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My professional career
I completed an apprenticeship in aquaculture and fish farming at the Fischereibetrieb Marx, a commercial fisheries business with a pond system in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt specialising in the breeding and processing of rainbow trout, char and carp. These and various other species of fish were sold directly via the farm shop and the fish restaurant and to anglers fishing the ponds and to major customers.
At the Fischereibetrieb Betge, a lake and river fishery in Brandenburg, I was responsible for processing a wide range of species - from Arctic char to zander. Consumers were supplied via the farm shop and on many of the markets in the local area and beyond.
At the Forellenzucht Gesundbrunnen, a pond facility in Brandenburg, I supervised an apprentice and a number of temporary staff. Rainbow trout, brown trout and char were farmed and processed, and these and a wide variety of other fish were sold directly via the farm shop and to anglers fishing the ponds.
For a period I was employed by the Teichwirtschaft Eulo in Brandenburg, a large 250-hectare carp farming business. The operations manager had had an accident at work and was off work for several weeks. During this time I deputised for him, covering all aspects of work at his business.
As operations manager at the University of Göttingen’s Fish Breeding Unit in Lower Saxony, which was divided into ponds and raceways, I was able to increase my knowledge of salmonids significantly. The unit specialised in the propagation and breeding of rainbow trout and brown trout. My duties included supervising and carrying out scientific investigations and projects, such as influencing the spawning season of rainbow trout using artificial light, temperature trials to influence sexual development in trout spawn, etc.
It was also my responsibility to propagate, breed and market stock fish and food fish, look after and maintain the unit, supervise staff and much more.
I was also employed as operations manager at the Störzucht Geisleithen, a pond and raceway facility for sturgeon farming in Bavaria. My work consisted of propagating and breeding sturgeon and adapting them to dry fish feed, caviar production from sturgeon roe, sale of stock fish and food fish, managing production processes, commercial work and training and managing personnel. Other tasks included propagating zander and adapting it to dry fish feed, propagating carp in the hatchery including rearing juveniles from spawn in the pond and much more.
The Pastravaria Magesti is a raceway facility in Romania where sturgeon has been produced since 2008. Since the start of sturgeon production, I have worked at the facility at certain intervals for a few days or weeks. My tasks cover the training and induction of staff, sexing sturgeon and assessing gonadal development by biopsy for the production of caviar.
One of the largest sturgeon farms in Europe, Caviale SRL, is a raceway facility in Italy. I was responsible for caviar production and involved in the propagation and breeding of sturgeon.
Otto Maier GmbH is a fish wholesaler located throughout Germany which imports and exports fish and produces, processes and distributes fresh fish, smoked fish and frozen fish and extracts caviar from sturgeon.
I was one of the leading members of staff involved in the planning, approval applications and construction of a new slaughterhouse for caviar production at the company. My roles also included production supervisor for caviar extraction, hygiene management, the development of a distribution network for sales of caviar and sturgeon, the relevant book-keeping as well as the training and management of staff.
Fischzucht Gut Schnede is a large raceway facility in Northern Germany where mainly char is produced from the egg right through to the table and is mostly destined for wholesale. I regularly deputise for the operations manager in his absence with full responsibility for his business, including looking after his customers and suppliers.
Fischzucht Zippelsförde is a pond and raceway facility in Brandenburg where trout, char, carp and – for the past few years – sturgeon are farmed. These and various other fish species, as well as sturgeon caviar, are sold directly via the farm shop and to anglers fishing the ponds as well as to restaurants and major customers. I have been a point of contact and provided advice to the business since sturgeon production started and am always on site for sexing sturgeon and selecting spawners for caviar production. I also manage the seasonal caviar production from these fish.
Furthermore, I was employed as an on-site consultant at an SME which supplies systems and equipment to the fisheries industry and builds and/or develops its own recirculation systems. In future, the company will focus on building systems for zander production, and there are also plans to supply customers with dry food-adapted fingerlings. My role was to contribute to developing the construction of systems and to adapt zander to dry fish food in the company’s own recirculation system to obtain reference data. I was also able to contribute my specialist knowledge in drawing up an overall concept for zander farming. This covers all stages from spawners right through to zander that are ready for sale, including temperature and light regimes for influencing the spawning season and adapting the zander larvae to dry fish food.
My colleague, master fish farmer Toni Buresch, and I have also deputised or provided support on site at many other fish farms. For example, at Fischereibetrieb Wilfried Schulz (a river and lake fishery), Teichwirtschaften Einberg und Döbra (a carp pond business) and Fischereiverein Untersee und Rhein (a large hatchery for providing stock for Lake Constance).
I also advise many fish farmers and mainly those new to fish farming with recirculation systems. For those who are interested in fish farming, I provide an initial consultation to give them an insight into the business. This also covers suggestions for species for farming and a brief viability analysis. If they would like to set up a recirculation system, I support them from the construction of the system right through to harvesting fish for the table and also help them to sell their fish. The extent of advice and support which is to be provided on site (as a rule, 1-3 days per month) and many other details are governed by a consultancy agreement. I am also of course available for you to consult at all times by phone or by email. As an independent consultant, I do not sell equipment or systems but will advise you on choosing the right components for your operation.
Licences and other certification:
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| certificate of employment Uni Göttingen_ |  (225 kB) |
| certificate of employment Fischereibetrieb Marx_ | (172 kB) |
| certificate of employment Störzucht Geisleithen_ | (155 kB) |