Ch04

The artificial propagation of carp in the hatchery is only a step in the general scheme of fish production for food. But its success greatly depends on the efficient organization of hatchery production.

32. Good broodstock management (1) produces selected spawners for successful artificial propagation in the hatchery (2).

Here early fry are mass-produced and stocked in well-prepared ponds to produce advanced fry (3). These are moved to larger ponds where they become fingerlings (4).

Stocked in fattening ponds (5), fingerlings grow into marketable fish which are harvested for marketing.

Manual 1 deals with steps (1) and (2).
Manual 2 is concerned with steps (3) and (4).

33. In temperate regions, the production of marketable fish starts in the spring of the second year, with (1) the stocking of fingerlings in fattening ponds.

(2) Well fed until autumn, these fish reach the average weight of 200-300 g.(3) They are harvested and sorted by size. (4) Overwintering proceeds in smaller ponds.

Next spring, the third year starts and progresses similarly until autumn, when the carp average 1-2 kg each. (3) When they have been harvested and sorted by size, some of them are marketed, while (4) the rest are overwintered. (5) The following spring, the adult fish are sorted and marketed, some of them being retained as young broodstock.

In tropical regions, where seasons are not so well marked, the production cycle can be shortened by one year, since the carp grow at a regular pace during most of the year.

34. The staff necessary to carry out the production programme efficiently in a large-scale hatchery work under (1) a Production Manager.

In Hungary, for example, the Production Manager supervises three production sections for (A) eggs and early fry, (B) advanced fry and (C) fingerlings respectively.

Each of these sections is supervised by (2) an experienced technician, with 3-5 years of university background, such as an Agricultural Engineer. Under him, (4) skilled manual workers are supervised by a (3) Fishery Master with a lot of local experience.

35. Support services are essential.

They deal with: (1) administration, (2) fish health, (3) transport, (4) maintenance, (5) security, and (6) stores.

36. This is a summary of the advanced Hungarian technology for the mass production of eggs and early fry of common carp, based on artificial propagation in a modern warm-water hatchery.

The following illustrations deal with each of these subjects in detail:
(1-8) broodstock management and selection, hormonal treatment of the spawners,
(9-11) collection of the sexual products,
(12, 13) egg fertilization and treatment, (14-16) incubation period,
(17, 18) hatching of the larvae,
(19, 20) their first rearing, and finally
(21, 22) their transport from the hatchery building.

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