The Region of Murcia reached a production of 4,700 tons of bluefin tuna in 2025, a figure that represents a threefold increase in the volume registered in 2016. The Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Joaquín Buendía, detailed these data this Thursday after meeting with the Aquaculture Federation of the Region of Murcia, in a meeting focused on reviewing the current situation of the sector and reinforcing cooperation channels with the regional Executive.
During the meeting, the strategic role of Murcian aquaculture was highlighted, an area that Buendía defined as a sector "a benchmark in innovation, sustainability and job creation in the coastal municipalities of the Region".
According to the minister, "aquaculture in the Region of Murcia generated 124 million euros in 2025, 40 percent more than ten years ago, with a more diversified sector than at any other time in its history".
In the last decade, the regional aquaculture sector has increased its economic value by 40.3 percent, going from 88.6 million euros in 2016 to 124.3 million euros in 2025. Within this progress, meagre has gained special prominence: its production grew by 30 percent in the last year and is consolidated as one of the main lines of development for aquaculture in the Region.
The 2025 fiscal year closed, moreover, with the exploitation of five different species, the highest number in the history of the Murcian aquaculture sector.
Buendía reiterated the regional government's support for the modernization and expansion process of the activity, relying on the research and knowledge transfer carried out by the Murcian Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Research and Development (IMIDA), which he pointed out as a key element for strengthening the competitiveness of companies.
New lines of action were also analyzed at the meeting to further diversify aquaculture production and expand the catalog of species available to companies in the sector. In this context, IMIDA is promoting research projects on cuttlefish, tiger prawn and mullet, with the aim of perfecting cultivation techniques, generating applied knowledge and facilitating their future incorporation into the regional productive fabric.
The minister insisted on his intention to "continue working in a coordinated manner with the Federation to consolidate aquaculture as a strategic activity for the economy of the Region of Murcia".