Fishing is a major economic activity in Portugal. The country has a long tradition in the sector, and is among the countries in the world with the highest fish consumption per capita.[1] Roman ruins of fish processing facilities were found across the Portuguese coast. Fish has been an important staple for the entire Portuguese population, at least since the Portuguese Age of Discovery.
The Portuguese fishing sector is divided into various subsectors, which in turn are divided between industrial fishing and artisanal fishing. According to trade union sources, over 50% of fishing workers work in the artisanal area. There are a variety of trade unions and employers' organisations representing sectoral and regional interests.
Portugal's Exclusive Economic Zone, a sea zone over which the Portuguese have special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, has 1,727,408 km2. This is the third-largest Exclusive Economic Zone of the European Union and the twentieth-largest in the world.[2]
Both freshwater and marine aquaculture is well-established in Portugal producing from marine fin-fish and shellfish to micro-algae and trout.
- ^ (in Portuguese) PESSOA, M.F.; MENDES, B.; OLIVEIRA, J.S. CULTURAS MARINHAS EM PORTUGAL, "O consumo médio anual em produtos do mar pela população portuguesa, estima-se em cerca de 58,5 kg/ por habitante sendo, por isso, o maior consumidor em produtos marinhos da Europa e um dos quatro países a nível mundial com uma dieta à base de produtos do mar."
- ^ Seaaroundus.org Archived 29 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine