In Portugal, the fisheries contribution to the GDP is less than percent. However, with regard to food, the annual consumption value of 60 kg of fish per person, is very high. Only countries like Iceland, Japan and some small insular nations reach a higher value. We still have to consider that of the total amount of protein necessary in our food consumption, 40 percent comes from fisheries. This corresponds to 15 percent of the total amount spent on food by the Portuguese population. From a social point of view, we estimate that there are, at present, 34 000.
