Brussels, 02/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - According to statistics published by Eurostat at the end of November, fish farming in the EU25 accounted for 19% of total fisheries production in 2004, up nearly 2% on 2000. Fish and molluscs accounted for 45% and 55% repsecitvely of total fish farm production in 2004.
From 1993 to 1999, fish farm production in the EU25 increased by 46% from 970,000 tonnes to 1.4 million tonnes a year and has since stabilised at 1.4 million tonnes. Fish farm production in candidate countries rose from 46,000 tonnes in 1993 to 115.000 tonnes in 2004. Fish farming makes up a high proportion of overall fisheries in Member States without a coastline (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia). There is no fishing industry of any kind in Luxembourg.
The proportion of fish farming in overall fisheries production is low in Member States where fishing is mainly based in the Baltic Sea (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden). Spain, with 363 thousand tonnes in 2004, made the major contribution (26%) to the EU-25 aquaculture production, followed by France (244 thousand tonnes, 18%) and the United Kingdom (207 thousand tonnes, 15%). The EU-15 Member States were responsible for 94% of the EU-25 production. In 2004, marine waters accounted for 78% of the 1.4 million tonnes production from aquaculture in the EU-25 Member States: 63% from the Atlantic Ocean and 16% from the Mediterranean Sea (see Table 2). Inland waters accounted for only 22% of the production.
In 2004, 55% of the EU-25 production was of molluscs (primarily bi-valve molluscs - mussels and oysters) and 45% of fish species (see Table 3). Crustaceans are barely represented in the EU-25 aquaculture production. This contrasts with a world production of crustaceans of 3.3 million tonnes, 6% of the total production. The United Kingdom had the greatest fish production in the European Community in 2004. At 175 thousand tonnes this was 28% of the EU-25 fish production and 32% of the EU-15 fish production. Spain (302 thousand tonnes) and France 192 thousand tonnes made the major contributions to the EU-25 mollusc production (40% and 25% respectively).
Fish are by far the major component of the EU-10 aquaculture production (over 99% of the total). For the Candidate Countries and the EEA fish (at 96% and over 99% respectively) are also the major component of fish farming.
Rainbow trout, the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) are the most frequently encountered fish species and the blue mussel, the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and the Pacific cupped oyster (Crassostrea gigas) are the most widely reared molluscs. New Member States' fish farming focuses on the common carp and rainbow trout. The Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is by far the major species in the EEA countries with 98% of the 572 526 tonnes being produced in Norway. (lc)