Astro

ASTRO trouts are born in the pure, fresh and well-oxygenated waters of the dolomitic glaciers of Trentino.
Fresh and pure above all: the water of the Dolomites is vital and uncontaminated, ideal for Alpine fish, including farmed fish. It is in this habitat that our trouts are bred: in living waters, which about seventy breeding plants have transformed into modern fish farms. Breeding ponds are wide, like small equipped lakes: with 38 Ha of water surface, the pisciculture here has really become territorial culture.
The fish here is bred in a natural way, respecting their times and nutrition cycles. Trouts are raised for almost 2 years and fed only natural, GMO-free, strictly controlled feed, in the full respect of our Self-Discipline Protocol. It is this protocol that allows us to use the “Trentino Quality” trademark, which guarantees the origin and superior quality of trouts born and raised in the cold mountain waters.

Quality and sustainability

Quality and respect for the environment are the main values guiding the ASTRO fish farms
Our mountains are an invaluable treasure: ASTRO has always been extremely careful to protect them, using only sustainable breeding methods for its trout farms in Trentino. This sensitiveness has lately been certified by “Friends of the sea”, an important international association: Friends of the sea is a certification scheme for the products of sustainable fishery and aquaculture. It is a non-profit initiative promoted by a non-governmental organisation based in Italy. Born from the experience of the Dolphin-Safe project for tuna fishing, Friends of the Sea is currently the main certification scheme for sustainable seafood, for what concerns both fishing and aquaculture. 
Astro have also obtained the application for the granting of the Protected Geographical Indication, in particular for the “Trote del Trentino” (“Trentino Trouts”) and “Salmerino del Trentino” (“Trentino Alpine Char) PGIs.

Production and processing

The trout, of the family of the Salmonidae, prospers in fresh and well-oxygenated running waters: the waters of Trentino, thanks to the orohydrographic collocation of this region, have the ideal qualitative characteristics to breed this kind of fish. Here, the practice of trout breeding is a more than a century old: the first intensive breeding farm of Trentino was established in Alta Val Rendena in 1902. The province of Trento counts about seventy trout farms, mostly located along the river Avisio, in Valle di Cembra, Val di Fiemme, Val di Fassa, Valsugana, Valle del Chiese and the valley of the lakes. ASTRO, the Association of the Trout Farmers of Trentino, guarantees the origin and high quality of this healthy, tasty local product: thanks to a year-long experience, to the constant improvement of breeding techniques and to the strict respect of the rules of the memorandum of understanding signed with the Province of Trento, trouts can be really considered as the ideal ingredient of a light and natural cuisine. Since 1986 we process and market only trouts bred in our farms in Trentino. In this region, where waters are colder than in the plains, trouts need about 18/24 months to reach an optimal size. This slower, more natural development improves the final quality of the product, which stands out for its superior organoleptic qualities such as a tastier, leaner, more compact meat.

Products

The region of Trentino, thanks to its peculiar waters which are the natural original habitat of trouts, has been the cradle of Italian trout farming: the first trout farm was established here in 1879. Many others followed: today they are more than 60. 

Rainbow trout: surely one of the most famous and appreciated freshwater fish breeds. Trouts with the ASTRO mark are on the market in many delicious forms, ready to please all tastes. We offer traditional fresh products, such as the whole and already cleaned trout or the fillet, but also ready-to-cook dishes like the breaded steaks and ready-to-taste delicacies like the carpaccio, marinated and smoked fillets, fishballs and sauces. And last, we produce trout hamburgers, a special treat for the children. 

Char: quite similar to the trout, it has a brighter, more elegant colouration with many tiny red dots on the flanks, and comes in a leaner shape. Its delicate taste, milder than that of the trout, makes it the ideal course even for great occasions. Historical sources tell that the char seemed to be quite appreciated by the Cardinal Madruzzo, during the Council of Trent, and by the emperor Franz Joseph, at the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: he loved to taste it during his hunting parties and had it brought on purpose in several alpine lakes.