Compton Hall Farm is branching out into fish farming by breeding common and mirror carp, a delicacy increasingly stocked by supermarkets in response to demand from workers from eastern Europe.

The demand for carp for the table is currently outstripping supply and with the farm's traditional agricultural activities now joined by an aquaculture business, a spin-off benefit is that the newly-created and well-stocked three acre stretch of water is also attracting sportsmen who simply enjoy fresh-water fishing.

Nick Gardner, son of farmer Chris Gardner, who had previously bred koi carp, decided to dive in at the deep end because had the expertise, the breeding tanks and everything else he needed bar suitable water.

He solved that problem by initially outsourcing his carp fingerlings – the young fish – to the ponds, lakes and reservoirs of other landowners across Norfolk where they could grow on to a saleable size.

Until seven years ago Mr Gardner worked on oil rigs.

Then he decided to set up his own koi carp business at the farm.

Diversification was then the buzz word in agriculture and his venture was successful, but only to a limited extent.

"There weren't enough koi carp enthusiasts within our catchment area even though I sold everything but the water."

A chance meeting with an acquaintance who had developed several fishing lakes in Cambridgeshire set Mr Gardner off on this new venture and now koi carp are no longer part of his business, not only because the new scheme has so much potential but also because to keep koi could risk cross-contamination. But even then it was not all plain sailing.

"I found that otters and cormorants and sometimes even mink were predating a huge amount of our small fish." But alongside this bad news Gardner also realised the potential for the business to grow was huge because so many people who would never sit down to the table to eat carp enjoyed freshwater fishing.

BREEDING

That meant not one but three outlets for his breeding business – the table, anglers and providing young fish for other fishing lakes.

It gave him an enormous incentive to bring the whole operation "in house"; so that he had better control over predators and could also keep a closer eye on every aspect of his breeding programme.

Water meadows at Compton Hall provided the answer.