Carp production in semi-intensive conditions can very significantly

This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 4 2021.

Cereal grains, pelleted, and extruded feed in semi-intensive common carp production have different impacts on production, meat quality, the pond ecosystem, and profitability.

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) is one of the most important species of farmed fish. It is farmed in more than a hundred countries of the world, mainly in earthen ponds. Most of the production is in semi-intensive culture systems. Such production is based on boosted natural food produced in the pond with supplemental feed. Although simple at first appearance, this farming method has a whole range of options: from traditional farming methods based on feeding with cereal grains and other locally available plants to production based on the use of high quality compound feeds. In Europe semi-intensive production based on feeding with cereal grains is still dominant. Although in some countries, such as Serbia, cereals have been largely replaced by compound (extruded) feeds.

Inland waters in Serbia comprise rivers, of which the Danube (the longest), Sava, and Tisza are navigable, two natural lakes and several artificial lakes. These resources support a commercial freshwater fishery, a recreational fishery, as well as an aquaculture industry. The freshwater fishery in Serbia is organized on 65,980 km of rivers and streams and about 150 artificial lakes and reservoirs. The northern parts of Serbia have 30,000 km of canals, which are also suitable for fishing.