WRITTEN QUESTION E-0017/01 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Mussel farming in the EU.
Date: 2001-01-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Galicia, enlargement of the Union, shellfish farming

3.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 187 E/159

This information is, however, available for Spain.

For the 1994-1999 period, the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) did not help finance any
projects which involved increasing mussel production capacity in Spain. However,
it did contribute
significantly to modernising the existing aquaculture units without increasing production capacity. The
FIFG financed 820 projects in Spain with a total investment of approximately € 41 million. Community aid
amounted to € 20 million.

Almost all the mussel projects part-financed by the FIFG are in Galicia. Scarcely a dozen projects were
financed in Catalonia and Valencia and Community aid for these totalled approximately € 1 million.

For the 2000-2006 programming period, structural investments part-financed by the FIFG will be designed
primarily to continue the modernisation of existing mussel-producing installations and diversify produc-
tion through the installation of new offshore units which will help to reduce the environmental impact in
the (cid:145)r(cid:237)as gallegas(cid:146), where (cid:145)bateas(cid:146) are traditionally installed.

The Commission is not in a position to comment on the amount of aid to be granted to the mussels sector
in Spain because financial planning is not broken down by species. Nevertheless, according to the
information available, aid for the mussel sector in the 2000-2006 programming period will remain at
the same level as in the previous programming period.

(2001/C 187 E/170)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0017/01

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 January 2001)

Subject: Mussel farming in the EU

Mussel farming is of vital importance in the coastal region of Galicia, where there are some 11 500 jobs
directly linked to the sector, of which 8 500 are permanent, as well as 7 000 jobs indirectly related to it.
This is particularly important, bearing in mind that the resources generated by mussel production are
spread across a broad social base and that decisions are taken locally, with the result that funds are
reinvested in the region. This has a multiplier effect on the local economy, helping to produce socio-
economic stability.

As far as aquaculture in general is concerned it is mussel farming which is the backbone of the sector,
since between 250 and 300 million kilos of mussels are cultivated annually in Galicia, making it the
world(cid:146)s second largest producer after China and the leading European producer, accounting for 50 % of
total EU production, with 35 % being sold fresh, 41 % earmarked for traditional processing and 24 % for
new alternative processing methods, which are increasingly popular.

At a time when the negotiating process with the applicant countries is at quite an advanced stage,
particularly with the countries in the Luxembourg group, is the Commission aware of the rationalisation
measures undertaken by the Member States in this sector and is it taking or will it take into account during
the negotiations the objective of preventing destabilisation of the mussel-farming sector in the European
Union?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(16 February 2001)

Community enlargement should not have an adverse effect on Community mussel farmers, since the
applicant countries do not produce significant quantities of mussels.