In Portugal, around 68% of the consumption of fishery products concerns imported products. The country has the 3rd highest per capita consumption in the world, with around 60 kg/year, which is equivalent to saying that the domestic market amounts to around 600,000 tonnes/year.

In 2018, national fisheries production was around 177,000 tonnes, while aquaculture production was just 13,992 tonnes. These values clearly demonstrate the imbalance between what is consumed and produced in Portugal.

As can be seen, aquaculture produces around 2% of the total national consumption of fishery products! This fact demonstrates the importance of increasing national aquaculture production, with a view to making this consumption more environmentally sustainable and reducing the costs of importing this type of food (in 2019, the fisheries trade balance in Portugal was more of 1100 million euros Negative!).