Pacific salmon 45 km away from Sofia

Pacific salmon 45 km away from Sofia towards the Borovets ski resort. It sounds like a joke, but it is not. The quirky idea is already being implemented in the village of Gorni Okol, Samokov Region, with the support of the Bulgarian Development Bank.

The first ever coho salmon farm in Europe was built there entirely using a recycling system.This fish is among the healthiest species to eat, with more omega-3s and valuable substances than the known Atlantic salmon that comes from Norway.

"Our plans are to grow 200 tons a year," says Valeri Milovanov, one of the partners at Cohofarm.

The project is large for the scale of Bulgaria, BGN 5.5 million, financed by BDB. It includes a subsidy of BGN 2.6 million from the Fisheries Operational Program. Applying for a grant under the program was a stumbling block to the establishment of the farm because the project was delayed for more than 2 years, while the partners had already signed an agreement and made an advance payment to use the technology of the US company WMT. Only the Bulgarian Development Bank agreed to finance the project without asking for additional guarantees.

Coho salmon in Gorni Okol village is grown in fresh water at a temperature of 13 to 15 degrees throughout the entire year. The fish stock is purchased from the US company TargetMarina, which is the only company in the world to issue a certificate that the caviar is absolutely clean and free of pathogens.