Spain’s Fishing Industry and Aquaculture
Catch by Region
The most important region is the Northwest. Its fishing accounts for more than half the national total and, in addition, it has almost all marine parks and incubators. The main species landed are hake, sardine, cod, squid, and tuna, representing more than 50% nationwide. Among the major fishing ports, Vigo, La Coruña, Marin, and Villagarcia de Arousa stand out.
Second in importance is the Canary Islands region. It is experiencing a slight decline due to poor industrialization. The main fishing banks where the fleet operates are the Sahara and West Africa. Sardines are its main contribution, representing a quarter of the national total. They are landed in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura to a lesser extent, and in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The port of Las Palmas is Spain’s second-largest by tonnage landed by Spanish fishermen and one of the first in the world.
Third is the Cantabrian region. Catches are now declining due to the crisis in the cod fleet, while still capturing a third of the total. Tuna and anchovy have exceeded it in importance. The main ports are Ondárroa, Bermeo, Santander, and San Sebastian.
The Suratlantica region ranks fourth. The weight/value is 12/20 because of the crustaceans in the waters swept 300m from the Gulf of Cadiz. Their fleet fishes off the coast of Senegal, Angola, and Namibia. The most important port is Puerto de Santa Maria.
In the Mediterranean regions, coastal fishing dominates, while high-seas fishing practically does not exist. Crustaceans, sardines, whiting, and mullet are the main species. Barcelona, Tarragona, Castellon, Santa Pola, and Alicante are the main ports.
Imports and Exports of Fish
Spain, one of the largest consumers of fish in the world, has to import fish. The principal imported species are frozen squid, codfish, hake, and crustaceans. Our exports, to European countries, only exceed imports in tuna, sardines and herring, anchovies, and all canned products. The trade balance deficit is widely fishing.
Aquaculture
Agriculture, helped by favorable conditions in Spain, can be summarized as:
- A good technical preparation
- A long experience in marketing
- The length of our coast
- The diversity of the coastline that facilitates the exploitation of very varied species
- The high quality of the exploited species
- The mild climate
Freshwater Aquaculture
There are about 2000 fish farms, of which two-thirds are private, and the others are publicly owned. There is one essential difference. The private ones are oriented to production for human consumption; the public ones direct their activities toward the production of eggs and/or fingerlings for restocking. Private fish farms concentrate their production on rainbow trout, being the one that best breeds and reproduces in captivity. Production is estimated at 31 thousand tons. Regionally, Galicia stands out, with a quarter of the production centers, and Catalonia, with a fifth, and a lesser proportion of New Castile. To assess their importance, we must take into account feed mills. A growing minority is astaciculture, especially in the marshes of the Lower Guadalquivir, where the red crab breeds naturally. Within the past, the production of eel and shrimp is developing.
Marine Aquaculture
It focuses primarily on the production of shellfish, mainly mussels, especially in Galician waters. The Tramontana region also raises mussels, although in smaller quantities. Minor oyster semi-cultivation reaches productive levels. There is crop of turbot, sea bass, salmon, and bluefin tuna (Murcia). Production of Mar Menor prawns, sturgeon, and eel are testimonial. Every day, the production of oyster and clam eggs is more important.