APROMAR, the Spanish aquaculture producers association, has published the 2018 edition of its annual report on the development of the aquaculture sector in Spain and Europe. The figures are the most current available to date and in addition to the information gathered by the association and its members, information has been used from the European Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), the European Federation of Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Among its main conclusions, the following stand out:
- The harvest of aquaculture seabass in Spain in 2017 was 21.269 tonnes. The Region of Murcia has led the production with 6.990 tonnes, followed by Canarias (5.900 tonnes), Comunidad Valenciana (4.972 tonnes) Andalucía (3.261 tonnes) and Cataluña (146 tonnes).
- The production of rainbow trout in Spain in 2017 is estimated at 17.984 tonnes. The main producing regions are Castilla y León, Galicia, and Andalucía.
- The harvest of seabream from aquaculture in Spain in 2017 was 13.643 tonnes. Comunidad Valenciana has led the production with 5.590 tonnes, followed by Murcia (4.356 tonnes), Canarias (2.063 tonnes), Andalucía (980 tonnes), and Cataluña (654 tonnes).
- The harvest of turbot from aquaculture in Spain in 2017 was 8.546 tonnes. Galicia is the main autonomous producer of turbot in Spain (99%); the rest is produced in Cantabria.
- The production of croaker by aquaculture in Spain in 2017 was 1.932 tonnes. The bulk of Spanish croaker production comes from Comunidad Valenciana.
- In 2017, 129.200 tonnes of aquaculture feed were used in Spain. 83,1% of these were administered to marine fish and the remaining 16,9% to freshwater species.
- Employment in aquaculture in Spain in 2016 was 6.534 work-year units, although this figure was distributed among 17.811 people.
- In 2016, a total of 5.105 aquaculture establishments were in operation and producing in Spain. Of these, 4.782 were marine molluscs aquaculture farms, 200 were freshwater fish aquaculture farms, 82 farms were on the coast, beaches, intertidal zones and estuaries, and 41 were nurseries (cages) in the sea.
The report (in Spanish) can be viewed here: