CULMAREX - one of Spain's largest producers of seabream and seabass using cages in the open sea - is increasing the production of its prestigious Dorada and Lubina Real ('royal' bream and bass) marques of about one kilogramme.

Owned by the Norway based Marine Farms group, Culmarex has its ongrowing facilities close to Aguilas, Murcia, on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain.

"We now have our own hatchery, run by Aquicultura Balear on Majorca, and one of the things we are doing is producing big juvenile bream and bass for stocking our cages, " Dr Geoff Smart, Culmarex-group managing director, tells FFI.

"We