| Abstract |
Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic animals and plants in marine and freshwater, has become a major industry in the Member States of the European Community. It is estimated that total production in 1989 amounted to over 847,000 tonnes and was worth over 7,900 million ECUs. We forecast that in 1991 production will be over 900,000 tonnes representing 8,500 million ECUs. This represents around 12% of total EC fish supplies. There are no accurate figures of employment available but we have identified a minimum of 53,000 people directly employed In aquaculture. Actual numbers are likely to be substantially higher than this. In addition, large numbers are employed in the provision of supplies for the industry and in downstream production and marketing. This paper describes the main characteristics of European aquaculture. The data was obtained from a study of European aquaculture realized with financial aid from the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate XIV Fisheries and carried out by the European Association of Fisheries Economists. [NOT CONTROLLED OCR] |
