Iran and Turkey are the world-leading producers of trout in freshwater

Raceways in Turkey

Src.: Own diagram based on FAO statistics (several years): trout production in tons

The countries with the shortest history of trout farming became the biggest producers of rainbow trout during the last decades. EU-countries with a long history of trout farming in ponds instead remain on decidedly lower production level.

More than 206 species belong to the family of Salmonidae, with salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) being two of the world´s most important fish species for consumption (NIELSEN et al, 2014). According to FAO about 813.000 tons of rainbow trout were produced in aquaculture in 2014.

Farming of rainbow trout started in den end of the 19^th century in the USA. Since 1872 eggs are constantly available for on-growing farms (ADELI & BAGHAEI, 2013).  Today USA has an underlying role in global trout farming producing only about 2% of the global production, mainly in Idaho.

While optimized growing happens at 15 to 20 °C, rainbow trout is compatible with most conditions and climates (ADELI & BAGHAEI, 2013; BERGHEIM, 2014). This is one of the reasons why trout farming was introduced to many countries during the last decades and is practiced considerably in 82 countries all over the world today. The most important rearing factor is the availability of oxygen in the water. Therefor farming often is carried out in areas close to mountains with summer cold and oxygen rich water.

Chile, Iran, Turkey and Norway are the most important rainbow trout producers in the world, followed by the EU-countries Denmark, Italy and France. Chile and Norway are the biggest producers of large trout in marine systems also known as salmon trout, while Iran and Turkey dominate the freshwater production of portion-sized rainbow trout.

Compared to European countries where it has a long tradition, trout farming in Iran, Chile and Turkey is quite a young economic sector (see graph below). In these countries the production actually started in the late 80ties. During the last 15 to 20 years, Chile, Iran and Turkey were the countries with the fastest growing trout farming sector in the world. In the EU trout production in earthen ponds has a long tradition. Unlike the “young trout producing countries” they weren´t able to considerable expand their production since 1980s. 

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