The Secretary General of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Andrés Hermida, has inaugurated at the Science Museum of Castilla-La Mancha, in Cuenca, the exhibition “Aquaculture? Discover it”, which promoted by the Ministry’s Biodiversity Foundation, can be visited until next October. There he explained how his objective is “to bring society closer to the reality and prospects of a strategic sector, which contributes to the contribution of quality proteins, sustainable development and job creation“.

The exhibition, explained the Secretary General, allows us to learn about the origins and history of aquaculture to the present day, its evolution in productive terms, the particularities of marine and continental farming and the main farmed species. He also indicated,   it informs about the role that these products play in our food, the importance of R+D+i and the relevance of this activity in sustainable development and international cooperation.

Hermida also highlighted the weight of Spanish aquaculture in Europe, where it leads the production figures with more than 220,000 tonnes produced in 2013.  and an economic value of 431 million euros.  Also  He highlighted its impact in socio-economic terms, since the Spanish aquaculture sector directly employs more than 20,000 workers in the more than 5,000 establishments dedicated to aquaculture, both marine and continental.

Thanks to this activity, the Secretary General explained, in the last fifty years, the consumption of fishery products in the world has doubled due, among other things, to the global growth experienced by aquaculture.

The exhibition is part of one of the 37 strategic actions included in the Multiannual Strategic Plan for Spanish Aquaculture 2014-2020, prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, which was approved in 2014. This Plan aims to relaunch Spanish aquaculture in terms of production, economics and job creation, in the period 2014-2020. To this end, 37 strategic actions have been defined, in collaboration with the autonomous communities and the production sector, at a national level and around 380 regional actions, which should be implemented in the coming years, enabling Spanish aquaculture to continue   leading European aquaculture.

These actions are framed within 8 strategic lines that address the key aspects for the development of the sector, such as administrative simplification, spatial planning, environmental aspects, animal health and welfare, R+D+i, training, market aspects and communication and image.