Our Fish

VS Fisheries take great pride in the fish that we supply to you, the customer.

We endeavour to produce fish with individual character and great future potential so that you have carp delivered that are "simply stunning", to put it in the words of one recently delighted client.

The Selection Process

Following the selection of the broodstock the fish are individually spawned and the whole process begins as the eggs hatch into minute larvae. These are first fed indoors for a few days after hatching then stocked out into special prepared fry ponds between late April and June. At the end of their first summer, about 6 months old and between 3 and 7 inches, our fish are graded for the first time where we select the best fish from that year class in terms of not only growth but body shape and scaling. Following another seasons' growth we then carefully hand select the best again to on-grow according to our rigorous selection criteria. It is these hand-selected fish that are then on-grown over the course of the next 2 to 5 years for supply to the countries' leading specimen carp fisheries.

Click here to view some examples of our carp

Feeding Our Fish

Through much work and investigation into carp nutrition we have come to the conclusion that getting them 'big and fat' as quickly as possible on our farm will simply not satisfy you as the customer in the longer term. We firmly believe that it is best to produce fish at a more sensible rate, and on a mixed diet, that ensures the carp are perfectly conditioned for stocking into fisheries where they will thrive and grow for many years.

Yes other suppliers may have carp available of the same age at a bigger size but we are confident that the condition and health status of our fish is the best available on the market today.

Currently our fish are fed on a mixture of:

  • Wheat / Cereals
  • Carp Pellet
  • Low Oil Trout Pellet
  • Floating Trout Pellet

Health Status

All of our fish are produced on our two CEFAS registered carp farms. These undergo annual inspections by the CEFAS Health Inspectorate based in Weymouth. They routinely sample our sites for serious carp diseases such as SVC and KHV (Koi Herpes Virus). As part of our registration as a fish farm we are legally obliged to inform CEFAS if we have any suspicions of a serious disease outbreak along with keeping detailed information on fish movements to or from the site, any mortalities and treatments.

In addition to this routine sampling, prior to our fish being sold they undergo a full Section 30 'Health Check' by an independent consultant. This meets all the Environment Agency's legal requirements for stocking into inland waters. This Health Check ensures that our carp are free from Category 2 parasites or obvious signs of bacterial or viral infections.

To date our sites have both enjoyed an SVC and KHV free status and are free from any category 2 parasites.

For extra peace of mind for our customers we now also submit a sample of our fish annually to an independent laboratory for testing to ensure they have not come into contact with KHV, which has caused mass mortalities in carp fisheries during recent years.

Consents & Associated Paperwork

For all stockings into inland waters in England and Wales, except other CEFAS registered fish farms, a Section 30 or FR1 consent is required from the EA.

VS Fisheries will routinely carry out this application on your behalf unless instructed otherwise by you, the customer (Please see Fish Prices for further information). If you wish to apply for your own consent we will supply you with all the relevant details required but will insist that we see a copy of the approved consent prior to us loading the fish for delivery to your fishery.

Upon delivery VS Fisheries will supply you with copies of the Section 30 consent, current related health checks and any other related paperwork.

As part of 'The Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2008' new legislation is coming into force in August 2009 that requires all fisheries to be 'registered' with CEFAS. Once this is implemented it means that if you wish to introduce fish from ourselves or any other source you will only be allowed to if your fishery is registered. Legally, this means that VS Fisheries will not be able to supply any fish to unregistered sites. For more information on this new process, which is simple to achieve, please feel free to contact us or follow the link available here to the CEFAS website.

In addition we also produce a 'Fish Fact Sheet' that gives you accurate details including the following information about the specific fish you are receiving:

  • Date of birth / Age.
  • Parent Brood fish strain information and pictures.
  • Production history including feed types.

We hope that this may be of use to you as the owner in understanding their history, tracking their performance in future years to come and certainly many anglers will be interested in knowing the history of the carp for which they are fishing.

Delivery to Your Fishery

Using specially designed fish transport tanks and oxygen every effort is made to deliver your fish in top condition. The carp will then be weighed off in front of you and the weights agreed and recorded. Please note delivery charges may apply depending on the size of the order (See Fish Prices).

Fish Grown to Order

Do you have specific requirements outside of what we normally supply? Perhaps you want some specific scale patterned fish or need a large amount of fish to stock a new fishery? We are more than willing to undertake contract growing to meet your requirements. To discuss this option further please contact us here.

Due to current demand for our fish many of our customers are now ordering fish at least 18 months in advance of delivery to ensure they get what they require.