Galicia on Spain’s northwest coast is by far the country’s leading producer of farmed turbot and sea bream, representing 97 percent and 100 percent, respectively, of total output. The region also leads the way in production of farmed sole, accounting for 80 percent of Spain’s total output.
Released this week, the figures are part of the 2010 Survey of Marine Aquaculture in Spain, conducted by the Spanish Business Association of Marine Aquaculture Producers using data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and fish farmers.
Nationwide, production of farmed gilthead bream, Spain’s most commonly grown species, reached 23,690 metric tons in 2009; Valencia on the east coast is the main producer.
Production of farmed turbot exceeded 8,000 metric tons last year, while production of farmed sea bass totaled 13,840 metric tons; the Canary Islands is the main producer with a 32 percent share. FAO noted that sea bass production in Murcia on the southeast coast has jumped 172 percent last year.
Sea bass and sea bream can be reared in the same farms, and joint production of the two species in Spain hit 37,520 metric tons in 2009, up 11.1 percent from 2008.
According to the FAO, of the European Union’s 1.28 million metric tons of farmed seafood produced in 2008, Spain saw the greatest increase in volume, reaching 249,070 metric tons and representing 19.5 percent of total farmed seafood output.
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