Greece Ranks Among EU’s Top Aquaculture Producers

Aquaculture successful Greece. Credit: EU Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Greece stood among the starring aquaculture producers successful the European Union successful 2024, contributing 127,493 tonnes of farmed aquatic organisms and representing 12.6% of the bloc’s full output, according to caller Eurostat data.

Spain led each EU nations with 246,137 tonnes, accounting for 24.3% of full production. France came 2nd astatine 181,434 tonnes, oregon 17.9% of the total. Greece ranked third, up of Italy astatine 9.7% and Poland astatine 4.3%. Together, these 5 countries produced conscionable implicit two-thirds of the EU’s full farmed output.

Greece holds beardown arsenic a apical EU aquaculture producer

Greece besides held a ascendant presumption successful 2 cardinal Mediterranean species. The state farmed much than fractional of each gilthead seabream and much than fractional of each European seabass produced crossed the EU successful 2024.

On a per capita basis, Greek accumulation reached 26.9 lbs per person, good supra the EU mean of 4.96 lbs, reinforcing the country’s lasting arsenic 1 of Europe’s apical aquaculture producers.

Fishermen successful Ormos Aigialis, Amorgos, Greece. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / ZDE / CC BY SA 4.0

EU aquaculture output reached 1.0 cardinal tonnes successful 2024, valued astatine 4.6 cardinal euros. Both figures slipped from the twelvemonth before, with measurement falling 3.7% and worth declining 3.6% compared to 2023.

Trout leads EU aquaculture worth portion mussels apical volume

Mussels made up the largest stock of EU accumulation by weight, astatine 32.8% of the total. Trout followed astatine 17.2%, and gilthead seabream placed 3rd astatine 10.0%. By value, the representation shifted. Trout ranked highest astatine 17.9% of each EU aquaculture value, seabass came 2nd astatine 14.5%, and gilthead seabream placed 3rd astatine 13.5%.

Spain dominated Mediterranean mussel farming, producing astir 3 successful each 4 tonnes crossed the EU. Blue mussels grown successful Atlantic waters were led by France, which accounted for astir fractional of the EU total.

Norway’s salmon dominance overshadows the full EU sector

The EU’s stock of planetary aquaculture output remains humble astatine astir 0.9% of satellite production. Norway, a non-EU country, produced 1.6 cardinal tonnes successful 2024, astir each of it salmon, valued astatine 9.5 cardinal euros. That azygous country’s output surpassed the combined worth of each EU aquaculture.

Per capita, EU accumulation stood astatine 4.96 lbs successful 2024, acold beneath the planetary mean of 36.2 lbs. Iceland reached 324.7 lbs per capita, and Norway deed 663.2 lbs per capita that aforesaid year. Eurostat data points to a sizeable maturation spread that the EU has yet to close.