When we talk about “pata negra”, we are talking about a truly unique concatenation of elements: they are not only purebred Iberian pigs, but they are fed in the meadows based on acorns and grass. I mean, it’s not just biology, it’s ecology. They can’t be recreated because our climate technology doesn’t go that far. For now.
And I say “for the moment” because although it is true for terrestrial animals, when we talk about fish things change. In recent years, our technology for recreating aquatic ecosystems has become so advanced that it is possible that soon we will stop talking about Caspian Sea sturgeon, Garrucha red prawns or Motril shrimps: all the fish we want can be farmed in swimming pools with perfectly controlled ecosystems. And no, it is not the plot of a science fiction series.
A fishing ground in the middle of the plateau. In Medina del Campo, in the middle of a dry wasteland more than 300 kilometers from the nearest sea, 24 pools of heated water raise 50 tons of tropical shrimp each year. The tanks of ‘Noray SeaFood’ (formerly known as ‘Gamba Natural’) have capacities of between 150 and 220 cubic meters. There, at 28ºC, in the semi-darkness and with a mixture of tap water and salt from the Red Sea, they grow two million prawns. How is it possible?
RAS technology. Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) are technologies that allow fish to be grown in tanks rather than in open, outdoor ponds. They are very popular systems because, by allowing advanced control of the breeding environment, they favor the breeding of fish at high densities.
However, they require enormous accuracy: any failure in the rearing environment can put an end to the entire production. “Filters in recirculating systems clean the water and recycle it, sending it back to the culture tanks.” That is, new water is only added to the tanks to make up for water loss “from splashing, evaporation, and to replace that used to remove waste materials.”
Where do the prawns come from? Although the facilities are expensive (the initial investment was more than 12 million dollars), the most sensible part of starting the work is finding authorized suppliers of larvae. European legislation is very strict and, finally, those from Medina del Campo come from larvae purchased on Isla Morada (in Florida, USA).
The rest of the process involves artificial insemination techniques, to fertilize an average of 100,000 eggs in each clutch. After 15 days, it goes to the tanks where controlled ecosystems are recreated with 4% oxygen and a mixture of feed (meal, fish oil, etc.) and amino acids to ensure that the larvae reach their commercial size between the third and the fourth month of life.
A voracious market. Spain consumes 170,000 tons of shrimp each year. 95% is frozen and comes from countries such as China, Vietnam, Morocco, Colombia, Ecuador or Thailand at prices that range between 8 and 10 euros per kilo of retail price. Finding fresh shrimp is a much more complicated task and, therefore, its price per kilo can reach 45 euros.
However, this does not seem like an obstacle for a hungry European market. The company, right now, is allocating 70 percent of its production to Austria and Germany; and they already plan to double the size of their facilities. It is a good example, everything seems to indicate that RAS farms are going to mark the future of aquaculture.
In Magnet | China is exporting millions of shrimp with antibiotics to the world. And they could end up on your table
Imagen | Etienne Girardet
