Austria imports most of its fish.
The first salmon farm is to be opened in Gmünd in 2026 - with big goals.
But praise does not come from all sides.
Criticism is also raised.
Vienna/Munich - "Overfishing is a global and unfortunately omnipresent problem: almost everywhere today more fish is caught than occurs naturally," writes the environmental protection organization WWF on its website.
According to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany "only has a degree of self-sufficiency of just under 20 percent for fish".
The rest is covered by imports.
Imports also play a major role in the fish business in Austria.
However, a new project in Lower Austria could counteract this enormously.
Fisher Creation Day already on January 25th - Austria dependent on imports
January 25, 2023 was the so-called Fisher Creation Day in Austria.
"It marks the day from which - statistically - every fish we eat by the end of the year will be imported," wrote the non-profit organization Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which also calculates the day.
According to the organization, Austria's degree of fish self-sufficiency is seven percent.
According to the Austrian newspaper
Krone,
it is only about six percent.
More than 90 percent of the fish in Austria does not come from our own waters or our own production.
Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)
The ASC is an independent, non-profit organization.
It was founded in 2010 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) together with the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) "to operate and further develop species-specific standards for responsible fish farming".
The ASC wants to “make global aquaculture more sustainable”.
“The ASC standards require that fish farm performance be measured against both environmental and social requirements.
The certification is carried out by independent experts.” The organization is known for the so-called “ASC seal”, which identifies responsibly produced farmed fish products.
Source: ASC
Fish production: small town in Austria before the big revolution
A tranquil town in Austria is to provide a large part of the country's fish supply in the future.
The largest fish farm in the country is to be built in the small town of Gmünd.
Based in the so-called Waldviertel in Lower Austria, the Burgenlachs company has set itself big goals.
The product should be called “forest salmon” at the end and stand for “pure salmon”, as can be seen on the website.
The company is committed to natural taste, regional origin and sustainability.
It aims to cover at least a third of Austria's salmon needs.
3,000 tons of salmon are to come onto the market.
More details about the project:
Company: Burgenlachs
According to ORF, the facility in Gmünd is to be built for 70 million euros.
According to the medium, 100 new jobs will also be created.
Salmon farm in Austria: Animal rights activists criticize the project
As good as the project may appear from the point of view of the then reduced imports, there is also criticism.
This is what the Austrian association against animal factories (VGT) said.
The company is missing the issue of animal welfare.
"As if salmon weren't animals but objects," the website says.
"That's amazing, after all, salmon are vertebrates that are to be protected according to the principles of the Federal Animal Protection Act." The association described the breeding of salmon in fish farms as questionable from an animal welfare point of view.
Everyone has heard of salmon migration.
They migrate hundreds of kilometers up rivers to spawn where they were born.
You can't do that in a pool in a hall.
Behavioral disorders and living conditions that are not appropriate to the species, animals and animal welfare are already pre-programmed to a certain extent.
Erich Schacherl, Association against animal factories
"With the 'Forest Salmon' project in Gmünd, a flagship project is being created that will radiate far beyond the state borders from the region," said Johanna Mikl-Leitner, governor of the state (ÖVP).
It's already a fact: It's a huge project in a small town that can certainly cause a lot of attention.
Stiftung Warentest also got to the bottom of which types of salmon are best.
(mbr)
