Minister visits new fish farm

Balearic minister of agriculture Mateu Morro, accompanied by the director general of fisheries Sebastià Covas, yesterday visited the new fish farm, Aquicultura Balear, at the Sant Joan de Deu power station. The installations cost three million euros, 30 per cent of which came from the European Union's IFOP programme. The facilities will be used for breeding gilt-head bream and sea bass, “in a process which respects their food cycle at sea,” Morro said. Sofia Massuti, the fish farm's spokeswoman, explained that plankton was grown to feed crustceans which were then used to feed the fish. The new fish farm, which has all the latest technical advances, breeds the fish until they weigh about 15 grams, when they are then sold on to fish farms at 0.45 euros each. Once the fish are fully grown and ready for selling to the fishmongers, they are worth between 4.50 and eight euros each. A government spokesman said that these types of installations received support because they were respectful of the marine environment and followed the natural cycle of the fish.