It comes eighteen months after brand building efforts were begun led by Greek supermarkets.

With one farm approved by German eco-certifier Naturland, almost all are now certified according to EU standards.

“We can grant new licenses to new Mediterranean species that are to be farmed, as long as they are not bass or bream,” said Philippos Papageorgiou, who heads a government-backed fisheries industry development project.

The Ministry of Rural Development and Food venture is jointly financed by Greek government and EU funds.

Since 2000, €100 million ($150 million) has been spent on aquaculture development, processing and marketing.

In 1985, sea bass and bream farming amounted to only 350 tons. Last year, production reached 100,000 tons, accounting for around half the production of the two species in Europe.

Greece exports around 80 percent of production. Bass and bream now ranks as the country’s third largest export.

Ideal conditions

Papageorgiou said authorities are about to open up new areas in coastal areas for aquaculture, but while the aquaculture industry exports expertise and technology, it is battling with tourism for space.

“The tourist industry wants to be everywhere. But that’s not always possible. This is a problem the government is working on to resolve,” he said, adding the process of handing out new licenses has already begun.

The bass and bream industry suffered turbulent times in the mid 1990s and also in 2002-2003, when many companies went to the wall.

After a restructuring of the industry, only six companies now account for 80 percent of production.

Basil Sudborough, Product Director for Selonda, Greece’s second largest farmed fish producer said it is better to sell less volume at higher prices than to produce large volumes at a lower prices, which until now has been the Greek strategy.

“Despite prices being very low at times, there has never been any talk about dumping,” Papageorgiou said.

Greek per capita consumption of seafood is a little more than 23 kilos -- just over the EU average, while the Greek per capita consumption of sea bream and sea bass is approximately 2.2 kilos, the highest for these two species worldwide.

With authorities undertaking a domestic promotion campaign for the first time, Papageorgiou believes consumption could be doubled and producers in this tourist nation must target the hotel and restaurant segment to a much greater extent.

“Production must be adapted to the consumer, not the other way around,” he said.

Greece targets quality boost from bass and bream ban