EU Fisheries Commissioner Dr Joe Borg underlined this today in his closing speech at a major European aquaculture conference in Brussels.

But he also voiced concern that EU know-how is helping non-member states to expand their aquaculture sector, while community operations were constrained.

He said that in May, they had launched a consultation on the state of play of the EU aquaculture strategy. Since then they had received and analysed almost 50 contributions. The Brussels conference had given them an opportunity to discuss the key challenges faced by the sector on the basis of the feedback received. It allowed them to draw conclusions from this process and indicated the path to follow for a revised EU aquaculture strategy.

He said all forecasts regarding global seafood consumption and aquaculture converge around a few simple facts and figures.

"There is growing demand for seafood worldwide not only due to population growth but also because per capita consumption of seafood is expected to grow between now and 2030 by 50%.

"With wild fish capture facing a number of severe constraints, aquaculture appears to be the only viable option to meet this growing demand. According to the FAO, global aquaculture production will have to double by 2030 to keep pace with the demand. This represents, in absolute terms, an increase of almost 40 million tons.

"Whichever way we look, it is clear that aquaculture production will grow considerably in the coming decades. The challenge will be to ensure that this growth is sustainable both in the EU and in the world, and that it delivers healthy products, meeting consumers’ needs and expectations.

"Within this global picture, the EU aquaculture sector is in a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, we are world leaders in aquaculture research and technology so that we have a lot to contribute to the sustainable development of aquaculture. On the other, we are net importers of almost three million tons of seafood and, according to Eurostat forecasts, this figure is set to increase to 12 million tons by 2025. It is also disturbing to note that our know-how is often transferred to other countries and helps to contribute to the sharp increase of their production, while the growth of our own industry is constrained by several factors."

This brought him to two fundamental observations which he believed must guide their reviewed aquaculture strategy.

"First of all, we must think of aquaculture as an industry - involved in producing high quality and healthy food - which is indispensable to feed the EU and world population. In a context of growing agricultural prices and renewed concerns about food sufficiency, the strategic importance of this industry is undisputed.

"We must then, as Commission that has put growth and jobs on top of its agenda, seek to have an EU aquaculture strategy that addresses the mismatch between our position, as world technology leaders, and the limited economic impact this seems to be having on our aquaculture industry."

What is the case for an aquaculture strategy at EU level?

First of all,he went on, EU legislation in the field of the environment, public health and animal health has a direct impact on aquaculture activities. Legislation at an EU level can also serve to provide a framework that is conducive to the differentiation of aquaculture products through the development of quality and sustainability standards. It can also provide transparency to consumers and a level playing field.

Secondly, research is crucial to the sustainable development of aquaculture. Only the EU can provide the critical mass necessary to achieve certain results or ensure more synergy between the research efforts of Member States.

Thirdly, by providing the framework for a more integrated approach to marine and maritime activities, the new EU maritime policy can help promote science based marine spatial planning. This can help overcome the obstacle of access to coastal and marine space for marine aquaculture. It can also apply to freshwater aquaculture.

Lastly, the European Commission can play an important role in improving the image of the aquaculture industry and its products, with consumers and policy- makers alike. In an industry as young and ever-changing as aquaculture, the European Commission can clarify the challenges of the industry and indicate the way forward.

But while the Commission can clarify the global challenges and help create at an EU level a framework conducive to the development of aquaculture, it can never substitute the Member States. In line with the subsidiarity principle, it is up to Member States to take the decisions necessary for the sustainable development of aquaculture in their territory.

Some stakeholders have argued that the Commission should move towards imposing a level playing field between EU and imported products. "Current WTO rules do not allow us to impose our environmental standards on our international partners, but we can work in the framework of international bodies like the FAO to promote environmental friendly practices. On the other hand, our veterinary rules and controls ensure that imported products meet the same criteria as those produced within the EU. Having said this, specific issues related in particular to the use of fish feed have been mentioned, which I acknowledge will have to be analysed with a view to finding an appropriate response.

"There is also a widely-shared view that the EU aquaculture sector should develop by combining high volume products with niche production to satisfy more specific and high quality market demands.

"We concur with this view. It is market and local prevailing conditions that will determine which type of production can withstand competition from imported products and can meet the needs of consumers and/or processors. Public authorities can help by providing an effective, fair and transparent legislative framework or guidelines for product differentiation, based on initiatives such as quality assurance schemes, regional branding, sustainability labelling or organic labelling. This can provide the added value that the sector needs. It can also help meet the challenge of competition coming from emerging economies with lower costs and standards."

Community environmental legislation is also of huge importance to aquaculture. Stakeholders recognise its positive effect but they also express concerns about its transposition and application at national and local level, which leads to uneven rules between and even within Member States, and sometimes unnecessary constraints. Their view is that the Community environmental legislative framework is sound, but these differences at local level reflect an insufficient knowledge of the realities of aquaculture because of it being a young industry. This makes it difficult for aquaculture to compete with other well-established industries for space and environmental resources.

"As I said earlier, the Community defines and updates the environmental legislative framework, within which Member States make their decisions. We could however better disseminate scientific information to Member States and regions on the actual environmental impact of aquaculture activities."

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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