History
A lot of water, a lot of fish and a lot of work
What started out somewhat by chance back in 1958 has now developed into our well-known MOHNEN quality based on decades of experience and expertise. Our story began when the 32-year-old farmer Josef Mohnen met a trout farmer from the city of Siegburg at a trade fair in Cologne – and was immediately captivated by the world of aquaculture. Although the local conditions were not ideal due to the low availability of water, Josef Mohnen built his first small earth ponds in Stolberg-Gressenich the very next year. The early years of breeding fish were tough and local residents occasionally popped by to lend a hand in its development.
In 1967, Josef and his wife Maria Mohnen dared to take the risky step of giving up their cows, pigs and chicken and fully committing to a new venture in trout farming. Over the years that followed, the family with four children overcame economically challenging times thanks to a great deal of hard work, pioneering spirit and perseverance.
After 13 unprofitable years, Josef and Maria built a second fish farm in Schevenhütte and were soon finally able to celebrate success. This long-awaited achievement was not only the result of the improved water resources in the neighbouring Wehebach Valley but also the reward for Josef’s determination and persistence together with the untiring support provided by his wife Maria. This success marked the start of the continued development of the company: In 1974, MOHNEN purchased its first own lorry for transporting live fish and in 1986, work begun at its new hatchery in Schevenhütte. In the same year, the growing company began to establish its international business activities and now has customer and supplier contacts in 18 different countries (Germany, France, England, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Australia and USA) Nowadays, family-fun MOHNEN aquaculture is comprised of four close-to-natural fish farming facilities, two fish shops and two fishing parks. We supply our customers in the region, throughout Germany and in neighbouring countries with both live fish and fish products.