Countries in southern Europe such as Portugal have small-scale fisheries with a large number of small vessels in communities all along the coast. In the case of Portugal, there are social, economic and territorial aspects to fishing that need to be preserved. The annual consumption of fish per head in 2004 was 45.3 kg, an increase of over 3.9% on 2003 (43.6 kg).

Portugal’s trade balance for fishery products remains in the red. In 2004 it fell from EUR 672.6 million to EUR 669.7 million, but rose in 2005 to EUR 713.6 million. 6.1% growth in 2005 from 2003 was due to an increase in imports. In the same time period, exports grew by 8.5%, from EUR 335 million to EUR 364 million.