At the eighth kilometer from Plužine, on the river Vrbnica, in the village of Stabna, there is an abandoned hatchery that the people of Piv called the "young fish factory". Today it stands empty, devastated, but once it worked well and had a dozen employees.
The situation could change if Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), which manages the hatchery, persists in its current intention to reactivate the "fish fry factory".
"Elektroprivreda plans and undertakes the necessary initial activities to activate the artificial hatchery of native Durmitor trout, with the aim of obtaining geographical protection of Durmitor lake trout and brook trout of the Piva and Tara basins by working on trout selection. Some initial activities have already been carried out to clean the facility, water intakes, canals, pipelines, clarifiers, pools, and remove vegetation from the entire area around the hatchery and all pools," EPCG's Chief Financial Officer told "Vijesta" Miro Vračar.
He reminded that with the construction of Lake Piva, all the watercourses that represented the habitat and natural spawning grounds of native brown trout were submerged, so after the hydroelectric power plant (HE) "Piva" was put into operation, Elektroprivreda built the hatchery in the eighties of the last century, in order to "at least partly replaced what was permanently destroyed (habitat and natural spawning ground of brook trout)".
Since 2012, people from Piv and anglers have been waiting
The hatchery was built on the basis of the Agreement on determining the obligations of HPP "Piva" towards the Municipality of Plužine from 1981, which arise from the construction of the hydroelectric power plant. EPCG started the construction of the hatchery in 1985 and completed it two years later, formed the mother flock of brown trout and gave the hatchery to the use of the company "Aqua D'Or" from Nikšić. The use permit for the first phase of the hatchery was issued in October 1989, and for the second phase two years later. The hatchery was modeled after the hatchery from Mostar, which was in Blagaj, with 18 pools outside (six large and 12 medium, 20 small inside and a building of about 400 square meters).
From 1998 to 2012, the company from Nikšić produced fish fry for the purposes of stocking Lake Piva. The basis for this was the contract concluded in 1998 between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, HPP "Piva" and that company. Until 2012, the company "Aqua D'Or" separated 280 pieces of fish fry for the stocking of Lake Piva, of which 258.000 were in the Piva basin, and 22.000 in the Šavnica basin.
Until 2012. Since then, neither the hatchery works, nor the Piva Lake is stocked, and young brook trout cannot be obtained in the surrounding area either. And so for years, everyone has been waiting - fishermen, residents of Plužine, the municipality... and the hatchery is falling apart.
According to Vračar, although detailed projections and estimated values of investments in the adaptation of the hatchery have not yet been made, preliminary analyzes indicate that these expenses could be around 150 to 170 thousand euros. This amount does not include the purchase of work equipment.
In three years, a million pieces of fry
"Adaptation of the capacity of the hatchery, the intention of its activation and the production of roe and juveniles of native brown trout, is primarily aimed at stocking the tributaries of the Piva River and the reservoir Piva Lake, which partly compensates for the damage to the permanently submerged habitats and natural hatcheries of the brown trout, and settles the obligations to the Municipality Plužine on that basis", points out Vračar.
He explains that in the initial phase the hatchery cannot achieve a high level of production, as well as that, provided the necessary conditions are provided, the projected capacity of roe production and rearing of up to one million fry can be reached in the third year of operation.
"In order to obtain one million pieces of quality roe, we need to provide about 800 kilograms of parent individuals, of which about 600 females with an average weight of about a kilogram, aged between three and seven years, and about 200 males whose body weight can be significantly less than a kilogram and be old from two to four years," he explains.
According to Vračar, if activities related to the adaptation and preparation of the opening of the hatchery proceed according to the planned dynamics, it is to be expected that in the fall of next year Pivsko jezero will be stocked with autochthonous brook trout genetically processed, spawned and raised in the hatchery on Vrbnica.
Until the hatchery starts operating, Vračar says that they were thinking of spawning young carp in closed outdoor pools, as a temporary solution, with which they would stock Slano jezero and Krupac. It is still not certain whether this will happen, since the necessary permits and approvals have not yet been requested.
The hatchery would also be an opportunity for a certain number of workers to get a job. According to the chief financial director of EPCG, the professional staff would be recruited from the faculty and institute for fisheries, while "the remaining employment can be drawn from the available local work potential". All that remains is to move from words to actions, for the hatchery to once again become a "fish fry factory", and for Pivsko jezero, after a break of more than a decade, to be stocked.
Delić: We follow the story with a reservation
President of the Municipality of Plužine Slobodan Delic he reminded that the stocking of Piva Lake is one of a number of obligations that Elektroprivreda has not fulfilled for years.
"Legal regulations helped them to justify their non-stocking actions, but it was incredible that they did not try to revitalize the hatchery in Stabni, which was built for the purpose of stocking the lake with brook trout of the Black Sea basin," said Delic.
He pointed out that he heard that there are certain activities to put the hatchery back into operation, but that he does not have any official information about those plans.
"Until it is equipped and put into operation, it is uncertain what will happen to them. The importance of the existence and operation of the hatchery is huge for Plužine, but we have already seen how important the welfare of the citizens of Plužine is for Elektroprivreda, so we are following the development of this project with a reservation," said Delić.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
