Marine finfish production in spain

The aquaculture industry in Spain is varied and rather well-developed with a total production of 292,575 tonnes and a value of €532 million in 2007, writes Lara Barazi-Yeroulanos, FAO Consultant. The main species produced in terms of volume are the blue mussel, rainbow trout, gilthead seabream and European seabass, although there are a number of other species being successfully cultured on a commercial basis.

                                    Table 3 – Spain: Aquaculture production (tonnes)

                                      Source: MedAquaMarket national country report

Like most aquaculture producers in the Mediterranean, the first farms were for the culture of trout in freshwater as early as 1961. The main cultured species in Spain is the blue mussel with an annual production of over 250,000 tonnes. Some of the earliest farms for the production of marine finfish in the Mediterranean started in Spain in 1973. Spain is now the third most important producer of European seabass and gilthead seabream in Europe with a combined annual production of 32,800 tonnes in 2007. The development of the aquaculture industry when viewed as a whole shows no clear trend as some sectors have stagnated or declined while others have shown a stable and increasing trend. Read more...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers.