Production strategies, productivity changes and innovation: an analysis of European turbot aquaculture from 2009 to 2020

Abstract

After more than four decades of production in the European Union, turbot (Psetta maxima) farming is a mature sector with a moderate growth trend (2.74% in 2020). Although up to seven countries started the production of this species, there are only four producing countries in 2020, with more than 90% of the production concentrated in the Iberian Peninsula. The objective of this paper is to analyse the economic performance of turbot companies in the EU between 2009 and 2020. In this way, biological, environmental, technological, political and social factors will be interrelated with the economic‐financial performance of the sector in order to reach a holistic understanding of this industry. The novelty of this paper lies in the fact that it is the first to analyse the profitability of the 22 turbot companies, aggregated by size and location, in the EU. The results show that the countries that have achieved success in the production of this species, and whose companies are still active today, are those in which several favourable circumstances converge. Among the most important factors are the location of the plants in the natural distribution area of turbot, an adequate institutional climate, and the financial and technological capacity of the companies.