Sea bass and sea bream
Success story European production for sea bass and sea bream has doubled in two decades, representing genuine progress for the sector BY VINCE MCDONAGH
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N a world dominated by Atlantic salmon, the development of other farmed fish is often overlooked. But a recent case study by EUMOFA, the European Marketing Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture, suggests that sea bass and sea bream are now among the fastest-growing cultivated finfish species. Sea bass, in particular, continues to be a big dinner-table favourite both in the UK and the rest of Europe. This is borne out by the most up-to-date figures currently available. EUMOFA says EU aquaculture production of sea bass has doubled from around 45,000 tonnes at the start of the millennium to approximately 90,000 tonnes in 2020. It is a broadly similar picture for gilthead sea bream where production has increased from roughly 60,000 tonnes 20 years ago to around 110,000 tonnes in 2020. European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) are both marine fish species of key economic and cultural importance in southern Europe, says the report. After mass production techniques were developed in the late 1960s, sea bass became the first non-salmonid marine species to be commercially cultured in Europe. Similarly, gilthead sea bream has been the subject of intensive farming since the 1970s. The study says the rearing of sea bream larvae is more complex than that of bass due to the very small size of the larvae at hatching. However, due to their high adaptability to intensive rearing conditions, both are considered to be innovation success stories in aquaculture.
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In 2020 the biggest EU producers of both species were Greece, Italy, Spain and Croatia (see table), but outside the trading group Turkey is clearly dominant. Despite rising production, the EU has a trade deficit for both varieties. In 2020, around 25,000 tonnes of whole European sea bass worth €105m (£88.4m) was imported into to the EU with Turkey
Top: Sea bass Above: Sea bass
and sea bream farm, Mediterranean Opposite: Sea bass recipe; Gilthead sea bream
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07/02/2022 14:34:27
