human body does not produce them, and therefore can only get from food. In the meat of perch contains quite a lot of essential minerals, in particular phosphorus, potassium, iodine and others.

The perch is a valuable commercial fish large natural reservoirs. Anyway it was before. Today, his role has decreased significantly due to the small volume of catch, which in turn is associated with a General decrease in its population. As we said above, the pike lives only in clean and oxygen-rich water. Well, since rivers and lakes in Russia every year become only dirtier and dirtier, and fish populations of river perch in them is also greatly reduced. Also the disappearance of pike from reservoirs has been significantly contributed by poachers to catch everything and in any amount without limitation.

However, as the object of sport fishing walleye are still interesting, although for the reasons given, to catch him not so easy. Now it is a lot just in the rivers of West Siberia, which is not so strongly polluted in comparison with the rivers of the European part of the country.

As for sea bass, black sea population is listed in the Red book of Ukraine, and therefore is not subject to fishing for any species except for scientific study.

Artificial breeding of pike perch

Since the walleye is a predatory fish, artificial breeding in open ponds is possible only as auxiliary, while the main object of breeding should be the other “herbivorous” fish like carp or silver carp. In this case, the walleye will serve a medic, destroying weeds and diseased fish, that is, maintaining the health of the main population.

It is also important to note that only lends itself to the breeding of freshwater fish perch, after breeding in the pond sea perch, in need of salt water, in any case will not work.

The rest of the perch for farm cultivation fits very well. This fish is fast growing and gaining a very respectable weight. In addition, it has a relatively high resistance to various diseases, and therefore does not cause unnecessary trouble.

Features rearing of pike-perch

To deal with pike makes sense only if there is a suitable pond. It needs to be as large and certainly clean. And we are talking about the absence of not only anthropogenic, but also natural. Ponds with muddy water and muddy shores is not the same place where the fish is walleye. Best of all it feels in places with sandy or rocky bottom, while avoiding areas with thickets. Also, it is important for the amount of oxygen dissolved in water.

With all this in mind before you seriously engage in the breeding of pike perch, it is recommended to first perform an examination of the body of water on its suitability for this highly demanding fish.

Usually walleye launch fishing ponds, where in addition to valuable rocks also have lots of weed (subsistence) fish – roach, bleak, small perch, minnows, etc. While unlike the pike perch will not hunt for commercial fish because the structural features of the oral cavity did not allow him to eat nothing but “small things”.

It is believed that walleye is best used in addition to the carp, as in this case, the total fish productivity of the reservoir grows in 1,5-2 times. And in such conditions only one walleye can be obtained in the amount of 10-20 kg per hectare of water surface.

Despite the predatory way of life, this fish is also amenable to cultivation in cages. To do this better from the beginning to take the young manufacturers are not older than 4 years and weighing less than 1.2 kg as young fish walleye spawning in such circumstances, there is no problem.

Summer perch in cages should be fed low-value live fish (weighing 15-25 g), caught in spring in the reservoir. Feeding is done once a week: all the necessary stock is available in the tank. In winter, perch will need to move in winter special cages which are then immersed in water to such a depth, to exclude the possibility of their vymerzanija in the ice.

At such content of pike perch feeling quite good and rapidly increasing weight. Spawning in cages, does not cause special difficulties. It is sufficient to place them in special nests for spawning, and females are likely to spawn and males fertilize it.

The profitability of pike perch breeding

Pretty hard to quantify how beneficial may be the farming of pike-perch in natural conditions. Since the use of this predator in the role of a medic and destroyer trash fish main income will bring it to the base culture (e.g., carp), whereas a commercial quantity of walleye will be relatively small against the background. However, the cost of everything a family of fish perch in this pond, too, will be minimal. Once stocking of the pond perch and then just to maintain an optimal number of its population, controlling the volume of catches.

This is not the case when using technology growing in cages. Here, the perch acts as the main and only culture, therefore all income and all costs generates only this fish. True, again, to accurately estimate the cost of commercial walleye out of cages too difficult. Here already beginning to have a significant influence specific factors, which for each employer will have your weight – the availability of water, method of producing of young animals, cost of feed fish, transport costs to the nearest large market (metropolis), etc.

Nevertheless, some estimates still can be. The average profitability of pond fish is about 20%. But here much depends on the kind of fish and all of the same special factors that every trader their. As for the method of cultivation of fish in cages, it’s obviously more expensive technology, the profitability will be even lower. So it makes sense to give preference to the more expensive in the retail sale of fish species than walleye.

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