Page 42 - World Aquaculture Magazine - March 2011

40 March 2011
approximately 1,750 t (valued at US$5,768,407) in 2003.
The price The value of trout has increased steadily from
2001-2009 (Figure 1). There has been a shift in individual
producer tonnage as smaller producers have fallen away and
larger producers benefit from increased economies of scale
within their businesses. The demand for trout is expected to
grow by 2-3 percent ananually with the current market at
approximately 2,000 t/yr. The four main areas of production
(Figure 2) are Mpumalanga (500 t, 14 farms), Western Cape
(450 t, 14 farms), Kwa-Zulu Natal (150 t, four farms) and
the Eastern Cape (20 t, three farms). Since 2003, total local
The Hatchery
Manager se-
lecting trout
brood stock
at the old
hatchery in
Jonkershoek.
(Picture by
unknown pho-
tographer, per-
mission from
Mr. Patrick
Shone from
Cape Nature
Conservation
Board).
production has declined mainly because of environmental
conditions and high midsummer water temperatures, pos-
sibly caused by global warming.
Trout production in South Africa can be divided into three
main products: live fish for supply of the sport fishery sec-
tor (270 t); about 450 t of plate size (230-400g) fish produced
mainly in Mpumalanga (75 percent), KZN and the Western
Cape; and about 400 t of larger (>1 kg) fish produced mainly
in the Western Cape (Brink 2004). The sport fishery and re-
lated ecotourism industries have developed into an impor-
tant sector of its own and provides an important economic
contribution to the rural areas of KZN, Eastern Cape and
Mpumalanga. The trout sector provides an estimated total of
220 direct jobs in production, with a further 200 indirect jobs
involved in processing. Because of varied market preferences
and the fact that trout lends itself to production of a wide
range of value added products, there are eight trout product
specialty processors in South Africa, although the top three
process approximately 90 percent of the total production.
South African trout are marketed almost exclusively in South
Africa, with markets mainly consisting of the hospitality and
retail industry sectors (Woolworth’s, Pick & Pay, Spar and
Checkers) in all of the main urban areas, especially Gauteng,
Cape Town and Durban. Approximately 60 to 70 percent is
sold in the food service sector and 30 to 40 percent in the retail
sector. Direct sales to local markets also play an important
role in terms of marketing. The high demand and profit op-
portunities for value-added trout products results in imports
of roughly twice as much whole trout for further processing
as is currently being produced domestically.
Trout Production as a Rural Development Enter-
prise in South Africa
Seeing the potential to culture a high value aquacul-
ture species for domestic consumption with underutilized
Fig. 2. Map of South Africa with trout production areas. (Henk
Stander).
The launch of the Trout Small Farmer Project. (From left to right:
Prof. Danie Brink; Mr. Henk Stander; Mr. Barend Sulvester; Mr.
Patrick van Staden; Mr. Khalid Salie; Deputy Minister Derick
Hannekom – National Department of Science and Technology
in South Africa.)( Picture by Mr. Anton Jordaan photographer at
Stellenbosch University.)