Capital: Ankara
Population: 73,6 million (2011 est.)
Monetary unit: 1 Lira
GDP: €730,260 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP/capita: €10.478 (2008 est.)
Language: Turkish
Major religion: Islam
Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 76 years (women)
Main exports: Apparel and textiles, foodstuffs, metal manufactures, transport equipment
Average annual income: €1.661
International dialing code: +90
Internet domain: .tr

Aquaculture in Turkey - A powerhouse in European fish farming (February 2012)

The aquaculture sector in Turkey is relatively young. Rainbow trout production started in the 70s and the fi rst seabass and seabream farms date back to the mid 80s. Today, however, Turkey is Europe’s largest producer of trout and the second largest producer of seabass and seabream.

Aquaculture, according to Audun Lem of the FAO, is the fastest growing animal food-producing sector in the world today with global per-capita production increasing from 0.9 kg in 1970 to 8.6 kg in 2011. Over this period global population almost doubled from 3.7bn to 7bn. The increase in aquaculture production has been mainly in South East Asia, but rapid growth aquaculture is also seen in Turkey, where between 2004 and 2010 farmed fish and seafood production grew from 94,010 tonnes to 167,141 tonnes, an increase of 78%. Read the whole article on Turkish aquaculture in the Eurofish Magazine.