Bavaria opens carp fishing season despite lower expected harvest

Carp season has begun in Bavaria, where fish farmers expect to harvest between 4,000 and 4,500 tonnes this year. The Agriculture Ministry said that would be a comparatively small harvest despite good production conditions, mainly because predators such as otters have caused losses.

Federal Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer and Bavaria’s Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber attended the official opening in Weisendorf, in the Erlangen-Höchstadt district. Rainer said Bavarian carp ponds had shaped entire landscapes for centuries and provided habitats for many animal and plant species.

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Our carp ponds have shaped entire landscapes for centuries and are habitats for many animal and plant species.

“Bringing local carp to the table means choosing quality from the region, supporting family businesses and helping preserve this tradition,” Rainer said.

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Bringing local carp to the table means choosing quality from the region, supporting family businesses and helping preserve this tradition.

Kaniber thanked the roughly 8,000 family businesses that manage about 40,000 ponds. Bavaria has nearly 20,000 hectares of the 42,000 hectares of carp ponds across Germany. Middle Franconia and Upper Palatinate are the main production areas, each supplying more than one-third of Bavarian carp.

Bavarian carp production takes place exclusively in small ponds averaging 0.4 hectares. Kaniber described the highly extensive, nature-based method as unique worldwide.

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This form of highly extensive and nature-based production is unique worldwide.