REPORT

Mediterranean and Black Sea: One million tonnes of aquatic products reached in a decade

Rome, 1 December 2025 |

Mar Mediterráneo y Mar Negro 2025

The latest report, “The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 2025”, confirms the consolidation of a sector which, with a historic production of 940,000 tonnes in marine and brackish waters, now contributes almost half of the region’s aquatic foods, driven by the productive power of Turkey, Egypt and Greece.

The report’s geographical snapshot reveals a strong concentration of fish farming. Over 70% of regional production is in the hands of just three countries: Turkey leads production with 400,000 tonnes; Egypt cements its second position with 147,000 tonnes (16%); and Greece follows with 139,000 tonnes (15%).

The report highlights that, if the focus Is widened to the top nine producing countries, these account for over 95% of the total supply, leaving little room for fragmentation.

Regarding species, the market continues to show a clear preference for marine fish, representing 86% of total production. Gilthead seabream accounts for 34% of production, and European seabass for 30%.

  Key figure (2023)
Marine and brackish-water aquaculture production 940,000 t
Share of aquaculture in total aquatic food production 45.7 %
Regional production concentration (9 countries) > 95 %
Production in Türkiye 400,000 t (43 %)
Production in Egypt 147,000 t (16 %)
Production in Greece 139,000 t (15 %)
Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) 34 %
European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) 30 %
Other groups (Mediterranean mussel, rainbow trout, meagre) < 30 %
Sea-cage production 83 %
Bivalve suspension / RAS / IMTA / aquaponics Expanding
Total economic value USD 5.2 billion
Revenue growth since 2013 +63 %
Active aquaculture enterprises > 35,000
Share of women in aquaculture employment 17 %
Workers under 25 years old 14 %
Impact of marine heatwaves Increasing
Disease outbreaks Frequent
Presence of non-indigenous species Growing risk

The remainder of the pie is distributed between the Mediterranean mussel, rainbow trout (in brackish waters), and meagre – species that maintain important, albeit distant, niches in terms of volume.

Perhaps the most encouraging data for inverstors and companies in the sector is the economic performance. In 2023, aquaculture in the region generated a fist-sale value of 5.2 billion US dollars.

This represents a revenue growth of 63% since 2013. This qualitative leap is attributed to three key factors: strategic investments in the sector; technological improvements (with an incipient but notable expansion of RAS, IMTA, and aquaponics systems); and more solid legal frameworks that have offered legal certainty.

Currently, the business landscape consists of over 35,000 active companies, displaying a diversity ranging from small family-run mussel farmers to large, vertically integrated corporations.

Despite this positive forecast, clouds continue to appear on the horizon. The SoMFi 2025 report explicitly points out that future expansion no longer depends solely on investment capacity, but on resilience.

Aquaculture farmers face critical operational challenge regarding marine heatwaves and increasingly extreme and prolonged climatic events that are testing floating cage systems (which account for 83% of production). Added to this are the threat of non-indigenous species, disease outbreaks and, on the administrative level, the eternal struggle with licensing procedures and regulatory disparity between countries.