Agriculture, Analytics, Estonia, Statistics

While in 2014, a record amount (869 tonnes) of commercial fish and crayfish was sold, the volume of production sold in 2016 was only 0.1% smaller. The main increase in the fish and crayfish production has occurred in the past five years: compared to 2012, the volume of aquaculture production sold has increased 1.5 times. 

In Estonia, rainbow trout accounts for the biggest share in the aquaculture production sold and the share has increased year by year. While in 2015, the share of rainbow trout in the total fish and crayfish production was 70%, in 2016 it was 78%. In 2016, the amount of rainbow trout sold was 680 tonnes, with a total value of 2.6 million euros – this is also the highest quantity sold in 20 years.

The monetary value of the European crayfish production increased nearly 1.2 times compared to 2015. In 2016, the European crayfish was sold in the amount of 0.7 tonnes, which is 1.1 times more than in 2015.

In addition to the rainbow trout and the European crayfish, other fish species are farmed and sold (perch, the Arctic char, the European eel, the African sharptooth catfish, common carp, silver carp, wels catfish, sturgeons (the Siberian and Russian sturgeons) and grass carp).

The amount of fish roe for consumption sold in 2016 totalled 4.9 tonnes, which is approximately 1.5 times less than in 2015. Also the monetary value of production decreased 1.5 times. In 2016, the value of fish roe for consumption sold totalled 127,800 euros, while in 2015, it was 197,000 euros.

In 2016, of the total production of commercial fish and crayfish, 9% was exported – 2 percentage points more than in 2015. Mainly the European eel and to a lesser extent sturgeons, perch, rainbow trout and the European crayfish were exported.