Arctic charr farming

• Main Authors: Brännäs, Eva, Larsson, Stefan, Saether, Björn Steinar, Siikavuopio, Sten Ivar, Thorarensen, Helgi, Sigurgeirsson, Ólafur, Jeuthe, Henrik
• Format: Report
• Language: Swedish; English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: NATURAL SCIENCES; Biology; Arctic; Norway; Arctic charr; Iceland; Salvelinus alpinus
• Online Access: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/8468/; https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/8468/1/Brannas_E_etal_111125.pdf

The Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus L.) is a holarctic salmonid fish species with both landlocked and anadromous populations. In Scandinavia it is mainly found in the mountain area, but it also appears in deep and large lake further south, i.e. in the Alps. It is the northernmost freshwater fish and A. charr is generally regarded as the most cold-adapted freshwater fish. A. charr has been commercially farmed since the early 90ths and today, the total production is 3000, 2300 and 700 tonnes/year in Iceland, Sweden and Norway, respectively. Both in Sweden and Iceland, there are selective breeding programs in effect and the bulk of the farming production is conducted using offspring from the national breeding programs in each country. A. charr is renowned for its ability of high growth rate at low temperature and is therefore especially suitable for farming at high latitudes and altitudes. Moreover, due to the success of the breeding programs, the charr used in farms today grow faster and mature at a larger size and age than the original wild charr. Hence, although being a fairly small industry at present, A. charr farming is predicted to grow in all three countries. This booklet summarises up-to-date knowledge on A. charr farming production cycle, from brood stock to juvenile on-growing stage (Fig. 1). It is intended to be useful for people taking their first steps in A. charr culture but also to serve as a farming manual for more experienced farm staff. Therefore, the booklet is divided in to two chapters. The first chapter (Arctic charr farming in practice) provides a straight forward introduction to each production step from brood stock to juveniles. The second chapter (theory and background) presents some details and research data on the background of specific farming practices and procedures.