Brussels, 29/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 29 April, the European Commission adopted “strategic orientations” for the sustainable development of aquaculture within the European Union. These aim to help the member states to create their own national objectives for the development of fish farming, taking account of their various starting positions, conditions prevalent at national level and institutional provisions.
Maria Damanaki, the commissioner for fisheries, told a press conference that the gap between the level of consumption of seafood in the EU and the volume of catch from fisheries “is constantly on the increase”. This is “due to overfishing”. Aquaculture production, on the other hand, is stagnating. Today, 10% of seafood products eaten in the EU come from fish farming (25% from fisheries and 65% are made up of imports from third countries). If this proportion rose from 10% to 11%, this would create between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs. Each member state will have a national aquaculture development plan.
Is fish farming harmful to the environment? Damanaki replied that the production of shell fish and crustaceans represents 50% of aquaculture production. Therefore, 50% of production “has no impact on the environment”. Besides which, “we have the world's strictest sanitary and environmental rules for aquaculture”. She acknowledged that what we import from third countries has a very high impact on the environment. “Aquaculture is a real alternative to overfishing”, the commissioner stressed. We need to find new methods to feed fish in aquaculture (algae-based food or other feed sources). Additionally, the EU is to put an end to discards. A proportion of production which cannot be sold could be used for carnivorous farmed species, Damanaki stated.
Strategic orientations
Each member state is invited to indicate the growth objective of its aquaculture sector (volume and value) in the multiannual national plan for the period covered by it. In order to free up the potential of fish farming in the EU, the Commission has identified four priority areas.
Simplifying administrative procedures. The information available shows that, in certain countries of the EU, the investor must wait three years before obtaining a new operating licence in aquaculture (the average lead time in Norway has been brought down to 6 months). The administrative burden must be reduced. The member states are encouraged to gather information by the end of 2013 on the number of new authorisations granted over the period 2007-2013, the success rate of applications, the costs of the authorisation procedures, the average duration of authorisations, etc. On the basis of the data gathered by the member states, the Commission will list best practices and improvement possibilities by summer 2014.
Integrated approach to spatial planning. The Commission points out that the lack of space, which is frequently cited as an obstacle to the expansion of marine aquaculture in the EU, may be overcome by listing the sites which are most conducive to fish farming, given the fact that the current occupation of space by fish farming activities, on land and on the coast, appears limited. The listing of areas which are the best adapted to freshwater aquaculture will contribute to increasing production, whilst safeguarding the landscape, habitats and protection of biodiversity, the Commission states. The member states are called upon to set in place an integrated approach to spatial planning, including maritime spatial planning in maritime basins. The Commission may follow the implementation of the integrated spatial planning (it plans to hold a seminar on best practices during summer 2014).
Improved competitiveness. The production and marketing plans, along with the market observatory of the European Union, will help fish farmers to recognise commercial opportunities and to adapt their sales and marketing strategies. Diversifying economic activities may bring additional sources of income to farmers. F or example, combining it with angling and tourism, or the internalisation of certain activities upstream and downstream, may create economic activity niches for the fish farmers.
Extensive fishfarming in pools, which is particularly widespread in Central and Eastern Europe, favours biodiversity and offers considerable commercial services and prospects. The impact of the rules applicable to regions rich in biodiversity, such as Natura 2000 sites, the loss of income due to protection from predators such as cormorants, as well as voluntary commitments to protect biodiversity and waters should be recognised by the public authorities, according to the Commission document.
Fair competition conditions. The strict standards laid down on the environment, animal health and consumer protection are one of the main competitive advantages of aquaculture in the EU and should, therefore, be exploited as effectively as possible in order to face competition on the markets. The sanitary checks currently applied to EU products and imported products guarantee a high level of food safety. New provisions on labelling, such as those proposed in the CMO (common market organisation) regulation, may help to achieve better differentiation of the aquaculture products of the EU and the voluntary certification systems may also play a role in this context. The development of short food channels may also bring local added value to high-quality and extra fresh local products.
According to the FAO, organic aquaculture production in Europe grew by nearly 30% a year between 1998 and 2007. The Commission is proposing to ensure that labelling rules, particularly as regards freshness, provenance and the commercial name of the product, are fully implemented. The Commission plans to launch an information campaign on the advantages of EU aquaculture by the end of this year.
In 2010, the value of EU aquaculture production stood at €3.1 billion with production of 1.26 million tonnes. The EU seafood product market is currently supplied by EU fisheries (25%), imports (65%) and EU fish farming (10%). The total apparent consumption in the EU of fisheries and aquaculture products has reached in the region of 13.2 million tonnes. (LC/transl.fl)