According to new regional fisheries ministry data, Andalucía's aquaculture production increased 6 percent to 7,937 metric tons in 2010.
Of total aquaculture production, fish represented 88 percent, mollusks 10 percent and crustaceans 2 percent.
Bream and sea bass account for 39 and 43.7 percent of production respectively, followed by mussels with 9.5 percent and other species at 7.7 percent.
The province of
Almeria
was Andalucía's largest producer, surpassing 2,300
metric tons.
This was followed by Cádiz with 1,734
tons; Huelva 1,368 tons; Málaga 1,138
tons; Seville
852 tons
and Granada 531 tons.
Industry observers
see an increasing tendency to use the cropping system of production in the open sea,
which has seen a
growth of
4 percent during
the last five years. Offshore
production
last year was
4,444
metric tons
compared to 3,493 tons
produced on land.
These increases are accompanied by aquaculture advances in the production of tilapia, which has become the third most important aquaculture species after carps and salmonids.
As leader in Andalucían production, the eastern province of Almeria is the site of an innovative tilapia breeding programme by the Industry Center of Agriculture Technological Assistance (Tecnova), working with a private company aiming to grow the species in greenhouses.
From September, the important businessman – who remains unnamed for reasons of commercial confidentiality – will launch the first agriculture farm to grow tilapia? using ?compatible breeding methods developed in Africa.
While Tecnova will provide the project’s technology, company representative Ignacio Flores described it as an expensive investment. “Only deposits are required, a pump to recirculate the water filter and a pool,” he explained.
Last October, Tecnova completed a project entitled “Alternatives in Aquaculture: Intensive Cultivation of Greenhouse Tilapia,” in collaboration with the Andalucían Aquaculture Technology Centre and several companies involved in greenhouse construction.
The project was evaluated for theoretical developments, technical feasibility and economic viability of tilapia greenhouse farming.