Several ambitious Research and Development programmes enable to constantly adapt the ‘VIVIERS” stain to the needs of our customers and to develop the company towards a better understanding of the societal demands: Food, Health, Environment.

Genetic selection

Through a genetic selection programme implemented from 1995, the “VIVIERS” strain is internationally renowned for its growth performance.

The “VIVIERS” eggs performance has been tested at different temperatures:

• An average weight of 500 g is reached after a rearing period of 10 months at a temperature of 12-14°C, and after a rearing period of 12 months at a temperature of 8.5°C.
• An average weight of 4 kg is reached after a rearing period of 20 months at a temperature of 12-14°C, and after a rearing period of 23 months at a temperature of 8.5°C.

The rearing performance remains our main selection criterion. However for several years, we also consider other characteristics such as morphology, no malformations, slaughter yields, adaptation to vegetable food, resistance to diseases.

Feed

Feed is a major challenge in modern fish farming:

Pellets for farmed fish usually consisted of fish coming from sea fishing. But this is no longer possible in the 21st century, as the natural resource becomes scarce and wild fish is kept for human consumption. Today feed for farmed fish mainly consists of vegetables from agriculture.

To make our carnivorous fish consume this vegetable food, major Research and Development studies are necessary in order to develop food adapted to each species of fish, and also to select fishes best adapted to vegetable food.

Viviers de Sarrance is actively involved in these studies, especially in the “ARRAINA” programme funded by the European Union, and in the “AGREENFISH” programme funded by the ANR (French national research agency).

Health management

In order to guarantee unrivalled health security for its customers and to avoid any health pollution in its environment, Viviers de Sarrance makes efforts in terms of health, site protection (predators control), livestock protection (vaccination), selection of healthiest fish.

Several Research and Development programmes contribute to these efforts. In particular, we are involved in the collective programme “RESIST” whose purpose is the selection of fish resistant to fish diseases. This programme is funded by the French region of Aquitaine and the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

Environmental management

Thanks to the very abundant water resource and to a low stock, Sarrance fish-farm produces little or no pollution. This is shown in the regular analysis of our discharges.

In order to maintain and improve this environmental excellence, we have implemented Research and Development studies on the reduction of the permanent livestock, the improvement of food efficiency, and the decrease of animal-health treatments.