5 fish farms) are placed in the Alboran Sea. According to the Directorate General of
Fisheries (DGF) of Algeria, overall production in 2017 was 1543 t, and the cultured
species were sea bream, sea bass, and mussels.
However, it is noteworthy that in recent years there has been a diversification of
the cultured groups. In Spain there are projects for farming octopus, sea cucumbers,
and anemones, and in Morocco there is a project for culturing red seaweed.
Long-term changes in the temperature and salinity of the water masses that fill the
Alboran Sea have also been observed since, at least, the mid-twentieth century,
showing a warming and salting of the whole water column (see Chap. 4). This
warming, in accordance with climate change, could lead to new chances for aquaculture in this area.
20.2 Main Cultured Species
As it has been pointed out before, numerous species have been cultured in
the Alboran Sea. The main cultured fish species in the Mediterranean and also in
the Alboran Sea are sea bass and sea bream. According to APROMAR (2019), the
sparid gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata, is currently the most produced fish species
in the Mediterranean Sea (247,000 t in 2018), and it is cultured both in land-based
(lagoons, tanks) and offshore facilities (cages and platforms). The European sea
bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, is the most cultivated fish species in Spain (22,500 t
produced in 2018), mainly in sea cages. Its production reached 196,000 t in the
Mediterranean Sea last year and 1500 t in the Alboran Sea.
There have been attempts to culture other species: Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT),
Thunnus thynnus, is a teleost belonging to the Scombridae family. Although its life
cycle has been closed in captivity, ongrowing from hatchery-reared tunas is still in a
pre-industrial phase. The industrial activity consists of a semi-culture where purse
seiner-caught tunas are transferred to sea cages and fattened for a period of 3 to
7 months (De la Gándara et al. 2016). The first tuna farm in the Mediterranean was
established in Ceuta in 1979 (Miyake et al. 2003), where tunas coming from a trap
(Spanish term is Almadraba) were fattened. Seriola or yellowtail, Seriola dumerili, is
a pelagic fish that belongs to the family Carangidae, very sensitive to ciliated
parasites and monogenea trematodes. There is a hatchery in the contiguous Atlantic
area, close to the Alboran Sea (in Cadiz province), but despite several attempts made
to culture them, there is not yet a reliable production in the Alboran Sea. Sole, Solea
senegalensis, is a flatfish with a high commercial value. Its culture is undertaken in
land-based facilities and ideally in recirculation systems, under temperature and
culture parameters controlled, since sole is very sensitive to infections and it requires
high-quality water and careful handling. The meagre, Argyrosomus regius, is a very
appreciated sciaenid which presents some problems derived from diseases, mainly
granulomatosis, a disease of unknown etiology that affects a large percentage of the
population. Currently, meagre is not being cultivated in the Alboran Sea; however,
there are two nearby rearing farms, and it is widely cultured in Spain and Portugal.
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A. Ortega et al.
Fisheries (DGF) of Algeria, overall production in 2017 was 1543 t, and the cultured
species were sea bream, sea bass, and mussels.
However, it is noteworthy that in recent years there has been a diversification of
the cultured groups. In Spain there are projects for farming octopus, sea cucumbers,
and anemones, and in Morocco there is a project for culturing red seaweed.
Long-term changes in the temperature and salinity of the water masses that fill the
Alboran Sea have also been observed since, at least, the mid-twentieth century,
showing a warming and salting of the whole water column (see Chap. 4). This
warming, in accordance with climate change, could lead to new chances for aquaculture in this area.
20.2 Main Cultured Species
As it has been pointed out before, numerous species have been cultured in
the Alboran Sea. The main cultured fish species in the Mediterranean and also in
the Alboran Sea are sea bass and sea bream. According to APROMAR (2019), the
sparid gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata, is currently the most produced fish species
in the Mediterranean Sea (247,000 t in 2018), and it is cultured both in land-based
(lagoons, tanks) and offshore facilities (cages and platforms). The European sea
bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, is the most cultivated fish species in Spain (22,500 t
produced in 2018), mainly in sea cages. Its production reached 196,000 t in the
Mediterranean Sea last year and 1500 t in the Alboran Sea.
There have been attempts to culture other species: Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT),
Thunnus thynnus, is a teleost belonging to the Scombridae family. Although its life
cycle has been closed in captivity, ongrowing from hatchery-reared tunas is still in a
pre-industrial phase. The industrial activity consists of a semi-culture where purse
seiner-caught tunas are transferred to sea cages and fattened for a period of 3 to
7 months (De la Gándara et al. 2016). The first tuna farm in the Mediterranean was
established in Ceuta in 1979 (Miyake et al. 2003), where tunas coming from a trap
(Spanish term is Almadraba) were fattened. Seriola or yellowtail, Seriola dumerili, is
a pelagic fish that belongs to the family Carangidae, very sensitive to ciliated
parasites and monogenea trematodes. There is a hatchery in the contiguous Atlantic
area, close to the Alboran Sea (in Cadiz province), but despite several attempts made
to culture them, there is not yet a reliable production in the Alboran Sea. Sole, Solea
senegalensis, is a flatfish with a high commercial value. Its culture is undertaken in
land-based facilities and ideally in recirculation systems, under temperature and
culture parameters controlled, since sole is very sensitive to infections and it requires
high-quality water and careful handling. The meagre, Argyrosomus regius, is a very
appreciated sciaenid which presents some problems derived from diseases, mainly
granulomatosis, a disease of unknown etiology that affects a large percentage of the
population. Currently, meagre is not being cultivated in the Alboran Sea; however,
there are two nearby rearing farms, and it is widely cultured in Spain and Portugal.
662
A. Ortega et al.