MEDITERRANEAN AQUACULTURE: MARINE FISH FARMING DEVELOPMENT

Bernardo BASURCO Administrator. Area of Aquaculture

International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza

Apartado 202 - 50080 Zaragoza, Spain Abstract: As in many parts of the world, aquaculture production in the Mediterranean has been expanding rapidly over recent years. Total aquaculture production in the region reached 1,266,959 t in 1999, which represents approximately 6% of the world aquaculture production (3% in 1995). Although Mediterranean aquaculture still focuses more on mollusc production (53.9%), the share of fish production is progressing constantly (46% in 1999, and 35% in 1995), parallel to global trends of world aquaculture. The Mediterranean coast displays a wide range of geographical characteristics and supports many functions, such as tourism, residential development, and conservation, which may compete with aquaculture for resources. Many coastal areas are also physically exposed, unsuitable for traditional inshore-based farming. Within this context, intensive marine fish farming is increasingly moving towards exposed offshore environments, requiring technology development which has largely originated from Northern European systems. For small islands such as Cyprus or Malta and along touristic and highly urbanised shorelines (Catalonia and Canary Islands, Spain) where space is scarce, such systems have shown their importance in developing aquaculture. This paper reviews the process of development of marine fish farming in the Mediterranean region, providing information on statistics (volume, species, number of farms) and an overview of production techniques, main farm characteristics, and finally some thoughts about industry constraints and development options. INTRODUCTION Marine living resources provide an important source of protein in many countries around the world. Although marine catches have increased over the last decades, this tendency has changed and landings have are stabilised. Moreover, about 70% of the worlds conventional species are fully exploited, overexploited, depleted or in the rebuilding process following depletion. According to the FAO report on the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) in 1999, total world production of finfish, crustaceans and molluscs from capture fisheries and aquaculture reached about 125 million tons. The production increase of 20 million tons over the last decade was mainly due to aquaculture, as capture fisheries production remained relatively stable. Starting from an insignificant total production, inland and marine aquaculture production grew by about 5 percent per year between 1950 and 1969 and by about 8 percent per year during the 1970s and 1980s, and it has increased further to 10 percent per year since 1990. When considering fish for human consumption only, aquaculture acquires greater importance since one third of the total world supply already comes from aquaculture. As for the Mediterranean region a growing demand exists in the area, which explains the increase seen during the last decades in aquaculture production. The consumption in the Mediterranean should be seen in a particular context by comparison with other European countries. Thus, although the mean consumption of seafood around the Mediterranean basin is similar to the levels of world consumption (about 18kg per person/year), there are very marked differences between different countries (Spain: 40kg; Syria: 3kg). Moreover the overall consumption in the region represents a total of nearly 3 million tons, the global production (fisheries plus aquaculture) about 1.2 million tons. Some European countries, such as France, Italy and Spain are among those with a major deficit in the balance of sea products. Brief history of Mediterranean aquaculture

Aquaculture in the Mediterranean region is an activity which began many centuries ago. It is possible to find signs of aquaculture from Egyptian civilisation. Ancient Egyptian friezes on the tomb of Aktihep (2500 BC) show what appears to be men removing tilapia from a pond. The earliest extensive marine farms date from the 6th century BC, in the Etruscan culture. The growing of shellfish was practised

from the 5th century BC by the Greeks. During ancient Roman times seabass, seabream, mullets and oysters were cultivated or simply kept alive off the Italian coast.

The end of the Roman Empire led to the disappearance of this type of aquaculture, and it was not until the 12th century that a resurgence of freshwater aquaculture was seen, starting in central Europe. It was only in the 15th century that extensive, large-scale aquaculture was seen in the lagoons of the Adriatic: vallicultura (aquaculture developed in coastal lagoons). These activities promoted by the religious practice of prohibiting the consumption of meat on Fridays. Thereafter, in the 19th Century, the culture of shellfish once again became common practice, particularly in the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic.

Management of finfish populations and oyster culture started in these confined environments thanks to their particular ecological conditions. This origin strongly conditioned the beginning of the modern marine Mediterranean aquaculture, which started about 25 years ago. Most Mediterranean countries are involved in this growth. Even in the early 80s only Italy appeared as a market leader, thanks to its traditional vallicultura and its highly specific needs, production in many countries has reached significant levels, which are now comparable to other agricultural productions. This is the case of Greece and Turkey, where aquaculture was a marginal activity 15 years ago.

It is highlighted that this new form of aquaculture has developed thanks to a significant research effort mainly made in the fields of reproduction, larval culture, feed manufacturing and engineering technology, among other specialities. As regards species, the latter aquaculture developments correspond to highly demanded species with either a low volume of production from capture fisheries or from over-fishing stocks, i.e., mainly carnivorous fish, such as seabass, seabream, flatfish, tuna, etc. As a consequence of all these developments, nowadays, in the Mediterranean a wide range of productions of marine species coexist using a significant number of production technologies; from extensive mollusc or fish production to highly intensive raceways or cage fish farming. MEDITERRANEAN AQUACULTURE: CURRENT PRODUCTION STATUS This chapter is intended to facilitate the reader's understanding about the evolution of aquaculture production in the Mediterranean. The statistics here presented are those related to the production in GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) member countries with coastline on the Mediterranean or Black Sea, and have been obtained from the FAO online databases (http://www.fao.org/fi/statist/statist.asp). These production figures also include freshwater aquaculture production and the aquaculture production of France and Spain from the Atlantic coast. For the purpose of this paper the production statistics of Portugal (Not a GFCM member country) have been included, whereas those from Japan have been removed.

Mediterranean aquaculture production has grown steadily over the years. If we examine the annual growth rate, we will observe that total aquaculture production in the region reached 1,266,959 t in 1999 (table 1), which represents an annual growth of 8.6% for the period considered (1995-1999); and approximately 6% of the world aquaculture production (3% in 1995). Although Mediterranean aquaculture still focuses more on mollusc production (53.9%), the share of fish is in constant progression (46% in 1999, and 35% in 1995), parallel to global trends of world aquaculture. Thus, during the period from 1995 to 1999 the total fish production experienced an annual growth rate of 16.2% compared with 3.9% for total mollusc production (fig. 1). Table 1. Aquaculture Production (t) of the Main Groups of Species in Mediterranean Countries (Source FAO)

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Annual Growth

Molluscs 590,842 577,802 579,633 678,236 682,593 3.9 Diadromous fishes 147,704 157,437 175,538 172,543 172,220 4.0 Freshwater fishes 104,412 109,240 107,825 157,369 233,424 24.4 Marine fishes 69,163 88,060 101,080 136,803 175,,342 26.4 Aquatic plants 5,100 5,062 5,062 3,060 3,060 -10.1 Crustaceans 272 663 906 599 317 24.9 Aquatic animals 3 Total 917,493 938,264 970,044 1,148,610 1,266,959 8.6

Within the fish sector, the group that has shown the fastest growth has been the marine finfish that moved from 69,163t in 1995 to 175,342t in 1999, which corresponds to an annual growth rate of 26.4% in this period. Freshwater fishes also experimented a very significant growth rate in this period (104,412 t to 233,424 t, which correspond to 24.4% of annual growth. Diadromous fishes, however, had an annual increase of only 4.0% in this period (from 147,704 t in 1995 to 172,220 t in 1999). Output of crustaceans and seaweeds is still limited. Gracilaria is the main species of seaweed cultured in the area with over 3,000 t in 1999. For crustacean production, shrimp with only about 100 t is the main species. Others are signal crayfish or Red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii).

Total value of the production in 1999 amounted to 2,594,834 US$ with an increase of 648,566 US$ over 1995 (Table 2). This corresponds to an increase of 33.3% in this period, with an annual average growth of 7.5%. In terms of contribution to the economy marine fish is the first group, with 939,278 US$ (467 413 US$ in 1995), which is a change from 1995 when molluscs held first place. Table 2. Aquaculture Production Value (US$) of Main Group of Species in Mediterranean Counties (Source FAO)

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Marine fishes 467,413 595,730 659,167 855,133 939,278Molluscs 833,469 695,432 672,721 717,347 694,759Diadromous fishes 417,693 480,698 562,628 561,431 531,296Freshwater fishes 221,552 242,966 233,295 324,162 423,923Crustaceans 4,292 12,348 14,868 9,711 4,693Aquatic plants 1,848 1,948 1,767 1,040 875TOTAL 1,946,266 2,029,120 2,144,446 2,468,824 2,594,823 Figure 1. Evolution of Mollusc and Fish Aquaculture Production and Value in Mediterranean Counties

(Source FAO)

As regards aquaculture production by countries, this is dominated by four countries: Spain, France, Italy, and Egypt (table 3), which supply 84% of the total production in the region. Whilst in Spain, France and Italy the production is mainly based on molluscs (mussels, oysters, and clams respectively), in Egypt the production is based on finfish species, i.e. tilapia, carp and mullet. The entry of new countries into aquaculture is highlighted; Greece and Turkey at the head, among others, which concentrate most of their production in marine finfish (seabream and seabass). The average growth rate in these countries is impressive, with 43% in Egypt, 32% in Turkey and 25% in Greece. The growing in production of countries such as Malta, Cyprus and Israel, mainly finfish, should also be pointed out. On the opposite side there are countries that have evolved negatively, i.e. Algeria and Romania, or others that have a minimum weight in the region, i.e. Albania, Algeria, Lebanon and Libya.

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Prod

uctio

n (to

nnes

)

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

2,000,000

Val

ue (1

000

$)

Molluscs (t) Fish (t) Molluscs (1000 $) Fish (1000 $)

Table 3. Evolution of Aquaculture Production (t) in Mediterranean Countries (Source FAO)

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Growth Annual growth

Spain 223,950 231,556 239,136 313,518 317,796 41.9 9.8France 280,785 285,646 287,534 268,311 267,638 -4.7 -1.1Italy 235,725 214,373 216,719 249,625 249,368 5.8 1.8Egypt 61,815 75,837 73,454 139,389 226,276 266.1 42.9Greece 32,644 39,852 48,838 59,926 79,265 142.8 24.9Turkey 21,607 33,201 45,450 56,700 63,000 191.6 31.6Israel 16,180 17,553 18,264 18,556 18,777 16.1 3.8Romania 19,830 13,900 11,168 9,614 8,998 -54.6 -17.5Bulgaria 4,615 4,727 5,437 4,252 7,780 68.6 19.7Portugal 4,981 5,364 7,185 7,536 7,523 51.0 11.6Croatia 4,007 2,889 3,510 5,958 6,228 55.4 17.0Syria 5,857 6,355 5,596 7,233 6,079 3.8 2.5Morocco 2,072 2,226 2,290 2,115 2,752 32.8 8.2Malta 904 1,552 1,800 1,950 2,002 121.5 24.7Cyprus 452 787 969 1,178 1,422 214.6 34.9Tunisia 960 1,351 1,875 1,842 1,095 14.1 9.3Albania 340 323 97 124 310 -8.8 25.7Lebanon 300 350 300 400 300 0.0 2.7Algeria 369 322 322 283 250 -32.2 -9.1Libya 100 100 100 100 100 0.0 0.0

Table 4: Mediterranean Aquaculture Production (t) in 1999 by Group of Species (Source FAO) Molluscs Marine

fishes Freshwater

fishes Diadromous

fishes Crustaceans Aquatic

plants Total

Spain 276,100 10,295 161 31,101 139 317,796 France 203,500 5,151 10,790 48,055 82 60 267,638 Italy 180,000 16,250 2,450 47,650 18 3,000 249,368 Egypt 48,445 177,831 226,276 Greece 16,930 59,350 699 2,286 79,265 Turkey 500 23,000 900 38,570 30 63,000 Israel 3,901 14,017 859 18,777 Romania 8,119 876 8,995 Bulgaria 100 7,230 450 7,780 Portugal 3,883 2,416 1,224 7,523 Croatia 1,152 1,769 2,836 471 6,228 Syria 0 6,079 6,079 Morocco 206 926 1,440 180 2,752 Malta 2,002 2,002 Cyprus 1,313 66 43 1,422 Tunisia 8 488 582 17 1,095 Albania 200 5 100 5 310 Lebanon 300 300 Algeria 14 36 185 15 250 Libya 100 100 Total 682,593 175,342 233,424 172,220 317 3,060 1,266,956

As regards species commodities, molluscan shellfish (tables 4 and 5) is represented mainly by mussels in Spain (over 2760,000 t), oysters in France (over 135,000 t) and clams in Italy (over 50,000 t). The contribution of other Mediterranean countries is still very low. Whilst mussel production relies on two autochthonous species (Mytilus edulis, M. galloprovincialis), oyster and clam culture are sustained by two recently introduced allochthonous species (Crassostrea gigas, Ruditapes philippinarum). Other mollusc species have a less significant production, e.g. common edible cockle (Cerastoderma edule) with 5,084 t or the Great Atlantic scallop (Pecten maximus) with 700 t in the region. Looking at finfish contribution to production (table 6 and fig. 3), the main element to be noticed is that although marine fish is the group with a higher growth rate, the first two species produced are still

freshwater fishes, i.e. Rainbow trout with over 120,000 t and tilapia with over 100,000 t. However the rapid increase in production marine fish, especially gilthead seabream and European seabass is very evident, with over 65,000 t in 1999 in the case of the first species and over 53,000 t for the second. Noticeable also is the production for Mugil cephalus, which is mainly coming from Egypt and which according to this country report, has experienced a growth even faster than that of seabass and gilthead seabream. For certain species the production is limited as it is based on stocking young fish from the wild. This is the case of eels, which also suffer competition from Chinese buyers of elvers, or the case of tuna farming (Spain and Croatia at the head), where most of the Mediterranean catch quota is already used for this purpose.

If we consider the economic contribution, marine fish are at the top, then followed by the main species trout (477,694 US$), seabream (388,410 US$), seabass (359,319 US$), then common carp (182,332 US$), Nile tilapia (177,638 US$), grey mullet 137,751 (US$). Other significant species, such as turbot and eel account for 36,610 US$ and 28,514 US$, respectively.

Figure 2. Evolution of Fish Aquaculture Production (a) and Value (b) in Mediterranean Countries by Species (Source FAO)

a

b

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

Valu

e 10

00 U

SD

TroutSeabreamSeabassCarpTilapiaMulletsTurbotEel

-

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

Prod

uctio

n (to

nnes

) TroutCarpsTilapiasSeabreamSeabassMulletsTurbotEuropean eel

Table 5. Mediterranean Aquaculture Shellfish Production in 1999 by C

ountries and Species (Source FAO)

Total ES

FR

IT G

R

PT H

R

TR

MA

AL BG

C

Y D

Z TN

EG

IL

LB LY

MT

RO

SY

Blue mussel

313,855 261,969

51,600

286

M

editerranean mussel

159,730

10,900 130,000

16,912

1,100500

200

100

10 8

Pacific cupped oyster

136,059 681

134,800

377

201

C

arpet shells nei (Clam

s) 50,000

50,000

European flat oyster 5,703

3,348 2,300

2

52

1

Com

mon edible cockle

5,084 3,713

1,300

71

G

rooved carpet shell 4,422

1,052 500

2,866

4

Japanese carpet shell 2,626

1,826 800

Pullet carpet shell 2,330

2,330

Periwinkles nei

800

800

Banded carpet shell

700 700

G

reat Atlantic scallop 656

156 500

Flat and cupped oysters nei 276

276

Donax clam

s 129

129

Striped venus 123

123

Palaemonid shrim

ps nei 98

98

Kuruma praw

n 63

40

18

5

Signal crayfish 51

1 50

Indian white praw

n 43

43

Cupped oysters nei

41 41

N

atantian decapods nei 30

30

Venus clams nei

16

16

D

anube crayfish 15

15

Euro-American crayfishes nei

10

10

M

arine molluscs nei

6

6

R

ed swam

p crawfish

5

5

C

lams, etc. nei

4

4

N

oble crayfish 2

2

Total per country

276,207203,582

180,01816,930

3,8821,152

530 206

205 100

43 14

8 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

AL: Albania, DZ: Algeria, BG

: Bulgaria, HR

: Croatia, C

Y: Cyprus, EG

: Egypt, FR: France, G

R: G

reece, IL: Israel, IT: Italy, LB: Lebanon, LY: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, M

T: Malta,

MA: M

orocco, PT: Portugal, RO

: Rom

ania, ES: Spain, SY: Syrian Arab Republic, TN

: Tunisia, TR: Turkey

Table 6. Mediterranean Aquaculture Fishes Production in 1999 by C

ountries and Species (Source FAO)

Total EG

IT

FR

TR

GR

ES

IL R

O

BG

SY H

R

PT M

A M

T C

Y TN

LB

DZ

LY AL

Rainbow

trout 162,995

0 44,000

44,52738,570

1,96830,000

583 619

0

1,221

120 0

66 0

300

0

Nile tilapia

103,988 103,988

C

omm

on carp 100,523

73,673 700

5,655900

99

7,0621,937

2,850 4,930

1,992

500

223

2

Gilthead seabream

66,997

2,733 5,700

1,11011,000

32,8376,117

2,210

450 1,333

556 1,922

986 25

18

Flathead grey mullet

48,168 42,987

3,000

430

1,542

209

European seabass

53,256 2,725

7,2003,148

12,00023,935

1,22726

0 0

0 1,300

698 365

80 298

254 0

0 0

0 Tilapias nei

7,546

71

6,410

1,065

Silver carp

4,752

15

419

3,136

380

800

2 Turbot

4,085

858

2,849

378

European eel

4,030

3,20042

310

383

3 60

17

15

R

oach 2,500

2,500

Freshwater fishes nei

2,240

1,00011

600

126

30 372

101

Sea trout

2,125

1,868

257

M

arine fishes nei 2,088

2,041

22

19 1

5

Catfish

1,792

340

12 1,364

53

23

G

rass carp 1,553

22

93

855

298

100

184

1

Cyprinids nei

1,531

6

111 1,045

268

1 100

Atlantic salm

on 1,496

870

8 618

Goldfish

1,464

7

1,457

Tench

1,361

1,200

161

Bighead carp

984

2

982

Pike-perch

768

200

16 496

8

48

Black bullhead

750

750

N

orthern pike 595

313

30

248

4

Sturgeons nei 550

450

100

Sharpsnout seabream

378

350

28

Siberian sturgeon

350

350

Brook trout

317

317

Freshw

ater bream

311

311

R

udd 300

300

Striped bass, hybrid 276

276

Mudfish

170 170

W

hite seabream

112

5

107

M

ullets nei 108

88

2

18

Total

EG

IT FR

TR

G

R

ES IL

RO

BG

SY

HR

PT

MA

MT

CY

TN

LB D

Z LY

AL

European perch 105

101

4

Red drum

101

101

North African catfish

84

84

Largem

outh black bass 49

9

40

Salmonoids nei

42

42

Arctic char

39

39

O

ctopuses nei 32

32

Freshwater gobies nei

32

32

M

eagre 30

30

Roaches nei

20

20

C

omm

on sole 18

14

4

Bleak 5

5

Velvety cichlids 1

1

Shi drum

1

1

C

omm

on cuttlefish 1

1

Total per country

226,276 66,35063,996

62,47062,335

41,58918,777

8,9957,230

6,0794,605

3,6412,546

2,0021,379

1,087300

236 100

5 AL: Albania, D

Z: Algeria, BG: Bulgaria, H

R: C

roatia, CY: C

yprus, EG: Egypt, FR

: France, GR

: Greece, IL: Israel, IT: Italy, LB: Lebanon, LY: Libyan Arab Jam

ahiriya, MT: M

alta, M

A: Morocco, PT: Portugal, R

O: R

omania, ES: Spain, SY: Syrian Arab R

epublic, TN: Tunisia, TR

: Turkey

MEDITERRANEAN MARINE FISH FARMING PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

The diversified character of Mediterranean coastal aquaculture is based on geographical differences (coastal lagoon, islands, etc.) together with a range of historical and socio-economic factors. The technology applied has evolved rapidly, both in modifying existing facilities (e.g. water recirculation for land based installations) and in developing new projects (e.g. off-shore cage technology). Information is mainly provided for seabream and seabass for being them cultured in most Mediterranean systems. Extensive systems Coastal lagoon management Around 500 000 hectares of coastal lagoons still survive in the Mediterranean, where farming plays an important role in the conservation of these ecosystems. It is the most ancient technique, and is based on the control of migratory behaviour of many finfish species. Juveniles of different species, i.e. mullets, seabass, seabream, and eel, migrate into the lagoon where they grow until they reach sexual maturity, or when environmental conditions change drastically (high salinity, low temperature, oxygen depletion). After some years, mature fish leave the lagoon and during migration back to the sea are harvested with a fixed capture device. Although the management of coastal lagoons requires large investments and skilled work (i.e. dredging of channels), in several cases this activity could be considered as a simple fishing-capture activity. Mediterranean aquaculture started with this system; at the lagoon mouth the first candidates were collected for semi-intensive and intensive farming; which emphasises the importance of protecting this green soul" as a source of aquatic organisms in this region. Aquaculture in coastal lagoons is also evolving to some more intensive systems; i.e. seabream and seabass are being raised in cages made of locally available materials in saline coastal lagoons in Egypt.

Vallicultura This Italian production system represents one of the most ancient forms of aquaculture in the region. This technique was developed by the upper Adriatic populations confining part of coastal lagoons or estuarine wetlands, exploiting the seasonal migration of euryhaline species. This system can be described by the various types of valle enclosures (marine and brackish water) which succeeded one another. At first, there were unenclosed lagoon sectors with exclusive fishing rights, later more sophisticated designs were introduced in the lagoons with fences and partial embankments. At present more than 100 valli still survive, all produce fish from artificial restocking (mullets, seabream, eel and seabasses) and are assembled according to environmental conditions. Italian finfish production in extensive systems (about 63,485 ha) has stabilised at about 5,000 tons since the early 90s, mullet, with 3000 tons, being the first species produced. Other species produced are seabream, seabass and eel, with 850, 700 and 700 t respectively. The intensive/extensive ratio of production in Italy for euryhaline production changed from 1:1 in 1986 to over 3:1 in 1999. Semi-intensive systems Pond culture is the best method for the development of semi-intensive systems. Ponds are manufactured environments where it is possible to mimic natural conditions, simulating and accelerating natural processes. By controlling the flow of water and integrating the availability of natural food directly or indirectly, pond culture can produce "good substrate feeders" for growing species. In these systems conflicts may arise between agriculture and salt or brackish water ponds, disease control, surface water quality, control of icthyophagous birds, especially in areas where these birds are protected. In the Mediterranean coastal areas, we can observe cases of semi-intensive fish farming for mullet in Egypt, few examples of prawn production, and seabream production, the latter either on a family scale in Portugal or a large commercial scale in south of Spain, where a single company Cupimar S.A. produces over 1,500 t.

In Spain, in salt marsh areas, ancient "esteros" (salt production ponds) were transformed and nowadays are used as semi-intensive production earthponds. There, seabream is reared at low densities (0.3 kg/m3) from juveniles either of wild origin or from industrial hatcheries. Thus, in the bay of Cadiz 9 out of 127 "esteros" (about 600 ha) have been adapted for this use. Although these semi-intensive systems are profitable and could be a good solution for a better use of energy, and may have a low environmental impact, the scarcity of available large soil surfaces needed to be economically acceptable have pushed Mediterranean aquaculture development towards more intensive farming production systems. Thus, in Spain although the existing earthpond projects will continue while profitable, it seems there will not be too many new projects in the near future. As regards the production of biomass in earthponds, the figures collected give some values varying between 0.2 and 2 kg/m2. These values are lower than those from cage systems, which range between 8 and 18 kg/m3 with an optimum culture in cages of 15 kg/m3. Intensive systems The rapid increase in growth for seabass, bream and turbot has been due to the development of reliable seed production techniques, the formulation of specialised feeds and the application of intensive production systems, particularly cages. Good infrastructure support by the EU and strong markets from the late 80s to the early 90s have also played a significant role, and new candidates may increase the number of farmed species in the future, including various sparids such as Puntazzo puntazzo, Pagrus pagrus and Dentex dentex, groupers and seriola

While overall growth offers good evidence of sectoral success, this masks failures of many enterprises at all scales of investment and production. Thus in Spain a crisis arose during the early 90s, when a significant number of seabass and bream failed and disappeared; seabream farms numbered 40 in 1996 compared with 46 in 1990, and nowadays about 55. Though intensive systems in land-based installations or cages generally demand high investment, the efficient production of medium-high value fish products at cost-effective stocking density is a valid commercial aim. A key problem had arisen from the growth in supply and the consequent decrease in market prices. However, if development patterns for other species are to be followed, there is still likely to be room for additional production, although at prices somewhat competitive with those of salmon.

Land based intensive systems

The origins of these date back some 20-30 years with the adoption of trout farming principles by extensive marine aquaculturists, using species such as seabass and mullets, followed by trials with seabream, initially using pellets for intensive fresh-water fish culture. Following positive results, research improved and accelerated this pilot phase, based initially on wild caught fry, or juvenile and sub-adults collected during migration in fixed traps at the entrance of lagoons or valli.

Current systems use concrete or earth tanks, raceways or ponds, based on the supply of high volumes of pumped water, specialised feeds and hatchery fry or fingerlings. However, for seabass and seabream, intensive land-based ongrowing is considered to be less competitive than cage farming; the main differences being energy cost, and space costs and availability. Environmental impacts and disease control are also problematic. The use of liquid oxygen in many farms has helped to reduce energy cost, increase production capacity per volume of pumped water, and improve effluent control. Although requiring further investment, windmills may also help reduce energy costs in some locations. Turbot is normally ongrown in land based tank facilities, though research is under way to apply cage ongrowing techniques.

A number of land-based intensive farms work indoors using treated and recirculated water, as is the case of glass eel weaning. As water quality control has become more critical, an increasing number of marine hatcheries can now be considered as indoor systems with a high degree of recirculation. Hatcheries have also been under increasing pressure to produce fry over the traditional 1-2 g size, to sell juveniles for cage culture (10-20 g to over 50 g), to meet increasing demand by offshore fish farms, as they reduce the need for initial grading. Thus, hatcheries may expand their systems to meet this growing demand, and research and development is currently under way to carry out intensive pre-ongrowing in raceways using recirculation systems. This may also provide a role for

existing land-based ongrowing farms, which may become more viable if integrated with cage farming, producing part-grown fish for stocking offshore

Cage farming

Although cage farming has been practised at artisanal levels for hundreds of years, modern systems did not develop until 20-30 years ago, primarily in line with the growth of salmon farming (Scott and Muir, this volume). Cage ongrowing has now become the primary basis for the rapid growth of the Mediterranean marine fish farming sector. Initial systems were designed for sheltered sites in inshore water, constructed from wood/polystyrene, poles/buoys, and later from steel and plastic, usually self constructed or supplied by local manufacturers. These were originally placed in well protected coastal areas, where simple and inexpensive cage structures could be used, giving valuable geographical advantage to countries endowed with many sheltered bays, i.e. Greece, Croatia and Turkey. Here, aquaculture is characterised by numerous small farms using simple technology and requiring low levels of investment. In Croatia, 35 units produce 1,800 t (51 t as average); in Turkey, where some 190 units produced less than 30 t, most units (334 out of 350) are located in in-shore conditions. In many parts of the Mediterranean there is strong competition with tourism for coastal resources, a scarcity of protected sites or both, moving cage operations towards the open sea. Environmental concerns and policies may also play a role. In Malta offshore cage technology has lead to significant development (from 60 t in 1991 to 2,200 t in 1998). In Spain, production in earth ponds, raceways and concrete tanks has been decreasing, while cage culture has clearly expanded, with most new projects using semi-offshore or offshore systems. Cage based production, in 1990 representing only ~17% of the total, rose to ~37.5% by 1996 and to 56% by 1998. In France production techniques in marine fish farming (salmon, seabass, seabream, turbot) are extremely diverse, involving cages, earth ponds or raceways. Cages are used in lagoons, sheltered bays or semi-offshore conditions in Corsica and on the French Riviera. For the 1991-96 period, based on the number of farms, the only two techniques which developed were raceways and semi-offshore cages. Many different types of cages are used in the Mediterranean. It is notable that most practical research and development for semi-offshore and offshore conditions has been carried out by farms; testing and using the most promising (and most expensive) structures for more exposed sites. As more experience had been gained on site characteristics and on technological issues, cheaper cages became more widely employed, eg in France and Cyprus. In Spain, most farms use simple plastic circle type cages and most recently platform structures are being used. Farms usually employ cages of different dimensions for different purposes: i.e. smaller cages for pre-fattening, cropping, auxiliary, experimental purposes and larger cages for ongrowing. Pre-fattening commonly takes place in small cages in sheltered bays or in land-based structures (raceways and tanks), with fish of 10-20g or 50-100 g placed in open sea, reducing the ongrowing phase to less than one year, reducing risks and labour costs associated with initial treatment (i.e. vaccines), initial grading (eg at 25-50 g), net changing, etc. In some cases (eg Cyprus) more robust cage systems are used as offshore breakwaters, sheltering lighter and less expensive cages inshore. In Spain, circular plastic cages may be attached around platforms to increase production capacity at lower marginal cost.

It is highlighted that cage farms are nowadays pursuing an increase of production capacities by installing more cages, increasing the cage size (from 16m to 25m diameter) as well as by increasing automation. Fish farming production units Although explained later in greater detail, it is here highlighted that in the Mediterranean there are examples of small family or big companies for almost all the production systems (extensive, semi-intensive, intensive, monoculture, polyculture, etc.) and techniques (freshwater raceways or pond production, coastal lagoon management, marine land based installations, cage farming, etc.). This being probably the main reason why statistics about the number of units is scarce, disperse and not collected at a regional level.

Although a big part of the farming is still based on extensive and semi-intensive farming systems, e.g. vallicultura in Italy, coastal lagoon production in Egypt and carp production in Egypt, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, etc., due to the lack of statistics about these systems, the figures presented in this

section only compile information about industrial fish farms (intensive and semi-intensive) in Mediterranean countries. The different types of farm unit, based on finfish species produced are summarised in table 7, which has been developed in collaboration with the SIPAM network and through other personal contacts.

As regards freshwater fishes, trout farming is still by far the most important type of freshwater fish cultivation (over 160,000 t in 1999), with more than 2,000 units, mainly concrete raceways or pond farms in Turkey, Italy or France. Spain and Greece also count on a significant number of farms, 132 and 96 respectively. Carp aquaculture is also an important type of freshwater fish cultivation. It is traditionally undertaken on large farms that cover several hundred or sometimes even more than a thousand hectares. Most farms were established at the end of the 19th century or the first half of the twentieth century. Carp aquaculture is still by far the most important type of freshwater fish cultivation in countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. This type of production is based on using all the food available by polyculture. The species introduced with the common carp are tench (Tinca tinca), grasscarp (Ctenopharingodon idella), bighead (Aristichthys nobilis), silver carp (Hypophtalmichthys molitrix), European catfish (Silurus glanis), pike (Esox lucius) and perch-pike (Stizostedion lucioperca). Regarding marine fish farming, the most cultured species are seabream and seabass. For them the production technology has evolved rapidly, both in modifying existing facilities (e.g. water recirculation for land based installations) and in developing new projects (e.g. off-shore cage technology). It is pointed out that cage units are the predominant ongrowing system, some 82% of about 900 units (table 7). Seabream and seabass companies are very diverse, ranging from large companies with several ongrowing farms (e.g. Nireus, Selonda, Cupimar, Tinamenor, Maricultura, Pinar, etc.) to small family enterprises. Besides the ongrowing units, there are about 100 land-based marine hatcheries, with a production capacity ranging from 5 to 12 million fingerlings or more. Besides seabass and seabream, it is worth mentioning turbot, which accounts for about 30 units in Mediterranean countries. Turbot, which is mainly produced in Spain and France, is cultured only in land based installations, both hatcheries and ongrowing. Eels, with over 80 units, are also produced in land based installations, either in ponds or in highly intensive recirculation systems. Besides mentioning the case of sea trout (18 units), which is mainly reared in Turkey (11 units) in cage farms, the case of Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) fattening is here highlighted. During the last 3-5 years there has been a very important development of tuna farms in the Mediterranean, now reaching about 20 farms. Although Spain (7 farms) and Croatia (9 farms) are the main producers, other countries have already initiated (e.g. Malta and Italy) this production or have shown a growing interest in it, e.g. Turkey. Although FAO statistics do not consider this production, only in Spain for the year 1999 production was estimated at over 3000 tons. For the region, it is estimated that about 70% of the Mediterranean recommended catch quota is already being used for this production, which is mainly exported to the Japanese market. Although trials to produce new marine finfish species are on-going in most countries since the beginning of the 1990s, no real replacement has been found for seabream and seabass, the two major species which have experienced a considerable decrease in price due to the fast growth in production. Many of the trials have centred on sparid species, and although it is doubtful that these could be considered real replacements from a marketing point of view, they may represent an alternative to explore. In this respect, according to FEAP sources (www.feap.org) in 2000 there is production already recorded for species such as Sharp-snout seabream, Puntazzo puntazzo, with 1500 tons produced in Greece), or White seabream, Diplodus sargus, with about 350 tons produced in Italy.

Table 7: Fish Farms (intensive and seem-intensive) in Mediterranean Countries (Developed in collaboration with the SIPAM Network and through personal contacts)

Country bass & bream

hatcheries

bass & bream

engrossing

tuna

turbot salmon marine trout

freshwatertrout

eels carps tilapia mullets others

Croatia 4 37 9 1 16 27 Cyprus 4 8 7 Egypt 3 N.D. N.D. France 9 29 5 1 7 480 900a Greece 33 266 4 96 10 12 Israel 2 6 Italy 15 79 2 4 2 589 74 50 2 + 500 193 Malta 5 2 Morocco 1 3 1 1 1 Portugal 5 61 3 30 1 13 Romania 50 250 Spain 9 58 7 17 2 132 2 1 - - 3b Tunisia 2 5 Turkey 16 324 1 11 967 68 Est. Total 103 881 21 30 9 19 2368 88 N.D. N.D. N.D. N.D.a: Most are part time activity b: tenet units and 1 sturgeon unit Seabass and seabream units and production systems For seabass and bream, production techniques are very diverse as described above, ranging from extensive to highly intensive systems, involving vale systems, earth ponds, floating cages, or raceways or tanks. As detailed in table 8 cages are by far the most popular production technique, used in lagoons, sheltered bays or seem-exposed and offshore conditions. Some 80% of farms use cages, with about 900 units (table 8), followed by land based intensive raceways or tanks (10%) and seem-intensive production in earth ponds (8%). However, as will be explained later, these percentages are not proportional to farm production size.

Table 8: Seabream and Seabass: Units and Production Techniques in Mediterranean Countries (developed in collaboration with FAO/SIPAM Network and other personal contacts)

Country No. Total units

No. Cage units*

No. Raceways

& tank. units

No. Earth-pond units

Croatia 37 37 - - Cyprus 8 8 (8) - - Egypt ND - - 517c France 35 25 (13) 10 - Greece 269 264 5 - Israel 6 3 3 - Italy 79 19 60 - Malta 5 4 (3) 1 - Morocco 3 2b 1 - Portugal 61c 1 1 59 Spain 58 35 9 14 Tunisia 5 1 4 - Turkey 324c 303 (8) 2 19 Total 880 702 96 ND

*: No. of cage units in semi-offshore and offshore conditions indicated in brackets.

a: 1500 t produced in valliculture

b: 1 units with cages in lagoons

It is recalled that most cage projects were initially established during middle 90s (from 93 to 98) in countries as Greece, Turkey, Malta, Cyprus, etc. Since then companies have changed by adapting new technologies and by increasing the production capacity of their farms. Most big or medium size companies (Greece, Malta, Turkey, etc.) are in expansion acquiring farms or by increasing the production capacity of their units rather than establishing new ones. Thus, nowadays only in few Mediterranean countries there are new projects, e.g.: Spain (Canary Islands, Valencia...). Companies prefer to have several units of 300 to 800 t rather than one big farm. Increasingly equipped with one or several marine hatcheries and pre-ongrowing units. Seabream and Seabass fry production As regards seabream and seabass fry production, there is an estimated total of 94 marine hatcheries in the Mediterranean region (table 9) belonging to 12 different countries, which in 1999 have produced about 450 million of marine fish fry, 233 million of S. aurata and 214 of D. labrax. A recent TECAM survey found that in 1997 more than 50% of the production was made in 26 hatcheries (28% of the hatcheries). Hatchery size may range from big (over 10 million fry) to small (about 2 million fry). In 1997 the mean production per firm was estimated to be of 7.3 million fry, production varying between 0.25 and 27.4 million fry. The average S. aurata fry production per hatchery was 5.0 million and of D. labrax was 3.4 million. Figure 3. Evolution of Seabream and Seabass Fry Production (in million) in Mediterranean Countries

(Source FEAP) Table 9: Seabream and Seabass Fry Production (in million) in Mediterranean Countries in 1999 (developed from FEAP and in collaboration with FAO/SIPAM Network) Country No. Hat. Seabream Seabass Total Greece 33 90 75 165 Italy 15 46 62 108 Spain 9 35 8 43 France 9 19 21 40 Turkey 16 3 24 27 Portugal 5 13 6 19 Cyprus 4 15 3 18 Morocco 1 3 6 9 Tunisia 2 2 6 8

0

50

100

150

200

250

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Mill

ion

fry

Seabass Seabream

Israel 2 5 0 5 Croatia 4 1 3 4 Malta 1 1 0 1 Total 101 233 214 447

CONSTRAINTS AND DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS

As in any other part of the world the aquaculture sector in the Mediterranean region is facing different constraints, these mainly related with the evolution of markets, the availability of sites, inputs (mainly seeds), diseases, planning, infrastructures and human resources.

It is pointed out that the Mediterranean aquaculture can be divided into subsectors, each at a different level of development and facing different constraints. Thus, in fish production, whilst the trout sector faces the constraint of an ageing industry, the seabass and seabream industry could be described as a sector already entering a mature phase.

Successful development of seabass and bream production in the Mediterranean has been achieved after overcoming various technical problems. However, growth in supply has led to a considerable decrease in market price, which has caused instability and crisis during the early and late 90s. Production costs, which have decreased significantly are still very variable, given the variety of countries, sites, technologies and farm sizes, and this variation is accentuated as many enterprises are still young, routine has not yet been achieved and companies are growing. The sector which was described some years ago, as being in a growing phase characterised by rapid growth, non generic market developments, stabilisation of production techniques, development of sophisticated management, is now facing many of the same problems experienced by the salmon industry and may be expected to face others that are typical of mature and/or ageing industries, such as less control over cost and rationalisation, critical management, etc.

Table 10: Seabream and Seabass Production Characteristics and Constraints

Market characteristics Product availability Production

expanding markets based on competitive-priced products

still only seasonal availability

reductions in production cost, through economies of scale and automation

mainly, a single product form (fresh whole fish)

although changing, limited sizes and product forms

Diseases Environmental concerns:

effluent impact; biodiversity

Whilst the industry has been diverse in features and methods, incorporating both commercial and artisanal forms of production, there are actions for aggregation and more clear-cut divisions between two main sectors: large scale corporate producers using intensive methods and smaller-scale family or co-operative producers. Competition has increased, and prices and margins have significantly diminished, which is now demanding additional efficiency, productivity and economies of scale. This is driving industry policy in further pursuit of size. In this context, the constraints for the future development of the sector can be grouped in different categories, each requiring not only specific action but also coordination. Table 10 summarises the main characteristics and constraints of the seabass and seabream industry. It can be noted that the categories of constraints that should be addressed are related to: biological and technical aspects, mainly referring to disease problems, but also including

biodiversity concerns due to the introduction of new species in the region and quality control problems.

zootechnical constraints, such as seasonality of production compared to seasonal fluctuations of demand.

environmental concerns, linked to the location of farms and the impact of their effluents on the surrounding environment.

scarcity of potential sites for new aquaculture projects. scarce administrative organisation as regards integration of aquaculture activities in coastal areas

The high prices of these two rather similar commodities was initially dependent on the

relatively small size of total market supply, including capture fisheries and aquaculture, in which aquaculture production has taken the lead as supplier. Thus seabream catches in the Mediterranean were reported to be between 5,200 and 7,000 for the year 1996 to 1999, whereas aquaculture production was 66,997 tons in 1999.

Seabass and seabream have thus steadily lost their luxury image and have became commodity items. Only a limited number of strategies may then be adopted to maximise profitability and ensure a continuing expansion in an ever more competitive market. Table 10 summarises the market and potentially available production strategies. These include i) decreased production cost, ii) increased selling prices and iii) greater product diversity. Note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive. For example, reduced production cost, successfully achieved by the salmon industry (through improvements in feeds, disease control and prevention, genetics and breeding, management, automation, etc.) may be successfully accompanied by improved marketing methods, where product differentiation may play a significant role.

Table 11: Options Potentially Available for Mediterranean Marine Aquaculture Development

Market strategies Production strategies Entrepreneur strategies

.- Introduction into new markets

.- Development of local markets

.- Improvement of product quality image: quality certification, application of identity and designation of origin, organic, etc.

.- Reduction of production cost through a: better management, automation, nutrition and feeding, genetics and breeding, health management, etc.

Integration and aggregation of production units: hatcheries, ongrowing farms, feed manufacturing, marketing.

.- Increased variety of output within the same species: e.g. size diversification

.- Diversification of production systems: i.e. offshore cage culture, recycle systems

Association of producers: mainly through a common marketing

.- Diversification in presentation, and supply of value-added products, eg. fillets, precooked, etc.

.- Species diversification within similar groups (eg. dentex) or within different groups (eg. groupers)

To decrease production cost, there is still room for improvement in farm management, automation, health management, better feed performance, genetics and breeding, etc, all of which may make it possible to maintain margins competitively. Although prices for seabass and seabream have decreased significantly during recent years, the tendency for further decline seems not to have finished. Although possible, an increase in selling prices through common enterpreneur strategies is unlikely, as low price policies seems to be a strategy used by some big companies to enlarge existing markets and enter new ones. However, it is also important to develop new markets. Hence, it is more possible to invest in the production and marketing of higher quality products aiming to gain consumers (market niches) willing to pay higher prices, eg. organic fish, label rouge quality, etc. Nevertheless the Mediterranean industry may need to emphasise more sophisticated methods of marketing and base them on market research studies.

To expand markets, diversification will be a significant issue. This may refer to a) product diversification - different market products for a given species, i.e. different size, manufacturing process, presentation, quality, etc., and b) species diversification - production of new cultured species. The ability of producers to offer other species than those traditionally marketed would attract new consumption and may at least for some period support better prices, especially for innovatory species. The diversification of production systems (off-shore cage culture, recycle systems, etc.) may offer an increasing number of alternatives for a sustainable aquaculture development, as scarcity of potential sites is a key constraint.

CONSTRAINTS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF OFFSHORE MARICULTURE

As being said above, is well accepted that a major constraint of Mediterranean aquaculture is access to coastal space. Although there are still convenient sheltered or semi-offshore sites, these are

found only in a few countries or are submitted to severe use conflicts: urbanisation, tourism, navigation, wildlife park projects, harbours, maritime traffic, etc. Following technological developments, offshore aquaculture may offer solutions for many of these conflicts. After several years of experience, we have witnessed how farms are steadily moving from semi-offshore conditions towards more exposed sites. The acquired experience for the management-maintenance of stocks and structures under the prevailing conditions have filled the gap in knowledge, since offshore mariculture is still a relatively new activity in the region. Thus, we can start to identify the technical as well as socio and legal requirements of offshore aquaculture systems; some of them unusual, others common to other production systems. For example, although it is being recognised that offshore fish farming has a lower environmental impact, we should not forget that these production systems, just as other aquaculture systems, are or will be watched by environmental agencies and government departments, so suitable environmental monitoring techniques need to be developed.

Social and Legal Requirements

From a broader perspective, the social and environmental cost of offshore aquaculture may have to be taken into account. In this respect the removal of aquaculture from highly competitive coastal zones may represent a positive economic gain. However, the social cost of reducing the competition from less intensive traditional forms of aquaculture may represent a notable disadvantage in some circumstances (Muir, this volume). For most Mediterranean countries, even though there are differences, there is a global legal framework for aquaculture, which reasonably regulates inland and on-shore aquaculture. With the exceptions of countries where aquaculture has developed recently thanks to offshore systems (i.e. Malta and Cyprus), legislations are not sufficiently updated to off-shore mariculture and still need to contemplate these practices. This means a possible barrier for investments and entrepreneurs who may face a legal vacuum when requesting permission for an offshore farm project.

Regarding leases or rights for offshore aquaculture sites, these permits may vary between and within countries. When projects are submitted, entrepreneurs will request permission for a reasonable number of years, as most of these projects range from middle to large intensive farm units, normally requiring high investments. In some cases, some administrations (always seeking to protect the coast) may be somewhat reluctant to give permissions for a new project (offshore) whose environmental impact is unknown; and therefore give short, renewable permits. Possible solutions for this problem may be found in some countries, such as Malta, where some guidelines have been issued to this respect: including site requirements, environmental assessment studies, etc, or Cyprus where the rather arbitrary distance of about 3km is left between the farms in order to minimise their interaction and joint effect on the environment.

The rotation of farm sites, which was being offered as a solution for farms placed in protected or semi-protected sites of 25 m or less depth in order to minimise environmental impacts, could also be applied to certain offshore cases. For offshore mariculture, this possibility should not be forgotten as conflicts with tourism, navigation, etc. may arise once the farm has already been established. Thus, although this possibility may encounter some technical problems, there are bigger constraints when obtaining site "concessions", as the necessary administrative requirements are costly and time consuming. A possible solution could be for the administration to provide two nearby site permissions for the operation of one unit

Finally, there is also a need to improve pre-installation survey methodologies adapted to specific offshore systems (cages and moorings) for particular potential sites in order to assist project evaluations and risk assessment studies. Post-installation survey methodologies, which will later help to monitor the performance of the system and to monitor the environmental impact, are also needed (Turner, this volume). The information concerning the causes of losses and loss investigations should be made public, as this information is of extreme importance in the evaluation of projects and is necessary to promote the development of an adequate insurance system for offshore mariculture.

Technical requirements Besides the constraints and needs already mentioned above, such as the scarcity of protected

sites for mariculture or the need for regulations adapted to offshore conditions, in order to develop, the sector has technological needs in the field of engineering. Therefore, whilst there is still a need for

R&D in the field of biology, such as the development of improved diets, new vaccines or methods for the prevention and treatment of disease, there is a noticeable lack of knowledge about different aspects of offshore engineering and technology. Moreover, all these operations are to be developed in a sector that, due to market forces, is obliged to lower production costs and at the same time improve the quality of their products.

Thus, there is a need for the development of more efficient and less expensive floating or submergible structures that could permit reliable operation in exposed offshore conditions. It should be mentioned that not only should offshore structures withstand higher or stronger waves and currents, but also that the management and operation (feeding, handling, harvesting, batch classification...) of these structures should be carried out efficiently. To this respect, there is a need for equipment that could allow higher management automation in these units and thus increase labour productivity. All this, and the high investments to be made, will lead offshore farms to evolve towards units with a production capacity from 500 to 1 000 tons upwards.

In this context, pilot projects aiming to develop or improve technologies for operation in real exposed conditions should address the following aspects: Development of less expensive offshore structures Development of economic and resistant workboats and platforms for offshore operations, these

offering a base for management, feeding and stock surveillance. Development of remote control systems for offshore units Development of more resistant nets (incorporation of new fatigue-resistant material) Development of more resistant chains and mooring systems Development of environmentally friendly net anti-fouling systems Development of monitoring techniques for the control of environmental impact Development of systems to protect stock against environmental disasters, such as oil spills,

plankton blooms, etc.

REFERENCES

Aquaculture planning in Mediterranean countries/Planification de laquaculture dans les pays mditerranens. Proceedings of the workshop of the CIHEAM Network SELAM, Tangiers, Morocco, 12-14 March 1998. Options Mditerranennes, Series Cahiers, Vol 43.- Zaragoza: CIHEAM / FAO / INRH, 1999.- 188 pp.

Bakela, Z. and Paquotte, P. (1996). Mediterranean Marine Aquaculture Sector. Present State of Development and Perspectives on Cooperation. Proceedings of the VIII Annual Conference of the European Association of Fisheries Economists. Barcelona (Spain), 1-3 April 1996, pp. 77-82.

Bardach, J.E., Rythe, J.H. and MacLarney, W.O. (1972). Aquaculture: The farming and husbandry of freshwater and marine organisms. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, London. 868p.

El-Sayed, A.F. (1996). Aquaculture Potential and Development in Egypt. Proceedings of the VIII Annual Conference of the European Association of Fisheries Economist. Barcelona (Spain), 1-3 April 1996, pp. 77-82.

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). Fisheries Department. Databases and Statistics: http://www.fao.org/fi/statist/statist.asp

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). SIPAM Network (System of Information for the Promotion of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean): http://www.faosipam.org

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). SOFIA 2000 (The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture). http://www.fao.org/sof/sofia/index_en.htm

FEAP (Federation of European Aquaculture Producers). Production and Price reports for fish species produced by aquaculture in Europe: http://www.feap.org

Feeding Tomorrow's Fish. Proceedings of the workshop of the CIHEAM Network TECAM, Mazarrn, Spain, 24-26 June 1996. Eds A. Tacon, B. Basurco. Options Mditerranennes, Series Cahiers, Vol 22.- Zaragoza: CIHEAM / FAO / IEO, 1997.- 307 pp.

Ferlin, P. and Lacroix, D. (2001). Current State and Future Development of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean Region. In: Mediterranean Conference for Agricultural Research Cooperation. The Mediterranean Nutritional Model and Cooperation to Promote the International Trade of Mediterranean Aggricultural Products. B. Hervieu, N. Maraveyas, S. Vizantinopooulos (Eds.). Athens, Nagref/IPapazissis Publishers/INRA, pp. 624-640.

Genetics and breeding of Mediterranean aquaculture species. Proceedings of the seminar of the CIHEAM Network TECAM, Zaragoza, Spain, 28-29 April 1997. Eds D. Bartley, B. Basurco. Options Mditerranennes, Series Cahiers, Vol 34.- Zaragoza: CIHEAM / FAO, 1998.- 296 pp.

Marine finfish species diversification: current situation and prospects in Mediterranean aquaculture. Results of the survey on finfish diversification in the Meditteranean carried out within the framework of the CIHEAM Network TECAM. Eds E. Abellan, B. Basurco. Options Mditerranennes, Series B, No. 24.- Zaragoza: CIHEAM / FAO, 1999.- 139 pp.

Mediterranean offshore mariculture. Based on the contents of the advanced course of the CIHEAM Network TECAM, Zaragoza, Spain, 20-24 October 1997. Eds J. Muir, B. Basurco. Options Mditerranennes, Series B, No. 30.- Zaragoza: CIHEAM, 2000. 215 pp.

Pedini (1996). Aquaculture in the GFCM countries: its evolution from 1984 to 1994. FAO Aquaculture Newsletter, No 14, pp. 18-23.

Proc. XXXIII Int. Symp. on New Species for Mediterranean Aquaculture, Alghero (Italy), 22-24 April 1998, Enne, G. and Greppi G.F. (eds.), 1998. Elsevier.

Recent advances in Mediterranean aquaculture finfish species diversification. Proceedings of the seminar of the CIHEAM Network TECAM, Zaragoza, Spain, 24-28 May 1999. Options Mditerranennes, Series Cahiers. Zaragoza: Vol 47.- Zaragoza: CIHEAM / FAO 2000.- 394 pp.

Seabass and seabream culture: problems and prospects. EAS Special Publication. 1996. Handbook of contributions and short communications presented at the International Workshop on "Seabass and seabream culture: problems and prospects", Verona, Italy, October 16-18, 1996.

AbstractINTRODUCTIONBrief history of Mediterranean aquaculture

MEDITERRANEAN AQUACULTURE: CURRENT PRODUCTION STATUSMEDITERRANEAN MARINE FISH FARMING PRODUCTION SYSTEMSExtensive systemsCoastal lagoon managementVallicultura

Semi-intensive systemsIntensive systemsLand based intensive systemsCage farming

Fish farming production unitsSeabass and seabream units and production systemsSeabream and Seabass fry production

CONSTRAINTS AND DEVELOPMENT OPTIONSCONSTRAINTS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF OFFSHORE MARICULTURESocial and Legal RequirementsTechnical requirements

REFERENCESTables and figuresTable 1. Aquaculture Production (t) of the Main Groups of Species in Mediterranean Countries (Source FAO)Table 2. Aquaculture Production Value (US$) of Main Group of Species in Mediterranean Counties (Source FAO)Table 3. Evolution of Aquaculture Production (t) in Mediterranean Countries (Source FAO)Table 4: Mediterranean Aquaculture Production (t) in 1999 by Group of Species (Source FAO)Table 5. Mediterranean Aquaculture Shellfish Production in 1999 by Countries and Species (Source FAO)Table 6. Mediterranean Aquaculture Fishes Production in 1999 by Countries and Species (Source FAO)Table 7: Fish Farms (intensive and seem-intensive) in Mediterranean Countries (Developed in collaboration with the SIPAM Network and through personal contacts)Table 8: Seabream and Seabass: Units and Production Techniques in Mediterranean Countries (developed in collaboration with FAO/SIPAM Network and other personal contacts)Table 9: Seabream and Seabass Fry Production (in million) in Mediterranean Countries in 1999 (developed from FEAP and in collaboration with FAO/SIPAM Network)Table 10: Seabream and Seabass Production Characteristics and ConstraintsTable 11: Options Potentially Available for Mediterranean Marine Aquaculture DevelopmentFigure 1. Evolution of Mollusc and Fish Aquaculture Production and Value in Mediterranean Counties (Source FAO)Figure 2. Evolution of Fish Aquaculture Production (a) and Value (b) in Mediterranean Countries by Species (Source FAO)Figure 3. Evolution of Seabream and Seabass Fry Production (in million) in Mediterranean Countries (Source FEAP)