Time to turn around Europe’s tuna farming sector
In recent years the buzz and hype surrounding the drive to achieve commercial full-cycle tuna farming in the Mediterranean seems to have subsided. We checked in with some of the leading minds in the field to discuss the initiatives and ideas that can help bring the sector back on track.....MUCH MORE
Between 2010 and 2016, tuna farming in the Mediterranean looked like the next big thing. Until four or five years ago all the EU countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as Turkey and Israel, had ongoing projects – from both the public and private sectors – striving to create this new fish-farming sector, as extensively discussed in the 2017 report The closed cycle aquaculture of Atlantic bluefin tuna in Europe. Currently, however, it seems that only Spain is active and moving forward, whereas there are no signs of activity in France, Greece, Italy or Turkey.
In the past, much of the sector’s motivation was inspired by the advances that the EU-funded tuna projects SELFDOTT and TRANSDOTT were making. Japan was also reporting commercial successes – with farmed-from-hatchery juveniles being marketed and accepted by a very discerning public. During those years, wild tuna stocks became heavily overfished and, as a result, strict fishing quotas were introduced. As the amount of wild-caught tuna available to be ranched was reduced, operators began looking for an alternative source of these valuable fish....
Related:
"The certificate that could kickstart a renaissance in tuna aquaculture in Europe"
As noted in 2013's "Single Tuna Sells for Record $1.76 Million in Sign of Prices to Come":
We've been on the Bluefin beat for a few years, links below....
