Countries Producers

Mediterranean fish farming started in the 1980s with the farming of seabass and it soon expanded to the farming of seabream.  Development was rapid and now Mediterranean fish farming is the second most important sector of marine fish farming after the farming of salmon and trout.

Greece is the main country producer of Mediterranean fish and maintains a stable share that is greater than 40% of the world production.  About 30% of the world production takes place in Turkey, while the remaining 30% is produced in other Mediterranean countries.

The following chart shows the evolution of the production per country since 2000.

 

There are approximately 100 active fish farming companies in Greece with aggregate sales of over 600 million €.  They provide work to 10.000 people in remote areas and their sea installations cover an area of 7.8 square km (in comparison, the area of Athens international airport is 16.5 square km.)   The 5 largest companies account for 3/4 of aggregate sales.

The 5 largest Greek companies of the Mediterranean fish farming industry are ranked among the largest European fish farmers.

 

Greek fish farming is export-oriented and one of the major export sectors of the Greek economy.  Exports amount to 80% of the total production.   The main destination of Greek farmed fish is Europe.

 

The Greek fish farming industry accounts for just 0.2% of the of the Greek gross domestic product, but fish exports account for 3% the country’s exports and 12% of primary exports.  According to data from the Hellenic Foreign Trade Organization, in 2012 fish exports captured the second place among exports of agricultural products, surpassing even the exports of cotton, olive oil and vegetables

Industry	2012 Exports Value (€)
Fruits - Nuts	718.155.607
Fish (Fresh & Frozen)	518.759.252
Cotton	443.277.198