📋 Tender Overview
Although Tunisia has a relatively undeveloped aquaculture sector it has huge potential with 1350 kilometres of Mediterranean coastline a maritime domain of over 80000 square kilometres and seven lagoons covering 100000 hectares.We spoke with several local experts to discuss the most important hurdles and opportunities that will bring the local aquaculture sector to the international stage.As with most residents of the Mediterranean region fish and other seafood play an important role in the diet of Tunisians and they eat an average of 13.2 kg seafood per year FAO 2019. The dwindling quantities of wild catch combined with an increase in demand for seafood has consequently led to a substantial growth in the aquaculture sector. By now 16 percent of the production of aquatic products comes from aquaculture and the sector provides over 2000 jobs SwitchMed 2021.The local aquaculture industry started developing in the 1960s with a shellfish farm established by the government. In the 1980s the first private hatchery of European seabass Dicentrarchus labrax and gilthead seabream Sparus aurata was established. Since 2003 some farms are engaged in the fattening of Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus. Additionally there are farms producing shellfish mostly Mediterranean mussel and Spirulina. Inland farming of freshwater species includes tilapia carps pike-perch and flathead grey mullet FAO 2019 Cherif et al. 2011.In recent years the culture of seabass and seabream in floating and submersible cages at offshore farms has grown significantly. The production of these two species represent 96 percent of the aquaculture production in Tunisia. The country currently has 25 marine aquaculture farms each producing between 400 and 3500 tonnes a year. Total aquaculture production was around 22000 tonnes in 2018 of which over 20000 tonnes consisted of marine species.Strengths of Tunisian aquacultureTunisia has many suitable areas for aquaculture thanks to its long coastline and large marine domain. The main marine aquaculture area is located in the Governorate of Monastir in the eastern portion of the country. Freshwater fish are mainly cultured in dammed areas in the north and centre of the country.In addition to the many suitable sites the country has the right climate for aquaculture of Mediterranean species and low labour and energy costs says Houssem Sghaier hatchery manager at the Medimegh Aquaculture Group.Dr Mohamed Azaza head of the aquaculture department at the Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer INSTM explains In the south of the Mediterranean Sea water has the optimal temperature for the culture of seabream and seabass and here you can reach commercial size faster than in northern sites.Challenges for Tunisian aquacultureDr Azaza adds that despite these splendid opportunities there are also four main challenges facing the sectorMost inputs for aquaculture are imported which affects the economic sustainability of the sector. There is no self-sufficiency in the production of feed and fingerlings. There are three feed manufacturers in Tunisia supporting the sector however close to 50 percent of feed is imported because the feed producers operate far below their capacity due to a lack of raw materials available. There are only two hatcheries in the country for seabream and seabass which together supply only 13 percent of the required juveniles the remainder is imported. For example the Medimegh Aquaculture Group imports fingerlings and feed at higher costs and often with unfavourable exchange rates. On top of this it is not easy to import goods due to complicated administrative proceduresSocial acceptability of the aquaculture sector is low. The integration of aquaculture in coastal areas needs to be managed by allocating zones for aquaculture to reduce conflict with other sectors such as fisheries tourism and maritime navigationTunisian farmers face significant problems with diseases especially viral nervous necrosis VNN in European seabass. To reduce mortalities and occurrence of diseases the biosecurity of Tunisian aquaculture should be improvedInnovative technologies and tools such as artificial intelligence or cameras for cage monitoring are not yet used due to their high investment costs and the fact that farmers are unaware of government incentives that support these types of investments.For Sghaier the main problem is the low selling price at local markets.Sometimes we sell for prices lower than the production costs in order to pay back loans he explains.
