Brussels, 09/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 17 June in Strasbourg, the European Parliament will demand greater competitiveness in the Community aquaculture sector by examining and voting on the report on this subject by Guido Milana (S&D, Italy), which notably calls for a standard Community regulation on specific funding for this sector.
The report will be submitted to the EP and stipulates that a sustainable and organic aquaculture sector should be able to provide consumers with quality food products for a healthy and balanced nutrition. It also stipulates that “aquaculture systems that deplete capture fisheries or polluted coastal waters should be considered as unsustainable”. The draft report by Guido Milana therefore considers that European agriculture should give priority to herbivorous and carnivorous species, which can thrive on reduced consumption of fishmeal and oils.
Legislative, administrative and financial framework. The EP is calling on the Commission to swiftly bring forward a proposal for a regulation consolidating, in a single text, all EU legislation governing the aquaculture sector. It is also urging the Commission to promote the cordination between the different directorates general that have responsibility in this field. It is urging the Commission to set out specific European certification criteria and general basic rules, in this regulation, for the various product categories, with every aquaculture establishment in the Community having to comply with these criteria and rules. The draft report demands that member states: - clearly identify areas available for the establishment of plants in the sector and work towards a “maritime development plan” and integrated management of coastal areas, as provided for under the EU's new maritime policy; to reduce existing bureaucratic obstacles to obtaining the requisite permits and concessions to start a sustainable aquaculture activity, possibly by setting up one-stop shops that centralise the administrative formalities incumbent on operators in a single location; - simplify licensing procedures in an effort to encourage access to new sites and facilitate long-term access to existing sites especially those where SMEs and family run enterprises operate.
The rapporteur hopes that the European Fund for Fisheries, in support of the reformed common fisheries policy, will provide the specific budget lines for sustainable aquaculture development and support for investment in that sector, following best environmental practice, and to promote economic activity and employment. The rapporteur also emphasises the need to ensure increased financial contributions for scientific research, innovation and technology transfers in the field of sustainable, organic, offshore and freshwater aquaculture.
The Commission is also being urged to equip the aquaculture sector with a real economic crisis instrument and to devise support systems to deal with biological natural disasters (like toxic algal blooms), man-made disasters (like Erica or the Prestige) or extreme weather events (cyclones, floods, etc).
The EP highlights the need to take measures to ensure stocks for replenishing species that are becoming rarer in rivers, particularly traditionally migratory species with a significant economic impact on local populations (sturgeon, shad, salon, etc) and certain species at sea.
Rigorous health standards and a high level of consumer protection. The EP takes the view that a stringent quality policy, environment-friendly production methods respectful of animal welfare are necessary - as regards the transport of aquaculture stock, methods of slaughter and the sale of live fish - rigorous health standards and a high level of consumer protection. It is therefore calling on the Commission to develop a specific EU quality label for aquaculture products, along with a specific organic aquaculture label, establishing strict rules in accordance with EU principles of high-quality organic production, so as to assure the consumer of the reliability of the system of production, control and full traceability of aquaculture products.
It is calling on the Commission to propose specific sustainable criteria in relation to the well-being of farmed fish, such as maximum levels of farming density, the quality of vegetable and animal proteins that can be used in feedstuffs on the different types of fish farms, and to promote transportation and slaughter practices which limit sources of stress and the changing of water in fishponds in such a way as to guarantee the well-being of the fish being farmed there; understands that the long-term goal must be to substitute animal proteins with vegetable proteins for all species where it is possible.
The report also calls on the Commission to extend the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport so as to limit the transport of fish over long distances, thus promoting locally based hatchery operations and encouraging slaughter close to the fish farm. It is also discouraging methods of slaughter, such as asphyxiation in ice slurry, in which according to EFSA, fish retain consciousness for a long time before death, and should therefore be prohibited.
Finally, the EP considers that the damage provoked by cormorants threaten many places in traditional fish farming and call for measures to be taken to rectify this problem.
External relations. The European Parliament is calling on the Commission and the member states to ensure that Community legislation is applied rigorously throughout the whole chain of aquaculture products, including feedstuffs and raw materials imported from third countries. It also wants the Commission to investigate production methods on fish farms outside the European Union and report on any health hazards; ensure that a quality food products are manufactured in or imported into the EU comply with high environmental protection and consumer health and safety standards; ensure that the principle of mutual recognition and free movement of goods is applied to curative and preventive pharmaceuticals used in aquaculture; promote reciprocal advanced know-how agreements with third countries and the introduction of best practices by other countries and international bodies. It urges systematic checks at places giving access to internal market and key import hubs in order to provide consumers with a watertight guarantee that the aquaculture products imported from third countries are systematically subjected to stringent quality control and are therefore fully complied with EU rules in the field of hygiene and public health.
There are more than 16,500 companies involved in the European aquaculture sector. Its total annual turnover is more than €3.5 billion. 64,000 jobs are directly or indirectly tied up with the sector. Although European production in this sector doubled between 1981 and 2001 (a date in which 1.3 million tonnes were produced), production remained more or less the same (+0.5%) up until 2008. During the same period, global production experienced very high growth rates (+7.6% per year). European aquaculture therefore only accounts for 2% of global production in this sector, whereas annual internal consumption is more than 5 million tonnes. Two thirds of all demand is therefore covered by products imported from third countries. (L.C./transl.fl)