EN    EN  
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION 
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2016) XXX  draft 
  
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) …/... 
of XXX  
amending Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards feed for certain organic aquaculture 
animals 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
 EN 2   EN COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) …/... 
of XXX  
amending Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as re gards feed for certain organic aquaculture 
animals 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Council Regulation (E C) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic 
production and labelling of organic products  and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91
1, 
and in particular Article 15(2)  and Article 16(1) thereof, 
Whereas: (1) Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 establishes basic requirements for the organic 
production of aquaculture animals, including requirements with regard to feed. Detailed rules for implementing those re quirements are laid down in Commission 
Regulation (EC) No 889/2008
2. 
(2) Article 15(1)(d)(i) of Regulation (EC) No  834/2007 requires that fish and crustaceans 
are fed with feed that meets the animal’s nutritional requirements at the various stages of its development. 
(3) Article 25l of Regula tion (EC) No 889/2008 sets out sp ecific rules on feed for certain 
aquaculture animals referred to in Secti ons 6, 7 and 9 of Annex XIIIa to that 
Regulation. The rules set out in that Article aim to prioritise naturally available feed, 
where it is available. 
(4) Under Article 25l(1) of Regulation (E C) No 889/2008, the animals concerned
 are to be 
fed with feed naturally available in ponds a nd lakes. Article 25l(2 ) of that Regulation 
permits the use of organic feed of plant orig in or seaweed where natural feed resources 
are not available in sufficient quantities. Article 25l(3)(a) and (b ) of that Regulation 
establish maximum percentages of fishmeal and fish oil that can be included in the 
feed ration of siamese catfish and shri mps where naturally available feed is 
supplemented. 
(5) Naturally occurring feed is limited or non- existent in the hatc hery stage. Member 
States have indicated to th e Commission that the rules on feeding penaeid shrimps, in 
particular Tiger shrimp ( Penaeus monodon ), set out in Article 25l(3)(b) of Regulation 
(EC) No 889/2008, would lead to malnutrition and increased mortality  if applied in the 
juvenile stages in a hatchery environment. 
                                                 
1 OJ L 189, 20.7.2007, p. 1. 
2 Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008 laying down detailed rules for the 
implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of 
organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control (OJ L 250, 18.9.2008, p. 1). EN 3   EN (6) Article 25l(1) of Regulati on (EC) No 889/2008 requires the animals concerned to be 
fed with feed naturally availa ble in ponds and lakes. The ru le set out in that Article 
should concern only the grow-out stages wher e the animals are kept in ponds and lakes 
rather than hatchery environm ents where naturally available feed is insufficient. This 
is especially pertinent from 31 December 2016, since when, in accordance with Article 
25e(3) of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008, juven ile aquaculture anim als subject to non-
organic management conditions can no longe r be brought into an  organic holding. 
Prior to this date, it was permitted to bring a proportion of non-organic juvenile animals into an organic holding, follo wing a hatchery stage under non-organic 
management. 
(7) Furthermore, the expert group for techni cal advice on organic production (‘EGTOP’), 
set up by Commission Decision (EC) No 2009/427
3, has confirmed that the specific 
rules contained in Article 25l(3)(a) a nd (b) of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 are 
suitable only for the grow-out stages4. EGTOP considers that the limitations on 
fishmeal and fish oil set out  in that Article do not allow the animal’s nutritional 
requirements to be met during the early life stages while in a hatchery environment. 
(8) The Commission has identified the need to  amend the rules on feeds for certain 
aquaculture animals by clarifying that these ru les apply only to the grow-out stages. In 
arriving at this conclusion th e Commission has taken into account the requirement to 
meet the animal’s nutritional needs at the va rious stages of its development as set out 
in Article 15(1)(d)(i) of Regulation (EC)  No 834/2007, the aim of Article 25l of 
Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 to prioritise naturally ava ilable feed where it is 
available, and the opinion of EGTOP.  
(9) Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly. 
(10) The measures provided for in this Regulati on are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Committee on organic production, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 is amended as follows: 
Article 25l, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:  ‘1. In the grow-out stages, aquaculture animals as referred to in Annex XIIIa, Section 6, 
Section 7 and Section 9 shall be fed with f eed naturally available in ponds and lakes.’  
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into  force on the third day following that of its publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union . 
This Regulation shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
                                                 
3 Commission Decision (EC) No 2009/427 of 3 June 2009 establishing the expert group for technical 
advice on organic production (OJ L 139, 5.6.2009, p. 29). 
4 Final report: 
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/sites/orgfar ming/files/final_report_egtop_on_aquaculture_part-
c_en.pdf. EN 4   EN Done at Brussels, 
 For the Commission 
 The President  Jean Claude JUNKER