Main issues and key factors for development of turbot aquaculture in Spanish regions: a social-ecological perspective

Abstract

In 2018, Spain produced more than 70% of the European aquaculture turbot. Over the past three decades, several efforts have been made to cultivate turbot on the Atlantic, Cantabrian and Mediterranean coasts of Spain. However, although the Cantabrian turbot sector has been moderately successful, it has been the Atlantic region that has consolidated its hegemony over the years. The social-ecological system framework is an appropriate instrument to identify the key variables that have displayed heterogeneous behavior across regions, given their transdisciplinary, adaptive and multiscale nature. In this study, a comparative analysis is made through the first-tier categories (Resource Systems, Governance Systems and Actors) and their second-level variables, which present differences between regions. The results show that both the ecological and social systems have performed better in the Atlantic region. Its adequate environmental characteristics, together with the incentives generated by the actors of the governance system, promote interactions that build scenarios conducive to the success of the Galician turbot sector.