If you’re thinking about starting a commercial fishing business, check out our guide to starting an eels business with low initial costs.
Eel culture is a low-cost venture. In addition, it is easier and more lucrative than several other fish farms. Actually, the company does not require expensive water and specialized formulated food. Also, you can begin this fish farm in your backyard with tanks!
Eels are long, thin, serpentine creatures with no scales, often dark-colored and spotted. They feed mostly on worms and small crustaceans, although they also eat smaller fishes and amphibians.
In the wild, eels live in freshwater rivers and streams, migrating into saltwater estuaries during the winter months.
The scientific names of eels are Anguilliformes and Monopterygii. According to their method for respiration, you can identify two different kinds of eels. These are the water breather (Anguilla)and the air breather (Monopterus). But you can also identify several other fish too.
Generally, the young elves live in the freshwater rivers and streams for up to 12 years for males and up to 18 years for females. A few may reach an even greater age.
Then, as they mature their skin pigmentation becomes silver, they gain weight and they migrate hundreds of kilometers out into the oceans to spawn. The eels only spawn once during their lifetimes.
Is Eel Fish Farming Profitable?
Eel farming has been going on worldwide since ancient times. However, it was not until recently that eel farming became a big business. Nowadays, most eel farms are located in Asia, especially in China, Taiwan, and South Korea.
Eels are an important part of seafood today. They’re widely eaten throughout the world, especially in Asia. As a result, starting a small-sized eeling farm is a profitable venture for fish farmers.
Things To Consider in Starting Eel Farming Business
Before starting any kind of business, you need to draft a business plan. If you’re not sure if you have enough capital, then start small by crafting a simple business plan.
To identify your needs, first, figure out what resources you need. Then, determine the financial investment required to obtain them.
Next, decide whether you want to raise your fish in ponds or tanks. Because raising them in tanks will be cheaper than raising them in ponds.
To start, you need to figure out which markets are most likely to be interested in buying your product. Then, look at where they’re located and who buys them there.
Suitable Species for Eel Farming
- Anguilla – found in the bracken and fresh waters of Australia, and are the most common farmer species in the country.
- European eels are fish that live in freshwater rivers and lakes throughout Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia.
- Anguilla roster ta – found in brackish or freshwater on the east coast of the U.S., the southeastern part of Canada, and the Gulf of Mexico.
- Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) are native to East Asia, including Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan. They are particularly well adapted for cultivation in ponds where their natural habitat is warmer than freshwater eels.
Eel Farming Cultivation Process – Guide
First of all, make sure your water source is safe for raising eel larvae. You can either raise them in ponds or tanks. In order to get started, you should buy the eel larvae. You could catch them from the wild or you could purchase them from the hatchery. Generally, you would use netting and trap methods to catch eel larvae.
When they’re young, you need to ensure that the eels aren’t diseased. They must be fed an artificial diet made from cod roe and dry starter feeds.
Once the pellets grow to approximately 5 grams, move them into larger tanks (6-10 m2) and increase their stocking density (100-150 kg/m2). At this point, they can digest dry feed pellets.
1. Eel farming Feed Supply
Basically, you can increase the number of fish with local and natural food. Basically, it is not only profitable but also environmentally friendly.
For example, feeding the golden eel to the eel will be a great and natural way of controlling the pest as well. Also, you can utilize the prepared feed in the form of a wet paste for glass eel and steam-press or extrude pellets for the later stages of life.
Providing eels with the right food is very important to their health and development. Eel needs to be fed with good quality fish products such as fish oil, proteins, and vitamins.
Commercial food is readily available. Basically, commercial food consists of a high-quality fish product paste for younger eels and a pellet for older eels. These food products contain high-quality fish proteins and oils to promote optimum development.
2. Eel farming Management & Care
When growing eel in ponds or tanks, regularly graded is a must for reducing competition for resources. After every six weeks, you should grade the eel. Furthermore, you should divide them into different size categories if you keep all different sized together. If you keep all of these different sized together, the bigger eel will eat the smaller eel.
Different sizes of gaps exist between the entrances of these machines so that the smaller ones can leave but retain the bigger ones.
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3. Harvesting of Eels
Eels can be harvested throughout the year, but they are best caught during winter months when the weather is cold. They should be graded based on size before being placed in a tank of fresh, clean, salt-free water.
Stress levels should be kept low to avoid affecting the quality of the meat. Food should be withheld for about two weeks before harvest to ensure that the eels’ bodies are empty of toxins.
4. Post Harvest Management of Eels
Proper post-harvest management is very important for the feeling of business. Also, you have to handle the eels according to their end uses. Chill the eels that are to be freshly eaten.
Put the fish into bags that are filled with oxygen. There must also be enough water in these bags to keep their skin moist. These are then ready for transport to markets. Eels that are to smoke are usually transported live to the processors.
You need to take care of the tanks after every harvest. Also, you can use the sunlight drying technique for a few weeks before starting fresh eel farming again
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