Spain’s aquaculture industry produced an estimated 292,689 metric tons (MT) of seafood last year, representing a small increase compared with the previous year, although there were some strong shifts in its harvests of seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), finds a new industry study.
According to the latest annual report from the Spanish Aquaculture Business Association (APROMAR), the total first-sales value achieved by the country’s various aquaculture sectors amounted to EUR 407.2 million (USD 474.4 million). While mussels (Mytilus sp.) is the main farmed species in volume terms produced in Spain (225,307 MT in 2015), the bass and bream sector has become increasingly stable in recent years thanks to improved production costs and higher market prices for both species.
APROMAR estimates that Spain’s farmed seabream harvest in 2016 totaled 13,740 MT, a 15.3 percent decline compared with the previous year, but that the seabass harvest grew 9.9 percent to 23,445 MT.
The first-sales price bream produced in Spain in 2016 was EUR 5.78 (USD 6.73) per kg, while its bass achieved an average first-sales value of EUR 5.67 (USD 6.61) per kg.
Local sources confirm that one of the most positive trends in recent times is the premium that is now attached to Spanish-produced bass and bream, with consumers willing to pay more than EUR 1 (USD 1.17) per kg more for these fish compared to imported products.
In volume terms, Spanish production accounts for around half of the bass and bream consumed in the market. To fulfil the high domestic demand, the country also imported around 30,000 MT of bass and bream in 2015, mainly from Greece and Turkey.
Spain is also a major exporter of these fish – mainly to the Portuguese market, supplying around 7,000 MT of bream and 6,000 MT of bass in 2015.
APROMAR’s report also estimates that Europe’s total bream harvest reached 195,853 MT last year, an increase of 5.3 percent compared with 2015. It anticipates that this output will increase by a further 5.3 percent this year to 206,000 MT, with growth being supported by the increased production of juveniles – estimated to total 728 million units this year.
The association also forecast that Europe’s seabass production will grow by 4.5 percent to 190,000 MT this year, and that the juvenile bass production will total 550 million units in 2017.
