2.1 Characteristics of production in the region
2.2 Regional production data
2.3 Production systems and practices in region
2.4 Producers in the region
2.5 Organizations of producers
2.6 Financial investment by public and private enterprises
2.7 Technical assistance projects in the sub-sector
2.8 Capital assistance projects in the sub-sector
In the region different forms of aquaculture production developed along almost completely separate lines until the end of the seventies. This was probably due to the diversity of the countries in the region. Only in the 1970s was aquaculture recognized in the most advanced countries as an activity with its own identity, and subsequently attempts have been made to consider it as a separate economic and important sector.
Pond culture of freshwater fish, in the form of carp culture, was probably introduced to the Mediterranean region through the ties with Central Europe during the 19th century. It progressed slowly, remaining mostly a marginal activity for landowners involved in agriculture and animal husbandry. Carp and tilapia farming developed in the late 1940s as a specific venture by a number of kibbutz in Israel, and eel farming and later catfish farming appeared in Italy. Momentum was then increased in Egypt as a means to satisfy the ever growing protein needs of the country.
In addition to pond culture of warmwater fish, trout farming started commercially in Western Europe only in the second quarter of the 20th century, but it has since developed actively as an intensive and even superintensive industry in the most advanced EEC member countries of the region. However, the progressive development of techniques for the production of large fish above pan-size and toward sea-farming, which is presently very active in Northwest Europe (for sea trout and salmon), remain marginal throughout the Mediterranean region. This situation is expected to remain because of the high temperatures of seawater in the summer months for those fish.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some lagoon fisheries in Northern Italy and the Southern Atlantic coast of France were improved through the introduction of elaborate water and fish management techniques. Such activities introduced a primitive form of aquaculture ("marais à poissons" in France, and "Vallicoltura" in Italy). In the late 1960s and early 70s, the introduction of artificial seed production techniques for sea bass and sea bream was expected to inaugurate a new phase of aquaculture development. The high investment costs and low survival in the extensive conditions resulted in the use of only a limited number of fry produced.
The extensive and semi-intensive farming of brackishwater fish in such conditions today is not expected to become an important component of further aquaculture development in the region. However, the hatchery production of high value marine fish, such as sea bass and sea bream, initiated for lagoon farming is now reaching the stage of a valuable economic venture in a more intensive approach. Much is expected from the present development of intensive marine fish farms in onshore tanks, and particularly in net-pens, along the Mediterranean coastline.
Shellfish culture began on the Atlantic Coast of France and Spain in the first quarter of the 20th century. It developed rapidly as a highly profitable venture and was introduced to the Mediterranean in the main French lagoon (Thau) and later to Italy. Mussel and oyster culture in France and Italy represent by far the main part of the aquaculture production of the region. The growth of the bivalve farming industry was severely hit at times through fears for spreading the risk of human diseases (such as cholera), and through outbreaks of natural diseases which caused massive mortalities in some production beds, and which eventually required introductions of substitute oyster species. However, shellfish culture has now expanded to Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece, and it is expected to develop as a growing business in other countries in the region. New opportunities, particularly clam farming and offshore farming of mussels and oysters, should ensure that shellfish farming will remain the dominating sub-sector of aquaculture.
Culture techniques for species of crustaceans (particularly marine shrimps) suitable for the region moved from the research and development phase in the laboratory in the 1970s. Some commercial production is being implemented in one or two countries, but the scale of operation is small.
Experimental culture of seaweed has been attempted on a limited scale, but no consistent commercial development is expected in the foreseeable future.
Detailed tables of regional aquaculture production, by country and by species or group of species, for the years 1984, 1985 and 1986, have been prepared (see Annex, Tables 4, 5, and 6). These tables were assembled from data provided by FAO on the basis of information sheets distributed to fisheries statistics departments of the countries concerned. Even then all the information was not exactly in the same form, and did not deal with the same species. Therefore corrections and adjustments have been made to the data using factual information published in mission and field reports, data published in national professional journals, where available, and information provided by individuals knowledgeable of the countries concerned.
The data in the survey discount, as much as possible, all production regarding:
- bivalve fisheries on beaches and estuaries (particularly for mussel catches for Italy, and clam and cockle catches for Portugal and Tunisia),- brackishwater fish catches in coastal lagoons and salt-pans where no specific human management is taking place, other than the installation of traps in the lagoon outlets to the sea (this particularly concerns catches in lagoons in Albania, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Tunisia, and Turkey), and
- fisheries in inland lakes, water barrages, and reservoirs where not culture-based, that is, supported by regular restocking of fingerlings (this particularly concerns barrage fisheries in Algeria, and lake fisheries in Albania and Egypt).
All data have been included to the nearest metric tonne when precise values were available, and rounded to the closest ten or hundred tonnes when only one estimate was available for two or three different years.
With these qualifications, the total aquaculture production for the 18 countries of the region was calculated to be:
- 1984: 484 194 t
- 1985: 474 291 t (2% decrease from 1984)
- 1986: 530 755 t (11.9% increase from 1985, and 9.6% from 1984).
The annual average production (rounded up) is 496 000 t. By comparison, the data for the region estimated in the world aquaculture production statistics by country made by the UNDP/FAO Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP) in 1987 (ADCP/REP/87/25) give:
- 534 355 t for combined 1984 and 1985 estimates,
- 504 596 t for 1986 estimates.
The lower values of the survey, given for 1984 and 1985, are due mainly to the elimination of production corresponding to the capture of fish from lagoon fisheries, and the shore fishing of bivalves. The higher value for 1986 is due to the under-estimation by ADCP of bivalve production in France. However, all these values remain only estimates, and the survey includes some data which are probably excessively low values, and some which are probably high for the production of certain species in some countries.
For small amounts of production, such as marine fish, the effect of wrong estimates on the total is marginal; for example, the sea bass and sea bream production in Italy, which represents most of the marine fish production in the region, did not remain exactly at 250 t for each of the three years, but to separate the precise tonnage of the lagoon fisheries in Italy from that of actual aquaculture production for these two species is practically impossible.
For large production volumes, errors are highly significant for the credibility of the totals; for example, the drop of 12 859 t recorded for mussel production for Spain alone accounts for more than the drop in the total regional production between 1984 and 1985: and the accumulated increase of 40 506 t of bivalve production in France and the mussel production in Spain accounts for almost 75% of the increase in the total regional production between 1985 and 1986.
The two greatest possible sources of error in that respect are the production of mussels in Spain, and the production of freshwater fishes in Egypt. The estimates of aquaculture production in Egypt by the national agency responsible are in excess of 70 000 t, while other sources report only 30 000 t. The value used in the survey is the average of data reported for 1985 by an FAO mission which estimated 31 299 t from private farms, 5 300 t from government farms, 30 t from cage farming practices, and 12 500 t from rice-cum-fish culture. For production in Spain the survey used the data of the national institute of statistics, but other sources cited in "Eurofish Report" quote figures of 182 398 t in 1985, and 187 870 t in 1986. If these data include about 40 000 t from fishing (if these amounts are correct), then the aquaculture production of mussels in Spain might be under-estimated by some 39 000 t in 1985, and by 33 000 t in 1986. Consequently there is a possible average error in the statistical totals of between -30 000 t and +20 000 t during 1984-86.
In conclusion, rounding off the annual aquaculture production in the 18 Mediterranean countries to about 500 000 t during the period 1984-86 is reasonable at this level of precision. However, there has undoubtedly been an increase in production throughout the period in question. Compared with the FAO figures of 7 841 921 t for global aquaculture production in 1983, excluding marine algae, and 10 240 703 t including marine algae (see FAO/COFI/87/Inf.6) the Mediterranean region is only a minor contributor of aquaculture production with little more than 6% of the world total, algae excluded, and less than 5%, algae included.
Compared to the economic power and trade of fisheries products in the region (see Sections 1.2 and 1.3) the distribution of aquaculture production between the different countries is also highly uneven (see Annex, Table 7). During the 3 years considered by this review:
- Malta and Libya had no aquaculture production at all,- Algeria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia had yearly aquaculture production below 1 000 t,
- Albania, Greece, Portugal, Syria, and Turkey had yearly aquaculture productions over 1 000 t and below 10 000 t,
- Egypt, Israel, Italy, and Yugoslavia had yearly aquaculture production over 10 000 t and below 100 000 t, among which only Italy exceeded 50 000 t,
- France and Spain had yearly aquaculture production over 100 000 t.
This distribution pattern within countries has remained remarkably stable with time. During the three years considered here, the order of all countries remained the same, with the exception of Turkey, which moved above Syria in 1985, and then above Albania in 1986. Furthermore, there is no indication toward any change in the order among the dominating position of the major producers. The largest producer, France, contributed 41% of the total aquaculture production of the region in 1984, 42% in 1985, and 44% in 1986. The three largest producers, France, Spain, and Italy, contributed 81% of the total in 1984, 80% in 1985, and 82% in 1986. These three countries are the same as noted earlier, with 76% of the total GNP of the region, 99% of the import trade and 80% of the export trade (both inter- and intraregional) of fisheries groups, including aquaculture species.
Concerning the individual species and groups of species, the bivalves represented by far the major aquaculture commodities in the region. The figures of:
- 1984: 310 751 t (64% of total),
- 1985: 300 424 t (63% of total),
- 1986: 342 354 t (65% of total),
illustrate their domination.
The single most important bivalve product was mussels (Mytilus edulis and Mytilus galloprovincialis), with 63% of the total bivalve production in 1984, 59% in 1985, and 60% in 1986. The second was oysters (Crassostrea gigas and Ostrea edulis), which accounted for the rest of the bivalve production with the exception of a few hundred tonnes of clams (Ruditapes philippinarum). Although the production of O. edulis increased by almost one-third during the period, C. gigas production always outweighed by about 40 to 1.
Nine countries of the region are bivalve producers. The major mussel producers are Spain, France, and Italy (56% of the total 1986 mussel production for Spain alone, 97% for the three countries together). France is by far the major oyster producer (99% of the total 1986 production).
There are new developments in bivalve production in the region but, from one year to another, there are no clear increases or decreases in production trends of one particular bivalve which would indicate a major change in the respective positions of either a species or a producer. Variations in production from one year to another in the major countries are due more to abundance of seed, growth performance, and efficiency of marketing than to any identifiable trend in production performance. But throughout the region there is a continuing trend in increased production.
Countries recently involved in bivalve production (such as Greece and Yugoslavia), as well as the new species being cultured (such as the clams, Ruditapes semidecussata and R. philippinarum), do not yet appear to have the potential to change the current position of the bivalve industry in the immediate future. Clam production, which has increased from 156 t in 1984 to 480 t in 1986 shows greater growth than any other aquaculture species in the region (+208% in 2 years). But, with that exception, short-term variations in production patterns can be attributed to seasonal factors, mentioned above, and mortality due to natural shellfish diseases on mussel and oyster cultivation beds.
From recent technical information new practices in bivalve culture appear to be developing with the offshore farming of bivalves on long-lines. Small operations tested so far appear to be an economic success, but the practice requires the support of adequate legislation, incentives for producers, and collective marketing efforts.
The second most important aquaculture group in the region, after the bivalves, is the pond fishes. These include the carps, tilapias, mullets, eels, catfish, and several other freshwater and brackishwater species. Although all different species in many ways, they can be considered collectively as they are usually grown in earthen ponds using comparable techniques, and often together in polyculture. This group contributed:
- 106 311 t in 1984 (22% of the regional total)
- 108 826 t in 1985 (23%)
- 110 148 t in 1986 (21%).
Pond fish culture is better distributed throughout the region than bivalve culture, with fifteen countries active in the sub-sector. However, an accurate estimate of pond culture production in the three years considered is restricted by the fact chat the data include the standard estimate of 50 000 t for both pond culture and fish-cum-rice culture with mullets, carps, and tilapias in Egypt.
Egypt is the main producer of these freshwater and brackishwater species. The other important producers, each exceeding 10 000 t per year, are Israel, Italy, and Yugoslavia. With the exception of Egypt, where much government attention is given to the development of these species, and the specific case of catfish farming in Italy, this sub-sector of regional aquaculture production does not receive much public or private attention, and it is not expected to influence or greatly increase aquaculture developments in the short term.
The uncertainty of the production statistics, and the lack of a breakdown between species for Egypt, make it difficult to compare species. On the whole the carps remain the main pond fishes produced in the region, but there appears to have been a decline in the late 1970s and early 1980s in favour of tilapias, which now exceed 20% of the total production in Israel and are increasing in importance in Egypt. If the 20 new tilapia hatcheries scheduled in the 1984-87 plan for Egypt become operational, tilapia production should increase greatly.
The third group of important species is the salmonids. Whether grown extensively, through the restocking of reservoirs, or semi-intensively in ponds, or intensively in tanks and cages, salmonids production contributed:
- 66 552 t in 1984 (15% of the regional total)
- 64 386 t in 1985 (14%)
- 77 456 t in 1986 (15%).
Thirteen countries in the region record salmonid production. The three major producers, each above 10 000 t in 1986, are France, Italy, and Spain, with 40% of the 1986 salmonid production for France alone, and 93% for the three countries together. All production is freshwater aquaculture, with the exception of a few hundred tonnes (slightly more than 1 000 t in 1986), produced in seawater, and mostly for pan-size rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). Annual production for the three years is similar, but the positive increase in production in 1986 is due to increased production in the two main countries, France and Italy. This is partly due to a real increase in production development in Southwest France, and partly to a greater accuracy of the data.
There is undoubtedly an increasing trend in salmonid production in the region, not only for the production of the traditional pan-size fish but also for larger fish with pink flesh (both trout and salmon) for both direct consumption, and filleting and smoking. However, the high summer temperatures of coastal waters in the Mediterranean region are not favourable to a great development in salmonid culture in saltwater and, with the remarkable development of salmon and sea trout culture in northern Europe, the prices of large fish are less attractive than they were a few years ago.
The fourth group, of marine fish and marine and freshwater shrimps, is currently a minor component of aquaculture in the region. Altogether they contributed:
- 580 t in 1984
- 655 t in 1985
- 797 t in 1986
Although there is a positive 37% increase in production in the two years, total production remains below 0.2% of the regional total. However, economic analysis of operations at farm level show that marine fish culture in cages, together with the culture of clams, can provide the fastest return on investment among all candidate species for aquaculture in the region. As the technology is rapidly approaching a higher level of reliability, greater emphasis is being placed on this sub-sector at both governmental and private levels in several countries of the region, particularly in Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain, and Tunisia. Many projects are presently under study or implementation, and there is a growing belief in the industry that the economic miracle of salmon culture in northern Europe might be reproduced with sea bass and sea bream in the Mediterranean region.
The distribution of aquaculture production per caput between countries of the region is given in the Annex, Table 8. In 1985 the per caput distribution exceeded 1 kg in France, Israel, Spain, Albania, Egypt and Italy, and exceeded 3 kg in the first three. As there is little indication of exports of aquaculture commodities from the region above a few thousand tonnes (for example, Spanish mussels, Italian eels, French oysters, and salmon and carps to Northern Europe; Israeli freshwater prawns to Northern Europe and Switzerland), it must be assumed that the bulk of aquaculture products is consumed in the region. From the data available for food consumption (1984), it appears that the contribution of aquaculture to the national consumption of fish and fisheries products exceeds 10% in Albania, Israel, Egypt, France, Syria, and Yugoslavia, and exceeds 20% in only the first two.
A key to the future development of aquaculture is the availability of 'seed'. Seed production facilities are discussed in detail in section 3.3, but it is appropriate to mention here that the contribution of hatcheries to shellfish production at present is minimal, and hatchery technology is not a limiting factor for further development of the sector as a whole. The recent increase in clam production, for example, is based on hatchery-reared spat.
With regard to pond fishes and salmonids, hatcheries are a normal component of the production cycle; only wild fry are still used for eel and mullet culture. Once again, hatchery technology is not limiting the further development of freshwater fish and salmonid production, but at present cost-effective hatchery production constrains further production of eels and mullets. For marine fish and shrimps, hatcheries are essential components for further production increases, and considerable investment effort is presently being made in the region in such facilities.
Present day aquaculture methods can be broadly categorized into three basic systems based on the intensity of production (see ADCP/REP/1986/23):
- extensive aquaculture, for organisms cultured in low density, dependent on natural productivity for food, but possibly assisted by fertilization of the substrate,- semi-intensive aquaculture, for cultured organisms at higher densities than would be the case in extensive aquaculture, and dependent on both increased productivity, using fertilizers or other waste resources, and receiving supplementary artificial feed,
- intensive aquaculture, for cultured organisms in high densities, dependent on artificial feed for their nutritional requirements, and/or an artificial cultivation container or substratum.
Within these three systems various cultivation practices can be employed. These may be common- to one or more of the systems (for example, culture in ponds or enclosures using either extensive or semi-intensive systems), or specific to one system (for example, suspended culture, or cage and tank culture, which are intensive; or fry restocking which is extensive).
The major production of aquaculture in the region comes from practices which adopt the intensive culture system. The intensive culture of mussels is the largest contributor in terms of tonnage, in particular the raft culture of mussels in estuaries and sheltered bays along the Atlantic coast of Spain, and partly in coastal lagoons on the Mediterranean coast of France. The practice in these two countries accounts for 110 000-120 000 t per year, with individual annual productivities in the order of 50 t/ha equivalent, and more.
The "bouchot" culture practice along the Atlantic coast of France, usually in open bays, produces about 40 000-50 000 t annually, with productivities in the order of 10 to 20 t/ha/year. In recent years there has been an increase in the use of suspended rope culture. This is practised in Albania, in the bays of the Adriatic Sea in Italy and Yugoslavia, and offshore both along the Mediterranean coast of France and the Adriatic coast of Italy. The practice accounts for some 40 000-50 000 t annually, with annual productivities in the order of 10 to 30 t/ha equivalent.
There are a number of other practices in the region which use the intensive system. In order of decreasing importance these are, firstly, the culture of trout and salmon in earthen ponds and raceways. These are practised in freshwater, in practically all cases gravity-fed sources from streams or rivers. The overall production is in the order of 60 000-70 000 t annually, with annual productivities of 20 to 150 t/ha.
This is followed by the intensive cage culture of carps and some trout in freshwater reservoirs, and of salmonids and marine fishes in sheltered bays. The total annual production is below 5 000 t, but annual productivities are of the order of 50 to over 100 t/ha equivalent.
Finally, there is the intensive tank culture in raceways and circular tanks using pumped water (fresh, brackish, or marine) for salmonids, eels, and marine fish. The total production is below 1 000 t per year, with annual productivities in the order of 50 to 100 t/ha equivalent.
In summary, during the period 1984-86, all practices in the region which adopted the intensive system of culture accounted for a total production of some 270 000-280 000 t. This is more than half the total regional production. Of this total some 200 000-210 000 t were bivalves, which require no artificially prepared feed; the remaining 65 000-75 000 t were freshwater and marine fishes, which require the preparation and distribution of a fully balanced diet.
After the intensive system, the extensive system is the next important in terms of its contribution to regional aquaculture production. The major practice which adopts this system is 'on-bottom' farming of oysters, mostly utilizing the natural substrate of the sea in the tidal zone and below, but also in tidal ponds and coastal lagoons. On-bottom farming includes the main part of oyster production in France, and accounts annually for 100 000 to 120 000 t, with annual productivities in the range of 5 to 10 t/ha.
Another practice is rice-cum-fish culture, or the production of a secondary crop of fish in rice fields, which is common to the Nile Delta in Egypt. It contributes annually a little more than 10 000 t of freshwater cyprinids, with annual productivities in the order of 200 kg/ha.
There is also the practice of restocking freshwater ponds and reservoirs each year with hatchery-reared juveniles of trouts or cyprinids (particular to northern Italy, central France, Albania, and Yugoslavia), and restocking coastal lagoons with fry and juveniles of mullets, sea bass, and sea bream (in Egypt and Italy). These are mostly natural or wild resources, supplemented with a small number of hatchery-reared sea bass and sea bream in the 'Valli' of continental Italy. The purpose is for subsequent grow-out. It represents an annual total not exceeding 10 000 t, with annual productivities not exceeding 100 to 300 kg/ha.
Finally there is the practice of on-bottom farming of clams on the substrate of tidal ponds and in the tidal zones of the Atlantic coasts of France and Spain. This represents less than 500 t annually, with annual productivities from 5 to 10 t/ha.
In summary, the contribution of the practices which use the extensive system in the region amounts to some 120 000-140 000 t per year. This excludes many simple practices which use traps and barriers in coastal lagoons, which can account for some 25 000 to 30 000 t each year in the accumulated catches from all Mediterranean lagoons (mainly in France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey).
Practices which apply the semi-intensive system contribute the least to total regional production at present. The main practice is pond farming of fish in freshwater or slightly brackishwater, mostly using pumped water from drainage and irrigation canals and, to a limited extent, from tidal flows. This practice includes most of the pond fish production in Egypt and Israel, for the polyculture of carps, mullets, and tilapias. It accounts for some 40 000-50 000 t annually, with annual productivities of 2 to 10 t/ha.
Other practices which use the semi-intensive system are minor, and most activities are still experimental in the region. They contribute only a nominal amount to total regional production. In particular they include the culture of marine fish and shrimps in enclosures in coastal lagoons, with the use of fertilizers and/or unbalanced supplementary feed.
The three main geographic areas of production in the eighteen countries described by this region, where the systems and most productive practices are applied, have in fact no physical relationship with the Mediterranean basin. These areas are (i) Galicia in Spain and Normandy in France, where mussels are cultured, contributing together about 140 000 t of yearly regional production, (ii) the Atlantic coast of France (Marennes-Oleron, Arcachon and Brittany) where oysters are cultured, contributing about 110 000 t, and (iii) in the interior of France, in Brittany and Aquitaine for salmonids, and in Dombes for cyprinids, and in western Spain for trout, which together contribute about 50 000 t of yearly production. In summary, just as the countries of the Mediterranean basin import most of their fish requirements from outside the region, they also produce most of their aquaculture products from areas outside the immediate basin.
Within the Mediterranean basin, the main geographic areas of aquaculture production are:
- inland areas of northwest Italy and Yugoslavia, with trout and cyprinids farming, and coastal areas of the northern Adriatic Sea for mussel culture, contributing together some 70 000 t, and- the flatlands adjacent to the Mediterranean in Egypt and Israel, with semi-intensive farming of fish in polyculture in ponds, contributing some 40 000 to 50 000 t of yearly production.
Outside these areas additional production comes from carp farming in Syria and Turkey, trout farming in Ipiros in Greece, and oyster farming in the Oualidia Lagoon in Morocco. Each contributes less than 5 000 t.
Precise information on the number of aquaculture producers in the region is extremely difficult to obtain for those countries which are the largest contributors to regional production, with many producers and practices. It is less difficult for countries with only small production as there are few producers for only one or two practices. For example, in Algeria the only producer is the Government, through the "Office National de l'Aquaculture"; in Cyprus and Lebanon there are a few small-scale private farmers; Cyprus has four private farms with a combined annual production of 50 t of trout, and three farms producing marine fish; in Morocco production is shared between a few small-scale farmers who practise oyster culture on the Atlantic coast, and a development/production project in Nador Lagoon funded directly by the Royal Treasury; in Tunisia where production is shared between one corporation (Aquaculture du Sud Tunisien) in the Sea of Bougrara, several small-scale entrepreneurs, and the Goverment through the General Commissariat for Fisheries; and in Yugoslavia where all production is shared between a number (unspecified) of cooperatives.
In Turkey all production is shared between some 200 small-scale farmers and independent entrepreneurs, together with 3 or 4 corporations belonging to large agro-industrial holdings. These companies handle a number of commercial food production operations and are now becoming directly involved in aquaculture production; for example, Pinar Deniz, of Pinar Holdings, with the first large marine fish farm at Cesme.
In Israel practically all production (about 99%) is in the hands of 60 collective settlements, or kibbutzim. The rest are with private individuals. All are members of the Fish Breeders' Association or the Tiberias Fishermen's, Organization.
In Greece production is shared between cooperatives and independant farmers, all small- to medium-scale enterprises. In 1986 there were some 181 establishments with 312 permanent workers (according to an FAO study in 1988), and presently 233 establishments with 1 216 permanent and part-time workers, according to government data provided to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1988.
In Egypt the uncertainty of overall national production data is matched by an equal uncertainty of the disposition of producers. It is possible that about 45 000 t could be produced by the 1 368 private fish farms, which are mostly small-scale; there are also some large commercial farms which exceed 50 ha in area, and large numbers of artisanal rice farmers who produce a secondary crop of fish. About 5 000 t could be produced by the 11 large governmental fish farms. Most private farmers and all government farms obtain hatchery-reared seed at subsidized prices from government hatcheries, and the collection and farm distribution of wild mullet fry is also controlled by the government.
In the three countries which are the major aquaculture producers (France, Italy, and Spain), there are several holding companies in partnership with governmental and regional bodies, as well as agencies, either as majority or minority partners, and there are many private corporations (particularly in trout farming and processing, and in Spain with new ventures in marine aquaculture, for example, in Andalucia). However, most of the production is in the hands of small family enterprises and small cooperatives in all three countries.
Statistics provided to OECD by France listed 9 698 production units, which employed 15 000 people on a full-time basis, with certainly no less than the same number of part-time workers. The part-time workers are particularly important in oyster farms. As 80 to 90% of oyster production is sold in December a considerable quantity of part-time labour is required for sorting, cleaning, and packaging during the period.
In Spain mussel culture in Galicia employs 2 700 full-time workers for the 3 242 rafts or floating platforms, which average about 4 000 m2 in size.
In Italy freshwater production involved about 600 listed farms in 1987, concentrated in Friuli, Veneto and Lombardy.
In Albania 85 people work in the trout industry producing 350 t. There are 9 units producing carps (400 t) and two new large units under construction. A total of twelve hatcheries produce 17 million carp fingerlings for stocking lakes and reservoirs, and large numbers of people work on the cultivation of black mussels.
There are about 60 private freshwater enterprises in Portugal producing mostly salmonids, but there are new ventures with eel and crayfish in the rice areas, and many small marine farms.
It is important to collect accurate data on employment generated by aquaculture. A study made in 1987 for the French Ministry of the Sea about the aquaculture sector in the region of Languedoc Roussillon reported that in 1985 aquaculture represented some 637 ventures, of which 622 were in shellfish culture and 15 in fish and shrimp culture; these ventures produced 27 115 t of table products (43 t/venture/year), for a total added value of F.F. 211.4 million); they created 1 347 direct jobs (about 1 job for every 10 t produced), of which 64% were at the production level, 9% in support and management of the sector (research, training, administration, demonstration, extension), 14% in supplies to the activity, and 13% were in processing and marketing of the products; and 151 indirect jobs (mainly in transport, services, and communications).
If this employment pattern in the French region of Languedoc Roussillon is applied to the Mediterranean region as a whole, with its present production of 500 000 t, the aquaculture sector in the region would represent about 12 000 ventures, 25 000 direct jobs, and 3 000 indirect jobs.
There is only one international organization of producers active in the region. This is the European Federation of Salmonid Culturists (FES), and it includes all the national salmonid culturists' federations. It assists members in dealing with differences in national legislation, and in regional trade of salmonids (in which the trade in live fish is an essential component).
There are many various national organizations of producers in France, Israel, Italy, and Spain. For example, in Spain there is the Mussel Farmers' Association and the Association of Trout Farmers (which is also a member of FES). In France there is the Comité Interprofessionel de la Conchyliculture (an association of bivalve farmers, particularly oyster farmers), and the Federation Nationale des Pisciculteurs et Salmoniculteurs de France (an association of fish culture farmers, particularly trout farmers, which is also a member of FES). In Italy there is a federation of "vallicoltori" (lagoon farmers), the Federazione Cooperative Pesca, which includes fish and shellfish farming cooperatives, and the Federazione Piscicoltori Italiani, which is also a member of FES. In Israel the Fish Breeders' Association and the local Tiberias Fishermen's Organization includes all fish farmers, and some belong to the National Fishermen's Union. Fish are marketed through a central marketing board (Tnuva), and the price of carp is government controlled.
In addition there are local associations in the main areas of production. These include a number of producers with common marketing interests; for example, the Oyster Producers' Association of the Arcachon basin in France, which organizes for its members advertising campaigns at national level for the products of the area, and quality labelling for the products. Another similar association is the Organizazzione Produttori Acquacoltori Maremmani, a marketing association of the aquaculturists around Orbetello in Italy.
Local associations are often formed by newly established producers in new industries to strengthen their dealings with government administrative and financial development problems. Examples of this are the Association of Aquaculture Farmers of the Bay of Cadiz, in Spain, and the Syndicate of Marine Aquaculturists in France.
Finally, at the local level, and particularly among the shellfish producers, many small-scale producers are members of production and/or marketing cooperatives. Some of them, as in the case in France, also join particular types of agricultural companies (SICA) which operate with rules and regulations similar to those of cooperatives.
Due to the wide range of social organizations and legal systems in the countries of the region, a considerable range of approaches to financial investment can be identified.
Public involvement is evident in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Syria, with production projects entirely financed by public funds and operated within a public institution. Although they represent an important component of their national production, their combined contribution to total regional production remains minimal. Their total contribution annually is less than 10 000 t in terms of direct production, and not more than 50 000 t when combined with the production of farms within the private or cooperative sectors which use fry and fingerlings provided by government hatcheries.
Public involvement through the semi-public sector plays a consistently more important role. Usually it takes the form of facilities built and operated by companies with a part of their equity in the hands of governmental agencies. This is common practice for ventures in the region producing new aquaculture species, such as sea bass, sea bream, and marine shrimps, or new aquaculture techniques, such as modern valliculture, and bivalve farming offshore. Public involvement may also take the form of projects built and operated by cooperatives, the existence, organization, and financing of which are entirely controlled by governments; for example, the cooperatives in Yugoslavia, and some small-holder farms in Egypt. These activities of the semi-public sector account for about 50 000 t of total aquaculture production in the region.
Governmental and international subsidies in one form or another, either non-reimbursable investment grants, or soft loans for both investment and operating capital, appear to be an ever-present element of aquaculture investment in this region. There are two essential and logical reasons for this: firstly, aquaculture is seen by many national and regional authorities as a sector to which small-scale fishermen and, in general, family-size entrepreneurs should have a privileged access; secondly, aquaculture appears to be one of the few possible ways to create employment and activity in areas with little or no industry at present, and without potential for an industry such as tourism. Small entrepreneurs in such areas do not have the capital or capacity to invest alone, particularly in risky new ventures, and therefore financial aid is needed to help them create business and employment on site.
Such subsidies are arranged both at the international and national levels. One particular example is that of EEC countries, where investors have to apply first for a national subsidy before they have access (in a second step) to direct EEC subsidies. Amounts vary according to the country and region. In areas where aquaculture is already doing well, the accumulated effects of grants, soft loans, and premiums for job creation can remain less than 20% of the structural investment of plant; in high priority areas, and projects of particular interest, such as hatcheries, it can be as high as 70%.
In the region there is little involvement of large national and international holdings at the production level. In fact most governments have more or less taken steps to prevent 'big capital' entering into aquaculture production; for example, in France, between 1981 and 1986, there was a law making it extremely difficult for a corporation to have access to a site for marine aquaculture.
The main single source of technical assistance projects in the region is UNDP, with projects executed by FAO. However, few of these projects operate at the level of producers. For the last ten years the majority of projects have concentrated on assistance services in planning, education, training, and technical and economic studies, usually through visits by international experts, and often repeatedly (see subsequent Sections 3.9, 4.7, and 5.6).
One regional programme, the Mediterranean Regional Aquaculture Project (MEDRAP), was begun in 1980 to assist member countries in the region in technical applications and manpower training. It was funded until 1986 by UNDP. The Government of Italy contributed financially to the project in 1984 and continued until 1987. Although one component of the project was to demonstrate production at three or four sites, this was never achieved. The project had its headquarters in Tunisia.
Expert services have also been provided to some countries through other international bodies, such as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), and OECD, particularly with regard to the management of coastal lagoons for aquaculture.
There are a number of inter- and intraregional bilateral cooperation projects, but only for activities peripheral to the interests of producers. For example, technical assistance for aquaculture development and planning has been provided by France, Italy, and the USA to Egypt; by France to Algeria, and by Italy to Tunisia.
International and bilateral cooperation by non-governmental organizations is practically non-existent, except for Peace Corps volunteers assigned to Egypt.
Direct international capital assistance projects for production are almost solely limited to Egypt. Construction of semi-intensive fish farms has been carried out with capital assistance from UNDP for the government farm at El Zawya; and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) provided financing for a model homestead farm, as well as the National Aquaculture Centre, at El Abassa. The World Bank, through one component of a large national loan programme, financed the construction of a large multi-unit farm at Lake Maryut.
Indirect international capital assistance also exists in the form of participation of bilateral development banks in the equity of commercial projects (such as in Tunisia with the Project "Aquaculture du Sud Tunisien" at Bougrara), or soft foreign loans to national development banks for participation in the equity of aquaculture projects (such as the Tunisian Banque Nationale de Développement Agricole).
Although it remains an essential factor for further development of aquaculture in the southern Mediterranean countries, capital assistance for production projects has played a minor role compared with national involvement in the combined financial and capital assistance as described in Section 2.6 particularly the equity investment by government and regional agencies.
