Fish on the festive table? Half is farmed

Of the 3.2 billion euro that, according to the Confcooperative study centre, has just been spent on the Christmas table, about 850,000 were used to buy fish: clams and seafood for first courses, fish for main courses (230 million euro), and fish for second courses (525 million euro). But how much of the bream and shellfish we put on our plates come from sea or freshwater farms? By now, most: according to the FAO, the historic overtaking of farming over fishing has already taken place in 2022, with 94.4 million tonnes of farmed fish, or 51% of the total consumed in the world. 62.6 per cent of production takes place in on-shore tanks, the remainder in coastal water sites, and there are 730 species farmed worldwide, although 60 per cent is accounted for by 17 varieties.

In Italy, according to the latest data from Api - the Italian Fish Farmers' Association, which is part of Confagricoltura - aquaculture produces almost 55 thousand tonnes of fish, worth more than 400 million euro. The most reared species is trout, with 30 thousand tonnes and 280 million eggs. The market for portioned trout is destined 25-30% to the Horeca channel, 20-25% to large-scale distribution, sport fishing 25% and exports the remaining 25%, mainly to Austria, Poland, Germany and Romania. In second place are sea bream and sea bass, with 17 thousand tonnes. Italy also produces 160 million fry of valuable marine species and is the world's second largest producer after China of sturgeon caviar, with 65 tonnes of eggs.

Fish farming in our country takes place in 800 production sites, 60% of which are concentrated in the North, 15% in the Centre and 25% in the South, employing around 5 thousand people. Italian numbers are important, but still small compared to those recorded by the sector in Europe and the rest of the world, where aquaculture is sometimes travelling with double-digit growth, especially in China and the East. In 2022, European aquaculture produced 1.1 million tonnes of fish, worth EUR 4.8 billion worldwide.

Trentino is one of the cradles of trout farming made in Italy. But even here there is no shortage of difficulties: in recent years many farms have closed due to increasingly high production costs and a demand that is struggling to take off. Fish farmers complain that consumers continue to have prejudices about aquaculture products, preferring to eat fish caught even if it comes from the other side of the world, rather than controlled and fresh fish. This is why the API is fighting, also at European level, for indication of origin to be compulsory not only in large-scale distribution: this, according to the association, would enhance Italian aquaculture, which has the highest food safety and health standards.

Speaking of mariculture, however, in Italy Tuscany is one of the most important areas. The most commonly farmed species are seabass and gilthead, but amberjack and ombrine are also becoming increasingly popular with consumers. In recent years, the formulation of feeds has also changed: no longer only fishmeal is used, but other sources of protein with similar nutritional characteristics, in order to also safeguard the marine habitat in favour of environmental sustainability.