#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The results of four years of research on growing Arctic char under artificial conditions were summed up at the Institute of Biophysics of the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center (KSC) SB RAS and at the Siberian Federal University.
Arctic char is a fish of the salmon family, common in the seas of the Arctic ocean, rivers and lakes of Siberia and the Far East. In Taimyr it is widespread in the lakes of the Putorana plateau. Fish is considered a record holder for the content in tissues of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins and microelements, which are important for the human body. The scientists were faced with the task of finding out whether char retains its beneficial properties under artificial breeding conditions.
“We studied fish raised in aquaculture and those that live in natural reservoirs. On the farm, the chars ate the usual feed – a mixture of fish bone meal and sunflower meal (waste from oil production). Despite the standard diet, it turned out that the “cultured” individuals are not inferior to their wild relatives in terms of the content of useful substances”, said Anastasia Rudchenko, a researcher at the Institute of Biophysics of the KSC SB RAS and an associate professor at the Department of Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems of Siberian Federal University.
The researchers note that the retention of properties is likely due to the innate abilities of char to accumulate certain substances. Thanks to the experiment, it was possible to show the prospects of its industrial breeding.
For example, in nature, sterlet reaches maturity at seven years, in artificial conditions – at three to four years. This pattern also applies to char. Therefore, the period of its cultivation in aquaculture can be reduced to three years, which seems to be a reasonable period for industrial production.
At the next stage, scientists will have to work out the technology for breeding char, since the condition of the fish is affected by lighting conditions, water temperature, the amount of oxygen, the size of the pool and some other factors.
Industry experts note the promise of char for fish farms, but fish farmers may encounter certain difficulties, Izvestia news portal writes.
“Charr lives in the harsh Arctic conditions, and its cultivation requires more fine-tuning compared to traditional crops – trout or salmon. For example, when incubating char eggs, the water needs to be close to freezing and generally requires cooler conditions. Therefore, it is more profitable to grow char where there is no need to waste resources to maintain a low temperature of the reservoir”, says Kirill Kuzishchin, professor of the Ichthyology Department at Moscow State University after M.V. Lomonosov.
Earlier, we wrote about the collecting of 23 thousand eggs of Putorana char in lake Sobachye in Putorana for cultivation at the Norilsk fish hatchery. Also, Norilsk fish farmers released nelma fry into lake Melkoye this summer.
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Text: Denis Kozhevnikov, photo: Nikolay Shchipko
