Fisheries in Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt expect prices for direct sales to remain largely stable during the 2026 Christmas season, despite drought and rising costs. Gero Weinhardt, president of the state fisheries association, told the German Press Agency. The news agency published his assessment on 12 November 2026. Weinhardt, however, expected higher costs to affect wholesale market prices.
His statement is a forecast, not a guarantee of uniform retail prices. It also concerns prices charged by local businesses: what customers pay in shops depends on the other stages of the supply chain as well. According to Weinhardt, energy costs have risen sharply; feed and other operating supplies have also become more expensive.
Fisheries in several parts of the state illustrate how differently water shortages can affect businesses. In Wickerode in the county of Mansfeld-Südharz Detlef Thiele runs a trout farm. He told the news agency that a stream supplying his ponds had run dry for weeks. To reuse water, he is increasingly relying on pump circulation systems. This helps him manage the shortage, but, he said, also increases energy use. He nevertheless expects to keep his prices reasonably stable. He has already closed two of his three trout farms.
Dorothea Lübbe’s fishpond business in Lochow in the Jerichower Land was also affected by low water levels. She said they had recently been as much as 70 centimetres below the usual level. The carp had since been harvested, and an emergency harvest had not been necessary. She described the yield as satisfactory and said she would not raise the price in her farm shop.
On Lake Süßer See at Seeburg Fisherman Christian Kuwalik also observed the effects of low water levels. He said reed beds had dried out, though they serve as refuges for young fish. Kuwalik therefore fears stocks will be lower in the coming years. This concerns future prospects; current observations are not yet enough to quantify any loss that has already occurred.
The situation in Saxony-Anhalt cannot readily be applied to other regions. On 4 November, the Berliner Zeitung reported, citing the state fisheries association in Saxony , that it expected carp prices to rise. The respective forecasts therefore concern different states and businesses.
A longer-term look at the market shows that prices can also vary depending on the sales channel. The 2024 annual report on German inland fisheries documented a easing of prices for carp sold wholesale at the time, while prices for direct sales continued to rise. This earlier finding alone says nothing about the price actually achieved during the 2026 Christmas season.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).