In 2024, 1.0 million tonnes of fish, molluscs, algae and crustaceans were farmed in the EU, valued at €4.6 billion. Compared with 2023, both the volume and the value of aquaculture production in the EU contracted, by 3.7% and 3.6%, respectively.
The EU’s production of farmed aquatic organisms in 2024 was dominated by 5 countries, which together accounted for just over two-thirds of the total. Spain produced 246,137 tonnes (24.3% of the EU total), followed by France (181,434 tonnes; 17.9%) Greece (127,493 tonnes; 12.6%), Italy (98,051 tonnes; 9.7%) and Poland (43,554 tonnes; 4.3%).
This information comes from data on aquaculture published by Eurostat. This article presents a selection of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on aquaculture.
Source dataset: fish_aq2a
Top species: Mussels in terms of live weight, trout for value
In 2024, nearly one third of the EU’s total aquaculture production in live weight were mussels (32.8%), followed by trout (17.2%) and gilthead seabream (10.0%).
In terms of value, however, trout was the most valuable species produced in 2024 (equivalent to 17.9% of all the EU’s aquaculture value), followed by seabass (14.5%) and gilthead seabream (13.5%).
Source dataset: fish_aq2a