The general director of Fisheries Management and Aquaculture of MAPAMA has pointed out the Ministry’s commitment to aquaculture productions in Spain.
The Director General of Fisheries and Aquaculture Management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (MAPAMA), José Luis González Serrano, visited today, coinciding with the celebration of Aquaculture Day, the facilities of two aquaculture establishments in the towns of Alba de Tornes (Salamanca), where 5,000 tonnes of trout are produced annually and Medina del Campo (Valladolid). where the company is dedicated to the breeding of prawns.
Facilities, González Serrano indicated, that represent the tradition and roots of this activity to the territory, and its commitment to the social and economic development of numerous rural and coastal areas of our geography.
During the visit, the Director General underlined the Ministry’s commitment to the growth of aquaculture production in Spain and pointed out that the two facilities are a clear example of the opportunities that our country presents when it comes to investing in a sector, which already represents more than 50% of all aquatic products consumed worldwide. and that in Europe they barely constitute 35%. A sector that has made Spain the largest aquaculture producer in the European Union with more than 310,000 tonnes of production in 2016 and an economic value of close to 490 million euros.
Initiatives such as these, González Serrano pointed out, make it possible to improve collaboration between all the agents involved in the development of the sector, and to seek synergies that keep Spanish aquaculture at the forefront of the European Union. They also allow, he added, to strengthen Spain’s leadership in terms of production and economic value, through innovation and the quality of aquaculture processes and products.
González Serrano also highlighted the relevance that the blue economy, linked to the marine environment, and the green economy, linked to sustainability and the protection of natural resources and biodiversity, are gaining in recent years. The Ministry’s General Secretariat for Fisheries has pointed out that aquaculture is being promoted as one of the activities with the greatest projection in this area along with coastal tourism, marine biotechnology or ocean energies.
To this end, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the European Social Fund represent a great opportunity to launch innovative projects that strengthen the sustainability of fishing and aquaculture activities, while promoting entrepreneurship and training in the field of blue growth. In this regard, the Director General highlighted the work carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, through the Biodiversity Foundation, in the Pleamar Programme and the Empleaverde Programme.
Finally, and in relation to the implementation of the Multiannual Strategic Plan for Spanish Aquaculture 2014-2020, the Director General explained that it is another element through which the Ministry intends to continue strengthening the competitiveness and relevance of Spanish aquaculture. This plan, which was approved in 2015 and is being implemented in close collaboration with the Autonomous Communities, seeks, through the implementation of almost 300 strategic actions, to double Spanish aquaculture production by 2030, González Serrano concluded.
On Aquaculture Day, which this year celebrates its sixth edition, more than 30 scientific, productive, informative or gastronomic activities linked to aquaculture have been organized, with the collaboration of more than 40 entities.
