Current and Future Technological Trends of European Seabass-Seabream Culture

The European seabass/seabream industry presently is at the maturation phase in its evolution as an industry. Profit margins have been strongly compressed, and ex-farm prices in Greece have decreased, from 14 Euro/kg in 1989 to 4.56 Euro/kg in 2000. New aquaculture strategies have been applied, targeting the economies of scale, the diversification of farmed species, and the improvement of the quality of the farmed species. The production levels may increase up to 20% in the next decade, while the production cost has to decrease more than 5% per year. This will occur with better management of the living resources, as well as with continuous improvement of feed technology and better husbandry.