Kwell char from the Koflerhof

Top quality local fish from Obernberg in the Wipptal

Petra and Alfred Kofler have been successfully running a small fish farm on their farm in Obernberg for a few years now. They breed and sell Kwell char with the Tyrolean quality seal. The char is a local fish species of the highest quality in terms of appearance and taste. I visited them on site, took a closer look at their ponds and the small abattoir and picked up a few fresh fish.

At the Koflerhof farm in Obernberg, Alfred and Petra Kofler decided about four years ago to add fish farming to their agricultural business with dairy cows. Alfred is friends with the fish farmer Walter Vötter from Gries and helped him to rebuild his fish farm in Gries five years ago. Walter then said that he also had the best conditions for fish farming at home in Obernberg: plenty of fresh, cold water and a free area for ponds in front of the farm. Yes, why not? Alfred and Petra then decided to give it a try. In 2018, they started out with a pond and a few fish from Walter. It quickly became clear that just keeping fish in ponds without proper training as fish farmers and their own slaughtering was not satisfactory. They wanted to be independent, slaughter the fish themselves and sell them from the farm. Petra therefore decided that same year to attend training courses for fish farmers at the Agricultural College for Fish Farming in Starnberg (DE). They also wanted to take part in the Kwell char quality program. This required, for example, expert opinions on the quality and temperature of the stream water from the Frader Valley, a separate fresh water supply for the six near-natural ponds with a return flow into the stream and strict compliance with the hygiene requirements for a slaughterhouse. In 2019, everything was finally ready for a professional start to fish farming. "I would never have thought that I would one day become a fish farmer," laughs Petra. But things in life often turn out differently than you think...

Several certificates with awards and medals hang in the small kitchen in the abattoir. In their very first year, they won gold in the "Fisch Kaiser der Messe Wieselburg" - one of the best-known awards for freshwater fish in Austria - as the overall winner in the fresh fish category. They have won a gold or silver award every year, but not the overall winner. "This is definitely another one of our ambitions," explains Petra.

Char belong to the salmonid family. The "Quality Tirol" seal of approval designates the Kwell char as such because its habitat is clear spring and mountain water. The fish grows slowly in the cool water. This guarantees firm meat and the best taste. Not only must the water be of high quality, the ponds must also be near-natural and the stocking density in the ponds must be kept low. In addition to these criteria, no medication against diseases, antibiotics or hormones may be used to promote growth.

Every year, Alfred and Petra buy around 15,000 fry at six months old from Walter Vötter in Gries, who has a hatchery in Lueg. The fish are then fed by hand in the six ponds in front of their farm until they are ready to eat after around 2 to 2 ½ years. The slow growth guarantees optimum meat quality. As not all fish grow at the same rate, they are constantly re-sorted in the different ponds. When asked how many fish are in the pond, Petra can't give me an exact answer. Not too many and not too few, so that they feel comfortable. It is also interesting to note that a fish needs about 1 kg of food in its lifetime - the amount of food is the fish farmers' guide to how many fish are in the ponds. Thank goodness they have no problems with diseases, says Petra, because the water is very cool at a maximum of 8 degrees and has an optimum pH value. The conditions on site and the quality of the fish are strictly monitored annually by the AMA organic inspection.

The fresh Kwell char or the smoked version is available from Petra and Alfred either on pre-order on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from the farm (address: Au 380, 6156 Gries a. Br., phone: 0043 664 990 5531 or 0043 699 1130 1039, e-mail: alfredkofler@hotmail.com) or at the farmers' market in the market hall in Innsbruck on Fridays and Saturdays from 8:00 to 12:00. If you would like to taste the fish directly, you can do so at Gasthaus Vinaders (open Thu - Sun). Don't be confused by the address of the Koflerhof - although it is geographically located in Obernberg, it still belongs to the municipality of Gries.

Kwell char is also available from the following other fish farmers in the Wipptal:
- Walter Vötter from Gries
- The Mair family from Trins
- The Müssigang family from Obernberg