In Italy, eight out of ten fish consumed are imported. And surely one of the two is farmed. Last year, for the first time, aquaculture production exceeded catch. The FAO certifies this in its recently published Sofia report. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, global fisheries and aquaculture production peaked at 223.2 million tonnes, up 4.4% from two years ago. Specifically, 185.4 million tons of aquatic animals and 37.8 million tons of algae were generated. 94.4 million tonnes of farmed fish account for 51% of total production. The top ten countries in the sector are China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Norway, Egypt, and Chile. In Europe, Italy is one of the most active. "Last year, we produced 54,500 tons on our farms", says Andrea Fabris, director of the fish farmers' association. "Three species are in high demand: trout (30,000 tons), sea bream (10,750), and sea bass (6,300). We are one of Europe's leading trout producers, even exporting them. On the other hand, we have to import sea bream and sea bass because we only produce 20% of our total consumption of nearly 80,000 tonnes".
|