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The future is aquaculture, said Dr. Ricardo Prego, a scientist with the
Institute of Marine Studies in Vigo, where major aquaculture research is
conducted within sight of factory trawlers. Salmon, seabream, mussels, and
turbot aquaculture projects are being developed on Spain.
Per-capita consumption of seafood in Spain is over 45 kilos (live weight)
per year and rising. This growth drives its seafood industry. The heart
of the Spanish seafood industry is Vigo, a Galician city of about 300,000
on the Ria Vigo. The port stretches for a couple of miles, and factory trawlers
and logliners from around the world offload a million tons a year of frozen
tuna, hake, cod and squid, while smaller boats drop off up to 100 tons of
fresh swordfish, shark and tuna per day for the daily auction. |
Lobster
Lobster fishing in Balearic waters
has fallen in the past few years, but 600g of the product can still fetch
6,200 pesetas. According to the Agriculture and Fisheries department of
the Balearic government, 80 tonnes were caught last year, a drop from 125
tonnes in 1993. This was due to over-exploitation resulting from poor surveillance.
The main lobster fishing areas lie between Mallorca and Ciutadella de Menorca,
and in Formentera, the north of Ibiza and Cala Ratjada (Mallorca). Red lobster
is found in these areas. The white lobster is found off North Africa and
south Mediterranean countries, in deeper and sandy areas. The lobster season
runs from 1 March - 31 August and there is a ban during the rest of the
year. |