Aquaculture in Mediterranean countries represents 4.9 per cent of the world total (682,000 T. in 1993). It is more developed in marine species (76 per cent) and molluscs (68 per cent) than in the rest of the world in which freshwater species (65 per cent) and fish (49 per cent) are dominant. Main productions are mussels (38 per cent) especially from Spain, oyster (20 per cent) especially from France, trout (16.7 per cent), carp and the dynamic pair sea bass-sea bream for which production doubled from 1992 to 1994 (33,000 T.). The main producing countries (Europe and Egypt) are also the main consumers but trade is attracted by the most interesting Italian market. The rapid development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean since the eighties begins to slow down because of several recent problems: drop of the Spanish mussel production, economic crisis for sea-bass and sea-bream, high competition for the access to the seashore, increasing risks in pathology. However, the awareness of the fragility of the Mediterranean sea and especially of aquaculture led the politicians and the scientists in charge of this sector to a new will: it is now time to share skills and responsibilities in the reasonable development of this promising activity which remains vulnerable for its dependence on the global quality of environment and which market remains relatively limited at this time.