European consumers have been paying more for their farmed seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) this year as demand for this highly popular Mediterranean species continues to grow amid a shortage of wild-caught bass.
According to new figures published by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA), within the EU the highest retail prices for seabass in the first-quarter of this year were seen in France, where consumers paid an average of EUR 15.33 (USD 17.26) per kg, which was 3 percent and 10 percent more than the average achieved in the corresponding periods of 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Similarly, Italy paid an average price of EUR 9.55 (USD 10.76) per kg in January-February this year, which was slightly higher than a year previously, but 1 percent less than in 2014 and 12 percent less than in 2013.
Even in Greece, which is the EU’s No. 1 producer of the species, the average retail price for the four months January-April 2016 was 18 percent and 21 percent higher than in the same period of 2015 and 2014, respectively.
The EU currently produces around 150,000 metric tons (MT) of farmed bass.
The bloc also harvests a total of 11,000 MT of wild-caught seabass, half of which is landed by French fishermen. Prices paid for these products are more than 40 percent higher than for farmed bass, with the highest price of EUR 25.49 (USD 28.71) per kg recorded in France in May last year. High prices are the result of the contraction of the wild bass supply. In 2012, the average price was a much more modest EUR 15.90 (USD 17.93) per kg.
With scientists identifying a need to drastically reduce Europe’s bass catch, a raft of regulations were imposed on bass fishermen last year, such as new closed fishing areas, reduced limits on the amount that commercial fishing boats were allowed to catch and an increased minimum landing size (MLS).
As Europe’s production (including Turkey) of juvenile bass and seabream has remained at less than 1.1 billion fish (combined) for the past two years, it’s expected that the harvests of market-size fish will remain at current levels in the short-term, which will likely result in further price rises.
