Malta, which farms 84 per cent of all the fish it produces, could raise production as the EU yesterday unveiled a strategy to boost the aquaculture industry.
EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg, who launched the strategy in Brussels, said the Commission wanted to give political impetus and leadership to the industry in order to exploit its potential by encouraging more research and development.
Although small, Malta already has a thriving aquaculture industry. According to EU figures, last year the biggest chunk of the 7,165 tonnes of farmed fish produced was blue fin tuna, worth millions of euros and mostly exported to Japan.
Dr Borg said the EU's initiative centred on strategic objectives to which a number of actions were linked and which public authorities could take to unleash the potential of the sector.
These included making the EU aquaculture more competitive by ensuring the sector had access to the space and water it required for its production; ensuring sustainable growth by encouraging green production methods and ensuring high animal health and welfare standards, among others.
Other steps included providing healthy and safe food to consumers while publicising the health benefits of aquaculture products. The goals were geared to improve the sector's image by ensuring a level playing field, cutting red tape, encouraging the dissemination of factual information to the public and involving stakeholders in policy-making and adequately monitoring the sector.
Dr Borg said all these goals should be achieved by EU, national and regional bodies.
"Aquaculture has a bright future ahead of it in providing Europe's discerning consumers with high-quality, healthy fish products.
However, today its potential is far from being fully realised," he said.
"It is time for it to get its full share and to give this strategically important sector an equal voice, and - quite literally - the place it needs to develop," Dr Borg added.
EU aquaculture produced about 1.3 million tonnes of species per year, representing 18 per cent of the EU production of fisheries products.
The main aquaculture species, in terms of volume in the EU, were blue mussel, rainbow trout, salmon, cupped oyster and Mediterranean mussel. In terms of volume, France, Spain, Italy, the UK and Greece were the biggest producers in the EU.
Maltese facts and figures (2008)
Total fisheries products - 8,513 tonnes
Total catches - 1,348 tonnes
Total fish farm production - 7,165 tonnes
Common dolphin fish catches - 559 tonnes
Swordfish catches - 267 tonnes
Tuna catches - 261 tonnes
Grouper catches - 18 tonnes
Blue fin tuna farmed - 6,069 tonnes
Gilthead sea bream farmed - 912 tonnes
Sea bass farmed - 155 tonnes