Until 2007 Bahía was the fifth Brazilian state in terms of fish production. Now, thanks to several projects developed since then to promote aquaculture, it has become the third one, with a production of 120,000 tonnes per year.
And the expectation is that in 2020, Bahía can nearly double its production and reach 200,000 tonnes, reported Bahía Noticias.
Jorge Figueiredo, technical director of Bahía Pesca, a company linked to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Agrarian Reform in Bahía (Seagri) recognizes that this is an ambitious goal, but believes it is achievable.
“Bahía has great potential for fish production in the country, especially since we have the largest coastline of nearly 1,200 km. Moreover, at present we have about 500,000 hectares of water in dams, which can also be very helpful for the industry,” he explains.
The director of Bahía Pesca was one of the speakers at 2012 Aquapesca Brasil, an event that since last Wednesday has brought together fishers, farmers and other aquaculture professionals in Bahía.
The meeting aims to create business opportunities and provide guidelines and trends.
Aimed primarily at the aquaculture industry, the fair was the setting for the presentation of new products and sophisticated technology equipment to update the sector. These include a vaccine produced for tilapia, which is one of the most consumed fish in Bahia, and an automatic fish feeder, which uses an internal pipe to determine the exact amount of feed required by these animals.
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