Countries

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund supports community-led local development, a concept that takes into account the needs of different sectors within an area. This has contributed to the development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in rural and other areas.

The capture-based aquaculture (fattening) of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a well-developed activity in the Mediterranean.

Small pelagics are an important component of the Croatian fishery and processing sector. Sardines and anchovies are the main small pelagic species that are caught and processed into a variety of products intended for the domestic market as well as for export.

Mislov, a family-owned pelagic fishery, expanded its operations in 2015 beyond catching fish when it opened a new processing plant in Policnik, Croatia. The company has been in business since it was founded in 2001 in Kali, on Island Ugljan. It is run by the Mislov family, who have extensive experience in fishing tuna and small pelagic species.

Cromaris, the largest Croatian producer of seabass and seabream has completely renovated its hatchery to double the production of fry of these two species.

In Lithuania, a new trend has emerged in the way that aquaculture production is sold to consumers: a few local fish farmers and processors have opened their own retail outlets to sell their products. These specialty shops enable the producers to sell fish directly to consumers, bypassing the typical distributors of supermarkets or fishmongers. Three such businesses who have practiced this retail strategy are JSCs Išlaužo žuvis, Kintai, and Vasaknos. These firms established their shops in response to the growing desire for fresh, local fish shown both in Lithuania and in other EU countries.

The Fisheries Service under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania has established and opened a sea-fisheries and aquaculture laboratory, the construction and modernisation of which were funded by the European Fisheries Fund. The laboratory was created through the Programme of Integrated Science, Studies and Business Centre for the Development of the Lithuanian Maritime Sector.

The Latvian seafood processing sector produces a wide variety of products based on locally sourced as well as imported raw materials. Although per capita consumption of fish and seafood at 16 kg per capita is below the EU average (23 kg/capita), local supermarkets offer an impressive range of products – canned, smoked, salted, marinated, and fresh using many different species.

Aquaculture in Latvia consists primarily of the production of common carp farmed in earthen ponds. The volume of fish produced has remained broadly stable for the last decade at about 500 tonnes. Although carp production still dominates the total output from the aquaculture sector, its relative importance has gradually decreased over the last decade, from about nine tenths of the total production to about three fourths. The reason is the gradual increase in the production of other species including rainbow trout, sturgeon, crucian carp and pike. Production of these species has led to 26% increase in the total farmed fish production in the decade to 2014 to 680 tonnes.

The Latvian fleet is active in the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Riga, coastal waters, and also in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of western Africa. In the Baltic Sea the main catch in terms of volumes is of sprat followed by herring, cod, and flounder. In the Gulf of Riga on the other hand, Baltic herring is the primary catch followed by European smelt, while the coastal fishery targets mostly herring and flounder.