by Paulo Serra lopes
Portugal
1. INTRODUCTION
Aquaculture, in its most extensive production systems has been used for decades along the coastal areas of Portugal and most of the countries of the Mediterranean region. This extensive methods were developed mostly in estuaries and in salt ponds.
The productions obtained were naturally low and the activity was run without direct costs except the one of the fisheries, usually every two years. No feeds were given to the fish in culture and any special technique was used except the water renewal needed to the main activity usually salt production.
In the sixties and seventies shellfish production started to have increasing importance with the oyster (Crassostrea angulata) exported mainly to French markets and also little neck clam Ruditapes decussata) that has been under aquaculture production since the beginning of the century.
In the late seventies several inland freshwater farms started using species as the trout (salmo gairdneri). Those were probably the first intensive cultures to start in Portugal.
In the beginning of the eighties several research institutes and the Fisheries Ministry gave special attention to our coastal area, and the potentially good environmental conditions to produce several species as gillthead seabream (Sparus aurata) seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), sole (Solea sp.), eel (Anguilla anguilla) and several other less important species.
Several extensive polycultures started by this time and the activity grows fast.
After 1986 and with the financial support of European Community the importance of aquaculture can be evaluated by the increase in total projects presented and the areas involved in the activity. This figures are in 1992 the following :
- 218 marine fishfarms authorised occupying an area of 2.083 hectares
- 1.600 shellfish productions (mainly clam)
representing 2% of the total Portuguese production of fish in weight and about 8% in value, according to official data very recently presented.
The investment in the sector of aquaculture represented about 19% of the total investment in the fisheries since 1986 until 1991 and amounted to US$ 65 million dollars.
Funds for this investment, which was done on 121 projects approved both by the European Community and the Portuguese Government, were partially granted (about 60%) and partially invested by the producers themselves.
Most of the development in this area in the last five years was due to the financial support from EC policies and should also be followed by a correct marketing support and a co-ordination between EC country members and neighbour countries in order to develop a correct approach to the markets and a better general management of price fluctuations.
This is more or less one of the most interesting points of MEDRAP II intentions and should have the full support of all the country members as well as the European Community commitment to co-ordinated policies.
2. PRODUCTION OVERVIEW
Concerning the marine species under production in Portugal, the most important are:
2.1. Fish
- Gilthead sea-bream (Sparus aurata);
- Sea-bass (Dicentrarchus labrax);
- Sole (Solea sp.);
- Eel (Anguilla anguilla);
- Mullet (several species).
2.2. Crustaceans
- Shrimp (Penaeus japonicus)
2.3. Bivalves
- Clam (Ruditapes decussata);
- Oysters (Crassostrea angulata and Ostrea edulis);
- Mussel (Mytillus galloprovincialis)
- Cockle (Cerastoderma edule).
The official figures of production for 1991 are roughly:
| - | Bivalves | 3.600 tons |
| - | Fishes | 320 tons |
| - | Crustaceans | 22 tons |
This figures have been obtained by the Fisheries Department in several enquiries to the producers, and represent hardly the right figures for production in Portugal.
Due to several reasons, like :
- Relative small control of the real production;
- Tax evasion, mainly from the less organised producers;
- Difficult co-ordination of the sector which exports most of the products as coming from fisheries and not from aquaculture.
There is a notion that the real productions values can be far higher than the presented by fisheries statistics.
Producers are staring to realise that future grants and financial supports to their activity will be dependent on the production figures they present to the Government authorities. The more the real production are hidden by the producers less efficiency is attributed to the financial aid brought by the EC and the Government and less funds will be available in the future.
This is now a major constraint to the evaluation of the aquaculture sector which can be producing twice of what is presented officially.
The closer answer to real production figures could probably he given by the fish exports by species which is known but usually not related to aquaculture *. In one case because the catch in the wild becomes smaller every year and in the other case because it is a non-indigenous species, and almost impossible to catch in the natural environment.
Every effort should be recognised to the Government in order to update the production figures, however, and due to inadequate control procedures and small connection with producer's organisations, these values are still far apart from reality which is regrettable and more efforts should be made to correct them in the near future.
3. PRODUCER'S ORGANISATIONS IN PORTUGAL
There are two Producer's Organisation in Portugal:
- A.P.A.A.- Algarvian Aquaculture Producers Association;
- A.P.P.A.- Portuguese Aquaculture Producers Association.
The first is restricted to the south of the country, the Algarve region, and to bivalve producers. Due to the low educational background and small organisation level of the bivalve producers, this Organisation, who could represent more than 90% of the activity in Portugal, scarcely attains 10% of its potential “target”.
The second organisation has members among producers of all the areas of the country and in all the species grown under aquaculture. Among the fish and crustaceans productions this Association represents more than 50% of the producers under current production.
It is important to stress that from the 218 fishfarms authorised by the Government (excluding the 1.600 clam production units) only half of them it is in activity and just half of these are on real production.
This low productivity is partially due to the fact that most of the other production units authorised are either under works or waiting official authorisations and EC approvals to start their projects.
Bureaucracy is still one of the main complaints among producers and the delay to start production from the initial acquisition or lease of a land should take at least two to three years, not including obviously the first cycle time which in some cases brings the time to the first production sale up to four to five years. Even with the traditionally good R.O.I. of the investment in this activity it is discouraging for an investor to start something new from the beginning, with such a low efficiency and enormous bureaucratic procedure for every step of the productions official authorisation needs.
The freshwater fishfarms, mainly for trout, exist since the last twenty years and usually do not want to be involved in producers organisation schemes, being traditionally run by very conservative owners who established their markets and don't feel threatened by the internal production, but from the neighbourhood production like Spain who has one of the highest trout productions in all Europe. Most of these producers are not associated with any organisation.
The main role of the producer's organisation in Portugal has been the defence of the associates interests in several ways like :
- Relations of the producers with the official authorities (Fisheries Ministry, Environment Ministry Municipalities, etc.);
- Advising Technical expertise services for the associates;
- Developing agreements with banks and financial institutions to the financial support of the associates projects;
- Promoting aquaculture congress and seminars to debate the activity;
- Promoting the knowledge of aquaculture, representing and defending the producers associates in every way possible.
4. THE FUTURE OF AQUACULTURE IN PORTUGAL
Aquaculture is now starting to give the first results from the 1986–1991 policy of financial support by the EC and Portuguese authorities. These supports are already guaranteed for the next four years, until 1996.
The sector is now characterised by:
- Low technological production;
- Extensive methods still predominant;
- Small diversity in species under culture;
- Severe restraints to the use of wide areas due to over-protectionist policies.
In the future it is expected a wide expansion of the available area for aquaculture both in coastal areas or in offshore production. This expansion will be possible with the following orientations:
- Increase in production based on the application of adequate technology and training programmes;
- Experience and development of new species cultures;
- Intensifying current productions;
- establishing for each culture the exact environmental protection needed, avoiding the severe and unfair accusations made today to the activity by environmentalists usually with little knowledge neither of the activity itself nor of the environment which they claim to be protecting.
Aquaculture is still a drop in the ocean of fisheries but it is forecasted by several experts that its increased importance should go as high as 40–50% of the total value of fisheries in the world around he year 2020. Portugal is prepared to have also an increase of the aquaculture importance in the fisheries sector and it is possible and desirable to double the quantity and value of the present production on aquaculture, within ten years.
