ITALY
Acquacoltura Jonica doubles production of seabass and seabream fry
New facilities start working in 2015 The world’s production of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) is concentrated in the Mediterranean region, where production of the two species in 2012 amounted to some 309,000 tonnes. In the north eastern and central eastern parts of the Atlantic as well as in inland waters in North Africa, the other regions, where these two species are farmed, production was a relatively modest 38,000 tonnes.
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ost, if not all, of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean produce seabass and seabream with volumes varying from a few 10s to several thousands of tonnes. While the undisputed champions of seabass and seabream production are Turkey and Greece other countries, including Spain and Italy within the EU, as well as Egypt, have substantial productions as well. The rise of the seabass and seabream production industry, which essentially started from scratch around the 60s, was in response to the popularity of the fish and the inadequate supply. Output grew rapidly over the next decades for a number of reasons. Not least among them was the ability of scientists to develop techniques that enabled the commercial production of eggs and larvae on a very large scale.
From wild juveniles to hatcheries Up until the 60s the culture of fish in the Mediterranean was based on the collection of wild juveniles from the sea during their natural migration into lagoons. These were then extensively reared in various culture systems. However, changes in coastal environmental conditions, overfishing, pollution and other factors began to take their toll and the numbers of wild juveniles reduced to the point where they could no longer meet the demand of a growing www.eurofishmagazine.com
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industry. Increasing competition among fish farmers led to higher prices, which in turn triggered a vicious cycle of over-exploitation of the resource reducing the supply still further, the capture and use of ever younger juveniles leading to ever higher mortality rates, which further reduced the stock, and countries preventing the harvest of fry in their waters in order to keep it for their own farmers, which also curtailed the supply. Farmers were also practising a more intensive type of cultivation involving greater investments and therefore could not depend on the unpredictable supply of fry from the wild. These developments set the stage for the foundation of hatchery production of fry for seabass and seabream, which was critical for the evolution of the industry. Early hatcheries did much of the groundwork for today’s modern hatcheries. They wrestled with and ultimately solved the technical problems of live feeds synchronised with egg production and hatching; of disease; and of larval quality. They also had to overcome the issue of a lack of trained personnel. Engineering issues related to pumping and purifying seawater for the hatchery, as well as understanding the behaviour and physiological requirements of the larvae when raised intensively were all areas that were new to hatchery managers and technicians.
Marco Notarangelo, the director of Acquacoltura Jonica
Francesco Santamaria, the president of Acquacoltura Jonica.
Serving markets for fry in North Africa Successful small-scale production at the end of the 70s in Italy and France finally gave way to successful large-scale production a decade or so later in Italy, France, Croatia, Spain, and Greece. Italy was among the pioneers in the production of fry and today Italian hatcheries are usually either captive, that is owned
by a seabass and seabream ongrowing company, or independent. Thanks to the knowledge and the reputation that Italian hatcheries have acquired over the years independent hatcheries often, in addition to the domestic, supply the overseas market. Acquacoltura Jonica, located in Taranto in Apulia, on the heel of Italy’s boot, is a multi-species hatchery that is part of the Maricoltura Pugliese Group. It supplies fry to Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2014
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