Silver Perch Aquaculture

Silver Perch are a fantastic aquaculture species and is one of the main freshwater species grown in Australia. A large aquaculture industry has grown around the silver perch and hundreds of tonnes of silvers are grown out each year for the restaurants and shops in Australia. There is also a large live trade into Sydney’s Asian restaurants with other smaller markets into both Melbourne and Brisbane. At the moment there are relatively good prices being paid for “live fish”. Many farmers are now targeting the regional markets and specialized niche markets with many farmers also looking at the fillet market where many think the future lies.

Anyone is allowed to grow silver perch for their own consumption without any permits or approvals. If however you want to sell silver perch then you will need a permit that is issued by your DPI or Fisheries Department. To obtain a permit you must meet certain criteria that ensures your commercial activities have no effect on the environment or the consumers of your product. In NSW you are not allowed to aquaculture silver perch for sale in farm dams. You are only allowed to grow them for your own consumption in farm dams.

Silver Perch are generally commercially aquacultured in earthen ponds, not farm dams. These are specialized ponds designed specifically for aquaculture of large numbers of silver perch. They are bottom draining ponds, with a bank all the way around to prohibit entry of surface runoff and they are aerated and monitored to ensure good water quality is maintained at all times. Silver perch are generally grown at 5,000 kgs per hectare of water surface area. Higher densities can be achieved but greater risk to the whole crop will occur. Silvers are generally grown for 2 years and harvested at 600 to 800 grams for the live trade, though some farmers have markets for fish from 400 grams up.

Silver perch can also be grown in cages and are very suitable for cage culture and cage culture to me looks like the way of the future.

Silvers can also be grown in tanks utilizing a recirculation system that filters and cleans the same water returning it to the system. Many people have home aquaculture systems that produce a surprising amount of fish for their own personal consumption.