The Government of the Hungarian People's Republic assisted by the United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations are engaged in a project whose main purpose is to strengthen the research capabilities and facilities at the Fisheries Research Station at Szarvas, Hungary and to formulate and implement an integrated research programme in fish culture in ponds and man-made lakes.
As part of the project, FAO assigned Mr. Richard A. Collins a Consultant, from 23 June to 30 August 1975 with the following terms of reference:
To assist the project in investigating the potential for cage culture development in Hungary.
To formulate a programme of research on cage culture, selecting suitable species and design of cages to be used.
To assist the project in initiating the investigations.
To recommend training arrangements for project staff concerned with cage culture studies.
For the past two years, work has been carried on in the field of cage culture by Mr. Mihaly Szalay at the Fish Culture Research Institute, Szarvas but this came to an end with his sudden death early in 1975 after which none of his research data could be located.
Cage culture work was continued by the staff of the Institute in 1975 with nylon net cages. The design and use of these cages needed some changes to attain the maximum advantages from cage culture. Some necessary improvements were: (i) replace the nylon net with metal or plastic cages; (ii) increase the size of the mesh for more adequate water circulation; (iii) change the method of feeding and type of feed and (iv) increase the stocking density of the fish.
