In fish farming, output decreased and prices increased

Text Mark Taylor
Photo Milos Prelevic / Unsplash

According to data released by Statistics Estonia, in 2022, fish farming enterprises sold 801 tonnes of commercial fish and crayfish, for a total of 4.9 million euros. The sale of fish roe amounted to 2.7 tonnes. The amount of fish sold decreased for the third year in a row, while the quantity of fish roe was 8 times smaller than the year before.

Last year, the quantity of fish sold by fish farming enterprises fell by 50 tonnes compared with 2021. At the same time, the average price per kilogram rose from 5 euros in 2021 to 6 euros in 2022. Over the last three years, the quantity of fish sold has fallen, while the price per kilogram has nearly doubled.

“Rainbow trout is still the most farmed and sold fish species in Estonia. In 2022, almost 678 tonnes of rainbow trout was sold for a total of 3.9 million euros. Rainbow trout represented 85 per cent of the total quantity of fish sold,”said Swen Peterson, a leading analyst at Statistics Estonia.

0.6 tonnes of crayfish was placed on the market in 2022, which was a fifth less than in 2021. The largest quantity of crayfish (2 tonnes) was sold in 2009.

2.7 tonnes of fish roe was placed on the market in 2022. This was about 8 times less than in 2021. The quantity of fish roe sold last year was the smallest in the last 10 years. The value of the fish roe sold was slightly over 100,000 euros, whereas the average price grew by half year on year. Most of the fish roe sold for consumption was red fish roe.

In Estonia, the primary method of fish farming is freshwater aquaculture, although in recent years some enterprises have also specialised in marine aquaculture. Rainbow trout is farmed in seawater. The species cultivated in freshwater fish farms include rainbow trout and crayfish as well as other species, such as tench, European eel, African sharptooth catfish, wels catfish, sturgeon (Siberian and Russian sturgeon), carp, grass carp, etc.

To learn more about this and similar topics
Aquaculture Crayfish Fish Fish Farming Estonia Fish Roe Rainbow Trout Statistics Estonia