Farmed meagre come from intensive production, conducted both in land-based tanks and cages. Production facilities are few and mainly distributed in southern France (Camargue, Cannes, and Corsica) and Italy (La Spezia and Orbetello).
Seed supply
At present (2004), the supply of seed still comes from a single hatchery in the south of France. There are probably two main reasons. Firstly, market demand is not great enough to justify greater fingerling production; secondly market demand is insufficient to persuade other hatcheries to develop their own production protocol for this species.
Nursery
A specific nursery phase is not compulsory for meagre. However, fingerlings are normally delivered between 3 g and 20 g and are stocked into small ponds or cages (about 80-100 m³) at 300-350 fish/m³. Usually they are kept for 3 months until they reach 100 g. During this phase survival rate is around 80 percent.
Ongrowing techniques
Ongrowing techniques are similar to those used for European seabass and gilthead seabream.
In land-based farms production is mainly achieved in circular or rectangular tanks with a water depth of 1 m and a volume of 500 m³; the tanks are usually covered with PVC cloth to avoid skin abrasions, especially where they are concrete. The tanks may be circular or rectangular and are stocked with 100 g fish at about 50/m³.
At normal stocking density (50/m³) meagre reach 800-1 200 g in less than 24 months. Very often they are fed until they reach 2 000-3 000 g, a size that is more suitable for fillets or slices.
Nowadays meagre is mainly farmed in the sea, using circular or square surface cages of 500-1 000 m³. More recently, submerged cages have also successfully been used; these 2 000 m³ cages are submerged at 10-20 m, and a low stocking density (10-15/m³) is used. Good results have been obtained in terms of growth rate and FCR.
Feed supply
Feed is supplied by all the major aquafeed producers. Meagre feed is similar to that used for other Mediterranean marine species. An extruded feed with 45-48 percent protein and up to 20-24 percent lipid is used. In land-based farms 2 to 3 meals per day are presented; in sea cages a single daily meal is often normal. In sea cages, where oxygen levels are not normally problematic, meagre can be fed with 1-2 percent bw/day, especially during the first year, when water temperatures are above 18 ºC. An FCR of about 1.7:1 has been achieved; in some cases (in large sea cages with a stocking density below 50 m³), trails are showing even better FCRs.
Harvesting techniques
Harvesting occurs throughout the entire year. During winter, large size fish tend to accumulate perivisceral fat, and so it is usually better to harvest smaller sizes during the cold season, especially those in sea cages. Seines are normally used for harvesting but sometimes special fish pumps are employed. Harvested fish are immersed in an ice-water solution, as rapidly as possible.
Handling and processing
Even though meagre are quite resistant to handling, care is still needed. Scales can easily be lost and tails damaged. Their eyes are also quite delicate and being hit may cause blindness.
Sometimes meagre are gutted and/or filleted soon after harvesting. Studies are being conducted on the best harvesting protocols to optimize the shelf life of the final product.
Production costs
Since the number of production units is low, cost comparisons are difficult to make. In land-based systems costs depend mainly upon the size of the farm. However, in cage culture the major expense is the cost of juveniles; currently these must be bought in the South of France. Generally, feed represents the other major cost during grow-out but it is lower than other marine fish species, since the FCR for meagre is generally better.
There are still few data regarding diseases of this species. It seems that they are quite resistant to the bacterial diseases experienced by other marine species. There have been cases of parasitism (such as
Amyloodinium sp.). Prevention is mainly achieved by controlling density and water quality.
In some cases antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals have been used in treatment but their inclusion in this table does not imply an FAO recommendation.
Vibriosis |
Vibrio anguillarum |
Bacterium |
Fins and areas around vent and mouth become reddened; loss of appetite |
Antibiotic in feed |
Oodiniasis |
Amyloodinium ocellatum |
Protozoan parasite |
Protozoan attach to gills, producing irritation, asphyxia and hypermucosis |
Formalin; copper sulphate |
Fluke |
Gyrodactylus sp. |
Trematodal parasite |
Parasites attached to fins and gills |
Formalin |
Suppliers of pathology expertise
Each producing country has a government authority responsible for upholding statutory requirements, such as licensing, discharge control, notifiable disease control, etc. Contact the relevant government aquaculture/fisheries/animal health departments. The supply of diagnostic services may be carried out by government departments or private organizations or individuals.