The infrastructural and technological development, planned until 2030, will allow the Industrial Fishing Company of the province of Ciego de Ávila (EPIVILA by its Spanish initials) the sustained increase in the production of fish and their derivatives, with the aim of contributing to the food security of the population.
When presenting the Strategic Food Sovereignty Program until 2030, José Osmundo López Calderón, director of production of that entity, explained that the province has 90 concrete pools and 85 earthen ponds, in the Base Business Unit (UEB) Alevinaje Morón, where the repopulation of the reservoirs and fattening farms will be ensured, through the annual sowing of millions of fingerlings.
Ciego de Ávila`s territory has 6 aquatories (reservoirs and dams) and 5 systems of ponds and swimming pools, dedicated to the cultivation of tilapias, clarias, cyprinids, trout and other species of fresh water.
To obtain higher levels of exploitation, a conduit was rehabilitated, the recovery of 74 ponds is progressing, the acquisition of a freezing tunnel, two ice plants and industrial equipment is planned, and the industry located in the municipality of Morón will be repaired and modernized.
The implementation of the technological development strategy until 2030, with an approximate value of 20 282 000 pesos, will favor the production and expanded reproduction of larvae and fry of freshwater fish to increase the catch to reach 2,870 tons.
Through the insertion in local development projects, it is planned to acquire equipment to process fish and make extenders (minced meat, croquettes, hamburgers, sausages, meatballs, steaks, fried fish fillet, fish
appetizers and other productions) that will allow to contribute, in a year, the amount of eight kilograms per inhabitant.
The progress of aquaculture conceives the application of science and technology based on the sustenance of fingerlings, the improvement of crops, the reproduction and breeding of species (cyprinids, claria and tilapia), the expansion of structures and the use of hydraulic resources.
"The province is also committed to the reproduction and breeding of freshwater lobster, the introduction of oyster farming and mariculture in the marine platform, the increase in family aquaculture and the signing of agreements with organizations to promote breeding", López Calderón highlighted.
To guarantee the feeding of species such as claria, the milling and ensiling of waste from slaughtered animals in the meat companies of the territory is planned.
To achieve energy sovereignty, reduce the cost of productions and create favorable conditions for the reproduction of fish (adequate water temperature), photovoltaic panels and solar heaters will be installed in the industry and the reproduction rooms.
“The behavior of the platform fishery in recent years, the economic restrictions to promote the capture in the high seas and the lack of areas for the progress of the activity, lead to the development of aquaculture as an alternative to respond to the growing demand for fish in the country ”, the EPIVILA production director stated.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (ONUAA, better known as FAO), aquaculture is considered among the fastest growing food production sectors, contributing 50% of the fish consumed worldwide.