ROMANIA
aquaculture and fishing are the most productive and contribute the most to poverty reduction and food security are also the most vulnerable to natural disasters caused by extreme weather events and rising water levels. Institutions need to develop measures that enable the most vulnerable to adapt to the effects of climate change. Romanian production from freshwater aquaculture has been gradually increasing since 2010. However, there has been little progress in the development of
marine cultivation. What are the factors hampering the development of marine culture and how are they being addressed? The development of marine aquaculture will ensue when legislation on waters is harmonised with legislation related to the fishing sector. At the same time, it is necessary to evaluate areas suitable for marine aquaculture in the Black Sea in the coastal area of Romania. The Demonstration Centre for Aquaculture in Constanta, within the FAO BlackSea4fish
project, seeks to identify techniques needed to make marine aquaculture farms for mussels profitable, and is also conducting pilot studies for the culture of sea trout and other species of fish suitable for the conditions of the Black Sea. Despite its healthfulness fish consumption in Romania is well below the EU average. Are fish promotion campaigns considered a way to help improve this? If so, what have been the results? What other methods being deployed boost per
capita fish consumption in the country? Although in recent years there have been promotion events organized by the main players in the sector the level of consumption has still not increased significantly due to lack of visibility of such campaigns and events. The new operational program provides the means and leverage for awareness and marketing campaigns to boost fish consumption, including promotion through events, programmes, and other specific actions.
Trout behind most growth in Romanian ďŹ sh farming, but now mussel production may take off
Marine shellďŹ sh aquaculture receives ofďŹ cial focus In the last decades production from aquaculture has grown consistently all over the world. However, the political changes in Central and Eastern Europe at the end of ‘80s caused a strong regression in farmed ďŹ sh production and in ďŹ sh consumption which took almost twenty years to reverse.
R
omanian production reached its nadir in 200506 with 7,284 tonnes and, at EUR9.3m, its lowest sale value. Pre-accession and the EFF and EMFF funds managed to stop the decline and help the sector adapt to the new market conditions. In terms of production, growth between 2006 and 2018 was 135 while value, over the same period, increased 362 reaching EUR34m.
Impressive expansion in trout farming The sector, based exclusively on the cultivation of common carp and associated freshwater
species, has almost 135,000 ha of ponds, dam lakes and reservoirs, of which 90,000 ha are registered. However, largely due to confusing legislation and administrative burden just a half of it is exploited, and overall productivity is low, in the range of 200 – 250 kg/ha. In the last five years the main source of growth in the sector has been trout farming. More than 30 species are cultured in Romania, from crayfish to beluga though carps farmed in polyculture dominate the production. Pond farming is the main source of ecosystem services provided by semi-natural habitats. Fishponds and the
surrounding areas often earn a designation as Natura 2000 sites thanks to the rich biodiversity they support. Ponds constitute the foundation of eco-tourism, scientific tourism, or educational tourism, apart from providing other recreational activities such as angling, thereby adding value to the basic commercial operations of growing and selling fish. For the trout farms, added value comes mainly from processing the fish in traditional ways and branding the products with designations of origin. Both types of fish farming are developing accommodation and angling facilities, diversifying the income streams.
A supportive legislative and administrative framework would boost production Diadem Atodiresei is an experienced farmer who manages, together with his extended family, a carp farming business which produces almost 15 of the Romanian common carp and associated species market. His two companies Pirania srl and Rompescaris srl are located in Romania’s most productive areas in terms of fish farming, Botoúani and Iaúi, respectively. A typical pond farm for carps has a very complex structure with reproduction ponds, rearing ponds,
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