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Following a 30 per cent fall in aquaculture production in the Canary Islands, Alevines y Doradas SA has decided to keep its fish hatchery, the most modern in the European Union (EU), closed.
According to the company director, José Luis Guersi, the plant will not start fry breeding until aquaculture recovers.
This delay occurs even though the hatchery located in the south of Gran Canaria is ready to operate and employ about 40 people.
Demand is weak and the sea bass and sea bream farming plant can only start when it has all the guarantees of profitability, the businessman said.
The hatchery has the capacity to produce not only sea bass and sea bream, but also other species such as croacker. It has the potential to replace imports of fry to the Canary Islands as it can produce up to 40 million fish a year.
According to Guersi, all the Canary Islands aquaculture companies "are following a schedule in their production" because many of them have serious financial problems and hope that "these issues will be running smoothly."
The hatchery continues to work on various improvements and adjustments, such as the transformation of the entire water recirculation circuit instead of an open system.
"We can take advantage of the time to gradually improve the hatchery. Completion of the work is relatively recent and it could be more expensive to start full production now. It is better to wait although I hope that it is not for long," said the businessman.
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