Carp season Small fish due to a long heatwave

Start of the carp season: Smaller fish are better
The heat and drought in the past few months has the German pond hosts partly bad. It was even feared a fish extinction. Even if it has not gotten so bad, the carp are much smaller this year. This is an advantage for fish lovers.

Smaller fish with firmer meat
About every second German carp comes from Bavaria. This year, many of the fish from the Free State, however, smaller than usual because of the long drought. The Vice President of the Bavarian State Fisheries Association, Alfred Stier, explained according to a message from the news agency dpa, that could be expected depending on the region with losses of 20 percent. In particular, the fish farmers in Middle Franconia suffered from the drought. "Here the situation was sometimes dramatic." The quality of the meat does not hurt, on the contrary: This year, this "very good". The meat becomes firmer as the animals grow slower.

The carp are much smaller this year. Picture: koss13 - fotolia

Season from September to November
The Bavarian Minister of Agriculture Helmut Brunner (CSU) has opened Monday in Heilsbronn (district Ansbach) the carp season in the country. This traditionally starts in September. In November, the last fish are harvested, usually leaving the water from the ponds. In some ponds, the carp had to be fished or converted prematurely due to the long dry phase. Nevertheless, as Brunner said, the total amount is expected to return to its long-term average of 6,000 tonnes.

Price per kilo will probably remain stable
According to the information, Bavaria is Germany's largest carp-producing country. Two thirds of the carps there come from Middle Franconia and the Upper Palatinate, and around ten percent from Upper Franconia. The approximately 10,000 carp producers in Bavaria are family farms. According to the Minister, the native carp is a pure natural product, which has been produced unchanged for centuries. According to Alfred Stier, the price per kilo will probably be around 2.50 to 3 euros again. "Actually, that's one euro too little. The pond hosts are thus far below the minimum wage. "

Carp is considered fat
Especially at Christmas carp in Germany comes to the table. However, many consumers avoid the fish, as it has the reputation of being particularly fat. While it actually contains more fat than many other fish, it still performs poorly compared to most meats. It also provides significant amounts of minerals such as phosphorus and iron, B vitamins and vitamin A. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends eating fish twice a week. Tasty carp recipes can be found on the internet. (Ad)