Sea Bream
Sea Bream (Sparus aurata)
En - Gilthead seabream, Fr - Dorade royale, Es - Dorada
Traditionally, gilthead seabream were cultured extensively in coastal lagoons and saltwater ponds, until intensive rearing systems were developed during the 1980s. The Italian 'vallicoltura' or the Egyptian 'hosha' are extensive fish rearing systems that act like natural fish traps, taking advantage of the natural trophic migration of juveniles from the sea into coastal lagoons. Gilthead seabream are very suitable species for extensive aquaculture in the Mediterranean, due to their good market price, high survival rate and feeding habits (which are relatively low in the food chain).
Artificial breeding was successfully achieved in Italy in 1981-82 and large-scale production of gilthead seabream juveniles was definitively achieved in 1988-1989 in Spain, Italy and Greece. The hatchery production and farming of this fish is one of the success stories of the aquaculture business. This species very quickly demonstrated a high adaptability to intensive rearing conditions, both in ponds and cages, and its annual production increased regularly until 2000, when it reached a peak of over 87 000 tonnes.
Market & Trade
As is the case with European seabass, the farming of gilthead seabream in the Mediterranean region is undergoing a transformation from being an industry of high margins and low volumes to one of low margins and high volumes. The rapid development of production in sea cages has led to declining prices; the ex-farm prices of both species decreased by approximately 60 percent between 1990 and 2000 and are still decreasing.
Although gilthead seabream ex-farm prices began to decrease between 1990 and 1995, they were still sufficient to interest investors and guaranteed a reasonable profit for farmers until 1998. However, in the last three years (2000-2003), the price of farmed gilthead seabream has collapsed; now the European market price is fluctuating around € 5.50/kg, for the 350 g size. At this level it is very difficult for farmers to make a fair profit.
Thus, at the moment, market conditions seem very far from those that pertained in the first half of the 1990s, but there are a few marketing strategies for rearing gilthead seabream profitably. One of these is the economies of scale (farming a lot of fish to reduce unit production costs). Alternatively, small production systems can increase the value of the product by producing low quantities of higher quality fish (e.g. organic fish) or by producing unconventional fish sizes, which can also be processed (e.g. filleted).
Status & Trends
The conventional market for seabream has become saturated. For future growth, the Mediterranean aquaculture industry needs to emphasize the adoption of more sophisticated methods of marketing. This is a must for penetrating new markets, but it is also necessary for enlarging the existing ones. As well as improved marketing organization, product diversification could help the seabream aquaculture in the Mediterranean region. Seabream should not only be available as a commodity item but also as a value-added product. The development of alternative markets and value-added products is likely to lead to higher requirements for controlled and predictable quality, and for larger fish.
The export activity of the Greece aquaculture industry, which is the main producer of seabream, has an almost exclusive orientation towards the Italian market. Since 1994, a few exporters have tried hard to penetrate new markets. The outcome of those efforts has resulted in exports to new markets in the UK, Germany, and France (20-22 percent new markets in 1996, compared to 1994).
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