For bass and bream farmers, profits hard to raise

At the AquaVision conference last week in Stavanger, Norway, Javier Ojeda of the marine aquaculture producer organization APROMAR said the sea bass and sea bream sectors are focusing on reducing costs and adding value.

A total of 93,000 metric tons of sea bream were farmed and fished in the Mediterranean Sea last year, Ojeda said. Production of sea bass totaled 84,000 metric tons.

The price of sea bream nosedived over the past two decades, from €9 ($11.40) per kilo in 1987 to just over €4 ($5.06)