WRITTEN QUESTION E-2675/02

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(24 September 2002)

Subject: Dangers for the environment and consumers posed by fish farming

A study carried out by consumer organisations in Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Italy, published in No 228 of the journal Proteste, confirms the reports, long since published by various sources on the Internet, that the salmon consumed on the European market entails substantial risks for consumer health, in particular because of the very high levels of PCBs. The industrial farming of carnivorous fish is today the principal threat to the sustainable development of fisheries, because of the pressure put on the wild fish on which it depends for fishmeal supplies, as well as because of sea pollution and the threat to wild fish stocks.

The study also clearly reveals the risks which the practice poses for consumer health.

In view of this, can the Commission say:

1. When it intends to promote legislation to monitor the presence of PCBs in food;

2. Whether it considers that it should reformulate its initiative to revise the CFP in the light of existing data showing the dangers posed to sustainable development by the farming of carnivorous fish?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(21 November 2002)

The contamination of feed and food by dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) constitutes a risk to public health. Therefore measures need to be taken to reduce their level of contamination. The Commission has developed a comprehensive strategy to reduce the presence of these contaminants in environment, feed and food which is outlined in a Communication from the Commission to the Council, the Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee on a Community strategy for dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)(1).

With regard to dioxins and furans in fish maximum levels have already been set by Council Regulation (EC) No 2375/2001 of 29 November 2001 amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 466/2001 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs(2). This Regulation foresees a revision of the maximum levels by 31 December 2004 with a view to the inclusion of dioxin-like PCBs. Commission Recommendation 2002/201/EC of 4 March 2002(3) establishes the criteria for monitoring dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in a wide range of feed and food, including fish.

The Commission also identified in the above-mentioned Communication the need to perform a risk assessment on the non dioxin-like PCBs and to obtain recent data on occurrence of these contaminants in feed and food. The Commission has therefore requested the Scientific Committee on Food to perform such a risk assessment. Thereafter, the Commission will consider appropriate measures to limit the presence of non dioxin-like PCBs throughout the whole feed and food chain. In the meantime, the Commission has requested authorities and operators to monitor also non dioxin-like PCBs in feed and food, in particular fish and fishery products, and will compile the results in a comprehensive database. For the time being, the Commission has not received comprehensive evidence of the presence of very high levels of PCBs in salmon on the European market, which would entail substantial risks for consumer health.

The Community strategy for sustainable development of European aquaculture aims to create the best possible conditions that will enable aquaculture producers to offer a healthy product in the quantities required by the market, while not degrading the environment. This strategy is set out in the recent Communication from the Commission to the Council and the Parliament entitled A strategy for the sustainable development of European Aquaculture(4). This strategy has been drawn up in the context of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform and sets out a plan to further develop the aquaculture sector and create secure employment particularly in fisheries dependent areas but not at the expense of the environment, food safety or quality.

The Commission does not agree that fish farming is the principal threat to the sustainable development of fisheries. Rather, the principal threat comes from overexploitation of wild stocks, low quantities of mature fish and the fact that the available fishing capacity of the Community fleets far exceed that required to harvest fish in a sustainable manner.

As regards the pressure put on wild fish, the Commission has requested the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to carry out an evaluation of the impact of industrial fishing on marine ecosystems. It will continue to monitor the conduct of industrial fisheries to ensure that their impact on human consumption fish species and other marine species remains low and improved management measures will be proposed as appropriate.

(1) OJ C 322, 17.11.2001.

(2) OJ L 321, 6.12.2001.

(3) OJ L 67, 9.3.2002.

(4) COM(2002) 511 final.