Date Published: 03/07/2018

ARCHIVED - New fish farming facility to be created off the coastline of Lorca

The area will be the third of its kind in Murcia, adding to those in San Pedro del Pinatar and El Gorguel

Fish farmers in the Region of Murcia are to be provided with a third major facility, this time off the coast of Lorca, adding to the two areas which already exist in San Pedro del Pinatar and El Gorguel, a few kilometres to the east of Cartagena.

Production at the new aquaculture centre will focus on gilthead bream, sea bass and corvina drum, and is expected to reach approximately 2,000 tons per year, adding to a figure which at present stands at around 14,000 tons in the Region of Murcia: this amounts to some 108 million euros of turnover, and fish farming also directly provides employment for 1,000 people.

In total, according to Miguel Ángel del Amor, the minister for Water, Farming, Agriculture and Fishing in the regional government, there are 14 fish farms in Murcia, and they contribute lion’s share of the 125 million euros of revenue generated by the sector. Sr del Amor was speaking during a visit to the fish farming area of San Pedro del Pinatar, where he also reminded members of the press that Murcia is the leading region in Spain in terms of tuna rearing, and the second most important in the sector of farming all kinds of fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other seafood.

The farming of gilthead bream has increased exponentially in Murcia in recent year, with production rising from 35,000 tons as recently as 2004 to approximately 370,000 tons last year, and sea bass production is also on the increase.

For more local news, events and other information go to the home page of Lorca Today.