The Sottocastello Hatchery

Restoration year

2023 — The beginning

When the Association took over the Sottocastello facility, it faced a site that had stood silent for over thirty years: empty tanks, systems to be checked, a place waiting only to come back to life.

2023 marked the restart of the Sottocastello hatchery, with the introduction of the first marble trout breeding stock supplied by the Regione Veneto and the Provincia di Belluno, as part of the restocking programme launched after storm Vaia.

Much of the year was spent bringing back into operation a facility that had lain idle since the 1990s: every system at the hatchery was restored, with work carried out on the tanks and on the plumbing and electrical systems. At the same time, the Association began learning to manage the marble trout assigned to it for breeding — no small challenge, since it had no prior experience with this type of hatchery work.

Thanks to advice from the provincial and regional biologists and support from the veterinary services, management issues were addressed following the technical guidance of the Provincia di Belluno. Mortality remained within values considered normal, mainly linked to fish transfers and handling stress.

By the end of the year, the hatchery had found its purpose again: a solid starting point on which to build the results achieved in 2024.

500,000 fertilised eggs

2024 — The first major results

2024 was a particularly positive year, thanks to the high number of marble trout eggs (Piave strain) produced: the target of 500,000 fertilised eggs was reached.

A result that confirmed the value of the restoration work carried out the previous year: the hatchery, now fully operational again, proved able to sustain a complete production cycle, from egg fertilisation through to hatching and the growth of the first fry in the Sottocastello tanks.

In the months following hatching, hatchery staff closely monitored the fry’s growth, keeping a close eye on feeding and tank conditions to support them carefully through this particularly delicate stage of their development.

The fry and young trout raised were released into various watercourses across the Province of Belluno, contributing to the restoration of fish populations affected by storm Vaia. To secure a new breeding stock, around 8,000 young trout were retained, to grow on and later be selected as future broodstock.

450,000 fertilised eggs

2025 — Continuity and new milestones

2025 proceeded without major issues: the breeding stock grew steadily, and the young trout destined to become breeders showed no health or management problems.

In November, 6,000 young trout measuring 15–18 cm were released into the watercourses of fishing districts 3, 5, 8 and 9 on behalf of Veneto Acque. A particularly significant milestone, as these were specimens born at the hatchery in 2024 from the first stripping of the trout supplied by Veneto Acque as breeding stock.

The December 2025 stripping campaign, started earlier than the previous year, has already produced very encouraging results: 450,000 fertilised eggs. Since not all the females were yet mature, further stripping sessions took place in early January 2026, with more scheduled before the end of the month.

The fry and young trout produced were used to restock the stretches of the Piave river managed by Bacino di Pesca No. 4, while a portion was passed on to other concession holders on the Piave and its tributaries for restocking purposes.

During the year, the hatchery also renewed its disease-free certification for viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) and infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN), allowing it to maintain health category 1 – disease-free status.