How much does a "sea chicken" grouper fry cost now per fish? How do you breed the fry?
Grouper is divided into marine grouper and freshwater grouper. Its flesh is plump, tender and nutritious. Live fish are shipped and sold to the Hong Kong, China and Macao, China markets, where they are regarded as a premium food fish and one of China's four famous fish, in short supply. Grouper is expensive, and its economic value, nutritional value and therapeutic value are all very high. So, how much does a grouper fry cost per fish now? And how do you breed the fry?
In 2017, grouper farming performed notably well in various places, especially in the emerging markets around Zhanjiang and in the Fujian market, where farming was quite good, and many farmers made a handsome profit. It is predicted that shrimp farmers in many areas intend to switch entirely to grouper farming, but it is easier said than done. Grouper is not a species that can simply be farmed at will; the high farming costs will make some farmers hesitate, and the cost of fry alone is hard to accept.
Current fry price situation: off-season for stocking, low hatching success rate, fry prices remain high
It is not yet the peak period for stocking fry. Because the weather is unstable and temperatures are on the low side, it is not a suitable time to stock fry, yet fry prices remain high. Why? First, influenced by last year's grouper prices, many fish farmers made money, and this year enthusiasm for grouper farming has increased greatly. Second, some hatcheries need to go to Hainan to buy fish eggs for hatching in preparation for the coming peak period, but from the end of last year until now the hatching success rate has been very low; some hatcheries could not hatch even a single fry, causing a shortage of fry supply. Third, at this stage on Hainan Island not many people are working on fry, and the price of fertilized eggs has reached 8000 yuan/kg, but due to the influence of low temperatures the hatching rate is relatively low, and big companies have basically not started inducing spawning, so as not to affect quality.
Expert view: fry prices will rise during the peak period, but not by much
After a while, as temperatures rise, more and more people will stock fry. How will things look during the peak period?
Grouper farming expert Wan Chengwen believes that fry prices will probably rise slightly during the peak period. At present in Hainan, fry of around 6 sieve size cost more than 4 yuan each, and fry over 10 cm cost 1 yuan/cm. This year the number of fish farmers farming grouper has increased greatly, which will inevitably drive up fry prices. Especially in the Zhanjiang area, fry of 7 to 9 cm now cost 1.2 yuan per cm, and the fry cost has more than doubled compared with last year. Although grouper prices are expected to remain favorable over the past two years and will not drop much, the increase in fry costs will certainly greatly reduce the profits of grouper farming. Moreover, the current fry price is not the price everyone pays when stocking; later prices may rise further and costs will increase more. At present, because temperatures are relatively low, the hatching success rate of grouper fry is low, and after hatching the survival rate of the fry is also relatively low, so many nursery farms are unwilling to take the risk. Only when temperatures rise and the climate becomes quite stable, with more people stocking fry, will some large hatching companies carry out spawning induction and hatching.
This year enthusiasm for grouper farming has increased greatly, and ponds in many areas have been snapped up. At the beginning of the year, fry and fish eggs from Hainan were mainly sold to western Guangdong and Fujian. Now many nursery and hatching farms have been added along the coast of western Guangdong. Some have already made attempts, but the results were not ideal; some farms brought back several batches in succession only to end in failure. Judging by the current hatching level on the mainland, the probability of producing fry in large quantities is relatively small, and most operations focus mainly on grading and growing on. Hainan Island has always had a relatively high early-stage farming success rate, but last year the situation was not ideal, and the survival rate of fry below 9 sieve size during nursery rearing was relatively low; this situation only improved somewhat by June. It is estimated that Hainan will be affected by last year's experience, with fewer people stocking fry in the early period and stocking density also lower year on year, which will help buffer demand from the inland, so prices are estimated to have some possibility of rising, but the margin should not be large.
Fish farmers in western Guangdong should base fry selection mainly on large fry to reduce risk, and buy fry nearby
All the fertilized eggs for hatching are transported from Hainan, and the current price is about 8000 yuan/kg. Fry farms in western Guangdong mainly carry out hatching and growing-on in three ways.
The first: buy fertilized eggs directly from Hainan and hatch them in the farm's large pond; this method is relatively common.
The second: select good young fry from Hainan hatcheries and buy them to raise in nursery ponds.
The third: specifically select poor-quality fry from Hainan hatcheries to raise on. Such fry are basically culled stock, and generally the vast majority carry iridovirus; they are disposed of very cheaply. Some farms have a gambling mentality: if handled with experience, a nursery survival rate above 20 percent means a sure profit. According to the person in charge of a farm in Donghai, once such fry can be kept alive, the chance of disease breaking out later is very small.
No matter which method is used to keep the fry alive, the farming effect can only be judged during the rearing process. In any case, fry with strong mobility are good fry. The stocking size should preferably be 10 cm, especially for first-time farmers. If small fry are not managed properly, the survival rate is low, and if they become infected with iridovirus, the risk is even greater. Also note in particular that first-time farmers had best follow the principle of buying nearby, to avoid reduced fry survival caused by failing to adapt to water and soil during long-distance transport.
At present, the price of freshwater grouper fry is about 0.3 to 0.8 yuan each, but prices vary widely depending on fry size, variety, quality, market and purchase quantity. Newly hatched freshwater grouper larvae have a total length of 0.58 to 0.6 cm. After hatching at a water temperature of 26 to 28°C, the yolk sac disappears on the 6th day. After 1 month of rearing, the body length reaches about 10 cm and they can be stocked in ponds for grow-out. In the Taiwan, China region, fry about 10 cm long are stocked in ponds during summer, and after 6 to 8 months of farming they can reach 500 grams, with a maximum body weight of up to 1200 grams.