Fish farming has made significant advances in Greece during the last decade. Greece is a leader in the sector, and produces about 60% of the sea bass and sea bream consumed in the European Union. Today, the industry is in the midst of a transformation, and faces a promising future.
Interestingly, fish farming began in the1980s by following the Norwegian model─specialization. Norway focused on farming salmon and became a world leader; Greece began by specializing on two Mediterranean fish─sea bream and sea bass─and quickly developed into the largest producer of these two species, exporting about 50,000 tons to the rest of Europe. The short production cycles for these popular fish are ideally suited to farming techniques. Most of the production of Greece─60%─goes to Italy, although Germany, France, and the UK are increasingly importing significant quantities.
The climate in the southern Mediterranean has proved to be well-suited for farming fish. Greece's abundant shoreline and numerous islands provide an ideal habitat for aquaculture and the country's rich history of traditional fishing makes the industry a natural growth area. Domestic demand has increased steadily for farmed fish, especially since prices have fallen, allowing more consumers, who otherwise could not easily afford wild fish, to enjoy seafood. Estimates show that domestic demand will continue to grow by up to 14% through 2005 and demand from foreign markets should be in the 10% range during the same period. During 1990-2000, figures show that production of sea bass and sea bream grew at an annual rate of 44%.
Source - Investingreece
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