AVRAMAR takes meagre production form 200 to over 5,000 tonnes as foodservice demand grows

Twenty-five years after starting to farm meagre in Spain, AVRAMAR has increased production of the species from around 200 tonnes to more than 5,000 tonnes in the current production cycle. The company is now strengthening its presence in the restaurant and foodservice sector which has become an important part of its strategy to build a market for the Mediterranean species.

AVRAMAR began developing meagre production in 2001, initially stocking fish at a farm in Catalonia before expanding farming activities to the Valencian Community. The company currently operates three marine farms in the province of Alicante producing the species.

Fifteen years after the project began, AVRAMAR launched Corvina REX in 2016 to give the fish a distinct commercial identity and raise awareness of a species that at the time had relatively limited recognition among consumers. Since then, the product has expanded across retail, foodservice and direct consumer channel.

According to figures provided by the company, production has grown from approximately 200 tonnes to more than 5,000 tonnes in the current campaign, reflecting both the technical development of the species and the gradual creation of a broader commercial market.

AVRAMAR has increasingly used the restaurant sector as a showcase for meagre, working with chefs and culinary professionals to highlight the fish’s versatility and suitability for different preparations. Spanish chef Ángel León, from the three-Michelin-starred Aponiente restaurant, became a Corvina REX brand ambassador in 2023 as part of a collaboration focused on promoting the species and the encouraging fuller utilization of each fish.

The production trajectory has not, however, been uninterrupted. Storm Gloria in 2020 caused biomass losses at some of AVRAMAR’s marine farming sites, affecting the subsequent availability of fish at the sizes required by the restaurant market.

Taiche Lacomba, managing director of AVRAMAR Spain, said it took around four years for the fish stocked after the storm to reach the commercial sizes demanded by foodservice customers. With those cohorts now reaching market size, the company is again looking to reinforce its presence in this channel.

Over the past decade, AVRAMAR has also promoted meagre through seafood exhibitions, gastronomic events and cooking demonstrations as part of a broader effort to familiarise buyers and consumers with the species. The company identifies the growth in popularity of dishes such as ceviche as one factor that helped expose consumer to meagre and its use in raw preparations.

For AVRAMAR, the double milestone of 25 years of farming the species and ten years of Corvina REX provides a measure of how far meagre has moved from a relatively marginal aquaculture species towards a larger commercial proposition.

The rise from around 200 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes also illustrates one of the central challenges of aquaculture diversification: developing the farming technology is only part of the process; producers must also create sufficient market demand and commercial channels to absorb growing volumes.

In AVRAMAR’s case, foodservice is now becoming an increasingly important part of that next stage of development.