Sustainable fish farming in Switzerland

Over 80,000 sturgeon in the farm

Oona Caviar has continuously developed its leading role in sustainable fish farming since the first sturgeon fish were bred at the facility in 2005. Together with the Centre for Fish and Wildlife Medicine at the University of Bern, it has optimised the husbandry conditions and developed new, more animal-friendly methods, for example to determine the optimal time for caviar maturity. Today, there are around 80,000 sturgeon in the breeding tanks, not counting the perch.

Species-appropriate animal husbandry and fresh mountain spring water

In addition to the warm water from inside the Lötschberg, the recirculation system is the secret to success: the fish farm's water basins are arranged in such a way that the same treated water with a small percentage of fresh water always circulates in them. Pumps push it from the central water treatment plants into the pools at the top, it flows out at the bottom and back into the purification system. Thanks to high-performance filter systems, the water quality in the tanks is above average, which in turn benefits the health of the fish and the quality of the products. The use of antibiotics or other medicines is deliberately avoided. Sustainability and species-appropriate animal husbandry are top priorities at our fish farm.

Sustainable fish farming in Frutigen

Fish is a healthy and popular food. This is proven by fish consumption, which has increased massively worldwide in recent decades. As a result, the fish population in the waters, including the sturgeon population, has declined massively: overfishing is the sad diagnosis worldwide. It is not only the hunger for fish, but above all the coveted caviar that has led to most of the 26 sturgeon species being threatened with extinction. Wild fishing of sturgeon is now banned almost worldwide. The sensible and sustainable alternative to wild fishing is therefore fish farming. The fish grow in ponds or tanks, fed without the addition of medication or hormones. 

• All fish and caviar products have been awarded a sustainability score of 2 by the WWF
• Perch and sturgeon have been Pro Montagna certified since 2022
• Fish and caviar also Suisse Garantie certified
• Study to improve the fish feed used for perch in terms of digestibility with the aim of reducing the amount of feed used
• Fish feed: GMO-free, ethoxyquin-free, fish oil in fish feed comes from 100% trimmings
• Bottle mail: New shipping packaging made from rEPS and frozen mineral water bottles made from recycled PET as cold packs