5 minute read
Vince McDonagh
Success story
European production for sea bass and sea bream has doubled in two decades, representing genuine progress for the sector
BY VINCE MCDONAGH
IN 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. 38
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
providing 96% of that fi gure.
In the same year, EU exports of sea bass to countries outside the bloc totalled 12,000 tonnes and were worth €70m (£58.9m) with Britain, Switzerland and Eastern Europe the principal markets, and sales to Israel and the US on the rise.
Produc� on is not confi ned to southern Europe. Global aquaculture output of European sea bass and gilthead sea bream has steadily risen in the last 20 years from around 150,000 tonnes in 2000 to over 475,000 tonnes in 2020.
EUMOFA believes the milestone fi gure of half a billion tonnes could be reached within a year or two.
Currently, most farmed bass are grown in fl oa� ng cages in the sea, although there are a few land-based farms. The fi sh on marine farms are normally harvested a� er 16 to 24 months in size categories below 1kg.
Gilthead sea bream is normally reared in cages, but some land-based systems are also used. The fi sh is normally harvested from about 16 months.
The report fi nds: “EU produc� on shows an increasing trend over the past few years, and (when fi gures become available) 2021 could mark a new record year for harvest volumes.”
Organic produc� on remains quite low. According to the annual report from the Federa� on of Greek Maricultures, annual home produc� on of organic sea bass and sea bream consists of around 800
SEA BASS AND SEA BREAM: THE BIGGEST EU PRODUCERS
Greece (128,000 tonnes) Spain (30,000 tonnes ) Italy (17,000 tonnes) Croatia (14,000 tonnes)
tonnes for both. Output is also marginal in Italy, reaching 125 tonnes in 2018.
The report also reveals that due to the rela� vely low supply of wild-caught sea bass (fi shing is banned or severely restricted around much of Britain, for example) and sea bream, there is a signifi cant price diff erence between farmed and wild fi sh.
At the Mercabarna wholesale market in Spain, the average wholesale price of wild-caught sea bass and sea bream was recently three to four � mes higher compared with that of farmed fi sh.
The increase in global produc� on of both European sea bass and gilthead sea bream over the past fi ve years has had a nega� ve impact on prices.
The Mercabarna wholesale price for sea bass had slumped by 37% between 2016 and 2019.
Whole, fresh, farmed sea bream followed a similar trend with a price drop of 32% over the same period.
However, while the data for last year is s� ll incomplete, EUMOFA says the trend for sea bass is showing a posi� ve upward trend while it remains slightly nega� ve for sea bream.
“Prices tend to fall entering the last quarter, and increase towards the summer, which is likely related to the increased demand on the market due to the high tourist season along the Mediterranean coast,” the study adds.
Of the two species, sea bass is the fi sh of choice in most major markets, varying between 53% and 76% of consump� on.
Gilthead sea bream is more popular only in Greece, making up more than 60% of total consump� on for the two species.
The EUMOFA study paints a largely posi� ve picture for both varie� es and, while they will not overtake Atlan� c salmon, a cursory glance at the seafood shelves in Marks & Spencer or Sainsbury’s show they are becoming increasingly popular with the Bri� sh public. FF
SEA BASS AND BREAM
European sea bass
European sea bass is a coastal marine fi sh that lives in shallow waters (from the North-eastern Atlan� c Ocean to the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Because of it is euryhaline (able to adapt to a wide range of salini� es) and eurythermal (tolerant of large temperature changes) characteris� cs, the species is o� en found foraging in estuaries and lagoons from spring to autumn, especially at the juvenile stage. Some� mes they venture upstream into freshwater. There is only one breeding season per year, which takes place in winter in the Mediterranean popula� on and up to June in Atlan� c popula� ons.
Gilthead sea bream
Gilthead sea bream is common in the Mediterranean Sea, present along the Eastern Atlan� c coasts from Great Britain to Senegal, and rare in the Black Sea. Because of its euryhaline and eurythermal features, the species is found in both marine and brackish water environments such as coastal lagoons and estuarine areas par� cularly at the start of their life cycle.
