Welder Builds Sturgeon Farm for Retirement
The farm currently holds about 2 tons of fish, still not enough to cover costs.
Vladimir Ritter from Severodvinsk built pools from scrap materials with his own hands and breeds red-listed fish in the North. Sturgeon fishing is banned in Russia, but raising them in artificial conditions is allowed. The plant worker showed how the aquaculture farm works and explained why mistakes in his business are fatal. All answers are in the video.
The aquafarm owner holds a year-old sturgeon in his hands.
The sturgeon farm isn«t Vladimir»s first attempt at running his own business. Earlier he raised cattle in Altai, but holding his own farm without state support was tough, and he returned to paid employment. By education, the 40-year-old man is a tractor and excavator operator. He has worked with his hands his whole life and in recent years has worked as a welder at Sevmash. He admits he always dreamed of his own business. In December 2022, he took up farming again, but this time aquaculture. He started by breeding crayfish at home.
Vladimir raises hybrid sturgeon breeds.
— That was a failure: crayfish are cannibals. I had about 20,000 small crayfish, and after four months only 1,500 remained. When a crayfish grows, it sheds its old shell, and at that moment it becomes easy prey for its relatives. Crayfish immediately swarm in, and it doesn«t matter whether they»re fed or not, says Vladimir.
In a year, such a fish can reach two kilograms.
The first attempt ended in failure and a loss on his account. Acquaintances advised switching to fish. Crayfish made way for sturgeon, carp, and African catfish. The first are the most numerous; keeping them is economically advantageous, explains the plant worker.
Take a look inside the aquaculture farm.
The aquaculture farm is his long-term project. In a few years, the 40-year-old welder will qualify for early retirement due to hazardous working conditions. By that time, he wants the fish farm to bring in a stable income.
— I need to sell 7–8 tons of fish a year, he calculates. — In this facility I can grow about two tons of sturgeon, but it«s not all two tons at once: three pools are for marketable fish, two for the younger generation, and also for juveniles. For sale, that»s about 700–800 kilograms. So now I«m equipping pools in a second facility.
Vladimir learns the fish business through practice. Sturgeon are finicky fish to care for; they require special conditions: water temperature, quality, oxygen levels. One mistake and the entire stock dies.
Here the fish grow year-round. In nature, sturgeon go into wintering, and it takes several years to reach two kilograms. In stable artificial conditions, just one year. But, as Vladimir explains, the fish must be underfed by 30% so that leftover feed doesn«t degrade water quality.
— When you feed them a lot, the fish get fat. If you fry them, it«s not tasty because they absorb the oil. And you can feed them every half hour if you like—they»ll just keep eating, laughs Vladimir.
Before selling, the fish must stay in clean water for three days without food.
— During that time they cleanse themselves, explains the plant worker. — Only after that can they be sold. And they must be sold alive because sturgeon spoil quickly.
On the farm, water circulates in a closed loop and isn«t drained after use because the system is designed as a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). Every day, the pool water is filtered and returned. The water is tap water, so it must be left to settle for a day.
Vladimir assembled the RAS himself from ordinary construction materials, using polypropylene. This saved money at the start. Maintaining the pools isn«t cheap: electricity and water alone cost about 30,000 rubles ($300 at current rates) a month.
The most expensive cost items are feed and juveniles. A few years ago, one juvenile cost 80 rubles; now the price exceeds 200 rubles ($2).
The schedule on the aquaculture farm is as strict as a plant shift. Vladimir«s morning starts at six.
— I arrive here before seven, walk around, observe. I fish out a couple from each pool to see if they«ve eaten, how they»re feeling, he describes the ritual. — At seven I«m at the plant, at Sevmash. After work, I come back here.
His wife and children support Vladimir«s business: the kids like to scoop fish with a net, and his wife helps in emergencies. In a year, Vladimir plans to reach break-even. By retirement, according to his plan, the aquaculture farm should bring a stable income.
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