Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96 (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2008-07-09
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU statistics, aquaculture, disclosure of information

13.8.2008

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is obligatory)

REGULATIONS

REGULATION (EC) No 762/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 9 July 2008

on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture and repealing Council Regulation
(EC) No 788/96

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

(5)

Information on the structure of the sector and on the
technologies employed is required to ensure an environ-
mentally sound industry.

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 285(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251
of the Treaty (1),

Whereas:

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96 of 22 April 1996 on
the
statistics on
aquaculture production (2) requires the Member States to
submit annual data on the volume of production.

submission by Member States of

(2)

(3)

(4)

The increased contribution by aquaculture to the Commu-
nity's total fisheries production requires a wider range of
data for a rational development and management of this
sector within the Common Fisheries Policy.

The increasing importance of hatcheries and nurseries for
aquaculture activity requires detailed data for a suitable
monitoring and management of
this sector within the
Common Fisheries Policy.

Information on both the volume and value of
the
production is required to review and assess the market
for aquaculture products.

(6) Regulation (EC) No 788/96 should be repealed.

(7)

(8)

In order to ensure a smooth transition from the regime
applicable under Regulation (EC) No 788/96, this Regula-
tion should allow for a transitional period of up to three
years to be granted to Member States where its application
to their national statistical systems would require major
adaptations and would be likely to cause significant
practical problems.

framework for

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the establish-
systematic
ment of a common legal
production of Community statistics on the aquaculture
sector, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States
and can be better achieved at Community level,
the
Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the
principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty.
In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set
out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond
what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(9) Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997
on Community Statistics (3) provides a reference framework
for statistics in the field of fisheries. In particular, it requires
reliability,
conformity with principles of
relevance, cost-effectiveness, statistical confidentiality and
transparency.

impartiality,

(1) Opinion of the European Parliament of 31 January 2008 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 23 June
2008.

(2) OJ L 108, 1.5.1996, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ
L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(10) The collection and submission of statistical data is an
essential tool for the sound management of the Common
Fisheries Policy.

(3) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

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(11) The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedures
implementing powers
the exercise of
conferred on the Commission (1).

for

by volume, or by number for the production of hatcheries and
nurseries, without prejudice to paragraph 4. The remaining part
of the total production may be estimated. To estimate more than
10 % of the total production, a request for derogation may be
submitted under the conditions provided for in Article 8.

(12)

In particular, the Commission should be empowered to
adopt technical changes to the Annexes to this Regulation.
Since those measures are of general scope and are designed
to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, inter
alia, by supplementing it with new non-essential elements,
they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory
procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of
Decision 1999/468/EC.

(13) The Commission should be assisted by the Standing
Committee for Agricultural Statistics set up by Council
Decision 72/279/EEC (2),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Obligations of the Member States

Member States shall submit to the Commission statistics on all
the aquaculture activities conducted in freshwater and saltwaters
on their territory.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions

1.
shall apply:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

‘Community statistics’ as defined in Article 2 of Regulation
(EC) No 322/97;

‘aquaculture’
as defined in Article 3(d) of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the
European Fisheries Fund (3);

‘capture-based aquaculture’ means the practice of collecting
specimens from the wild and their subsequent use in
aquaculture;

‘production’ means the output from aquaculture at first
sale, including production from hatcheries and nurseries
offered for sale.

2. All other definitions for the purpose of this Regulation are
set out in Annex I.

Article 3

Compilation of statistics

1. Member States shall use surveys or other statistically
validated methods covering at least 90 % of the total production

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision

2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).

(2) OJ L 179, 7.8.1972, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1.

2. Use of sources other than surveys shall be subject
to
provision of an ex-post assessment of the statistical quality of
those sources.

3. A Member State having a total annual production of less
than 1 000 tonnes may submit summary data estimating the
total production.

4. Member States shall
identify the production by species.
However, the production of those species which individually do
not exceed 500 tonnes and do not represent more than 5 % in
weight of the production by volume in a Member State may be
estimated and aggregated. The production of hatcheries and
nurseries in number of those species may be estimated.

Article 4

Data

The data shall relate to the reference calendar year and shall
cover:

(a)

(b)

the annual production (volume and unit value) of
aquaculture;

the annual input (volume and unit value) to capture-based
aquaculture;

(c)

the annual production of hatcheries and nurseries;

(d)

the structure of the aquaculture sector.

Article 5

Submission of data

1. The Member States shall submit the data referred to in
Annexes II, III and IV to the Commission (Eurostat) within
12 months of the end of the reference calendar year. The first
reference calendar year shall be 2008.

2.
Starting with the data for the year 2008 and at intervals of
three years thereafter, the data on the structure of the aquacul-
ture sector referred to in Annex V shall be submitted within
12 months of the end of the reference calendar year to the
Commission (Eurostat).

Article 6

Quality assessment

Each Member State shall provide the Commission (Eurostat)

1.
with a yearly report on the quality of the data submitted.

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2. At the submission of the data, each Member State shall
submit to the Commission a detailed methodological report. In
that report, each Member State shall describe how the data were
collected and compiled. This report shall
include details of
sampling techniques, estimation methods and of sources used
other than surveys and an evaluation of the quality of the
resultant estimates. A proposed format for the methodological
report is indicated in Annex VI.

3. The Commission shall examine the reports and present its
the Standing
conclusions to the relevant working group of
Committee for Agricultural Statistics
set up by Decision
72/279/EEC.

Article 7

Transitional period

1.
Full calendar year transitional periods for implementing this
Regulation lasting not more than three years from 1 January
2009 may be granted to Member States in accordance with the
management procedure referred to in Article 10(2), in so far as
the application of this Regulation to their national statistical
systems requires major adaptations and is likely to cause
significant practical problems.

2. To this end, a Member State shall present a duly motivated
request to the Commission by 31 December 2008.

technical changes to the Annexes shall be adopted in accordance
with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in
Article 10(3).

2. The format in which statistics shall be submitted shall be
adopted in accordance with the management procedure referred
to in Article 10(2).

Article 10

Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be
Committee for Agricultural Statistics.

assisted by the Standing

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7
of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to
(4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having
regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Article 8

Derogations

Article 11

Evaluation report

1.
In cases where inclusion in the statistics of a particular sector
of aquaculture activities would cause difficulties to the national
authorities not commensurate with the importance of
that
sector, a derogation may be granted in accordance with the
management procedure referred to in Article 10(2).

By 31 December 2011 and every three years thereafter, the
Commission shall submit an evaluation report to the European
Parliament and to the Council on the statistics compiled
pursuant to this Regulation and, in particular, on their relevance
and quality.

Such derogation shall permit a Member State to exclude data
covering that sector from the national data submitted or to
employ estimation methods used to provide data for more than
10 % of the total production.

This report shall also undertake a cost-effectiveness analysis of
the system introduced to collect and draw up the statistics and
shall indicate best practices to lessen the workload for Member
States and enhance the usefulness and quality of the data.

2. Member States shall support any request for derogations,
which must be made prior
the first
submission of the data, by sending the Commission a report
on problems encountered in applying this Regulation.

to the deadline for

3.
Should a change in the situation for collecting the data
create unforeseen difficulties for the national authorities, a duly
justified request for a derogation may be submitted by the
Member States after the deadline for the first submission of the
data.

Article 9

Technical provisions

1. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of
inter alia, by supplementing it, relating to
this Regulation,

Article 12

Repeal

1. Without prejudice
No 788/96 is hereby repealed.

to paragraph 3, Regulation (EC)

2. References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as
references to this Regulation.

3. By way of derogation from the second paragraph of
Article 13 of this Regulation, a Member State having been
granted a transitional period in accordance with Article 7 of this
Regulation shall continue to apply the provisions of Regulation
(EC) No 788/96 for the duration of the transitional period
granted.

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Article 13

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2009.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 9 July 2008.

For the European Parliament

The President

H.-G. PÖTTERING

For the Council

The President

J.-P. JOUYET

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ANNEX I

Definitions to be used in submission of aquaculture data

‘Freshwater’ means water which has a constantly negligible salinity.

‘Saltwater’ means water where the salinity is appreciable. This may be water where the salinity is constantly high (e.g.
seawater) or where the salinity is appreciable but not at a constantly high level (e.g. brackish water): the salinity may be
subject to periodic variation due to the influx of fresh or seawaters.

‘Species’ means the species of aquatic organisms identified using the international 3-alpha code as defined by the FAO
(ASFIS list of species for fishery statistics purposes).

‘FAO major areas’ means the geographical areas identified using the international numerical-2 code as defined by the
FAO (CWP Handbook of fishery statistical standards. Section H: Fishing areas for statistical purposes). The FAO major
areas covered for the purpose of this Regulation are the following:

Code

Area

01

05

27

34

37

…

Inland waters (Africa)

Inland waters (Europe)

North-east Atlantic

Atlantic Eastern Central

Mediterranean and Black Seas

Other areas (to be specified)

‘Ponds’ means relatively shallow and usually small bodies of still water or water with a low refreshment rate, most
frequently artificially formed, but can also apply to natural pools, tarns, meres or small lakes.

‘Hatcheries and nurseries’ means places for the artificial breeding, hatching and rearing through the early life stages of
aquatic animals. For statistical purposes, hatcheries are limited to the production of fertilised eggs. First juvenile stages
of aquatic animals are considered as being produced in nurseries.

‘Enclosures and pens’ means areas of water confined by nets, mesh and other barriers allowing uncontrolled water
interchange and distinguished by the fact that enclosures occupy the full water column between substrate and surface;
pens and enclosures generally enclose a relatively large volume of water.

‘Cages’ means open or covered enclosed structures constructed with net, mesh or any porous material allowing natural
water interchange. These structures may be floating, suspended or fixed to the substrate but still permitting water
interchange from below.

‘Tanks and raceways’ means artificial units constructed above or below ground level capable of high rates of water
interchange or with a high water turnover rate and highly controlled environment but without water recirculation.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

‘Recirculation systems’ means systems where the water is reused after some form of treatment (e.g. filtering).

11.

‘Transferred to a controlled environment’ means the intentional release for further aquaculture practices.

12.

‘Released to the wild’ means the intentional release for the restocking of rivers, lakes and other waters other than for
aquaculture purposes. These releases may then be available for capture by fishing operations.

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13.

‘Volume’ means:

(a)

for fish, crustaceans and molluscs and other aquatic animals, the live weight equivalent of the product. For
molluscs, the live weight shall include the weight of the shell;

(b)

for aquatic plants, the wet weight of the product.

14.

‘Unit value’ means the total value (excluding invoiced value-added tax) of the production (in national currency) divided
by the total volume of the production.

ANNEX II

Production from aquaculture excluding nurseries and hatcheries (a)

Species produced

Freshwater

Saltwater

Year:

Total

3-alpha
code

Common name

Scientific name

FAO major area

Volume
(metric tonnes)

Unit value
(national cur-
rency)

Volume
(metric tonnes)

Unit value
(national cur-
rency)

Volume
(metric tonnes)

Unit value
(national
currency)

Country:

FISH

Ponds

Tanks and raceways

Enclosures and pens

Cages

Recirculation systems

Other methods

CRUSTACEANS

Ponds

Tanks and raceways

Enclosures and pens

Other methods

MOLLUSCS

On bottom

Off bottom

Other methods

SEAWEEDS

All methods

.

.

1
3
8
2
0
0
8

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n

U
n
o
n

i

L

2
1
8
/
7

Country:

Species produced

Freshwater

Saltwater

Year:

Total

3-alpha
code

Common name

Scientific name

FAO major area

Volume
(metric tonnes)

Unit value
(national cur-
rency)

Volume
(metric tonnes)

Unit value
(national cur-
rency)

Volume
(metric tonnes)

Unit value
(national
currency)

Fish eggs (intended for consumption) (b)

All methods

OTHER AQUATIC ORGANISMS

All methods

(a) With the exclusion of aquarium and ornamental species.
(b) The fish eggs intended for consumption considered under this item refer only to extracted eggs destined for consumption at first sale.

L

2
1
8
/
8

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n

U
n
o
n

i

.

.

1
3
8
2
0
0
8

ANNEX III

Input to capture-based aquaculture (a)

Country:

Species

3-alpha code

Common name

Scientific name

Unit (specify) (b)

Unit value (national currency)

Year:

FISH

CRUSTACEANS

MOLLUSCS

(a) With the exclusion of aquarium, ornamental and plant species.
(b) Weight or number; if numbers are provided, a conversion factor to live weight must be provided as well.

.

.

1
3
8
2
0
0
8

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n

U
n
o
n

i

L

2
1
8
/
9

ANNEX IV

Production of hatcheries and nurseries (a)

Country:

3-alpha
code

Species

Stage in life cycle

Intended uses

Common name

Scientific name

Eggs
(in millions)

Juveniles
(in millions)

Transferred to a controlled environment
(for on-growing) (b) (in millions)

Released to the wild (b)
(in millions)

Eggs

Juveniles

Eggs

Juveniles

(a) With the exclusion of aquarium and ornamental species.
(b) Voluntary.

Year:

L

2
1
8
/
1
0

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n

U
n
o
n

i

.

.

1
3
8
2
0
0
8

ANNEX V

Data on the structure of the aquaculture sector (a) (d)

FAO major
area

Freshwater

Size of the facilities (c)

Saltwater

Size of the facilities (c)

(thousand m3)

Hectares

(thousand m3)

Hectares

Year:

Total

Size of the facilities (c)

(thousand m3)
Hectares

Country:

FISH

Ponds

Tanks and raceways

Enclosures and pens

Cages

Recirculation systems

Other methods

CRUSTACEANS

Ponds

Tanks and raceways

Enclosures and pens

Other methods

MOLLUSCS

On bottom (b)

Off bottom (b)

Other methods (b)

.

.

1
3
8
2
0
0
8

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n

U
n
o
n

i

L

2
1
8
/
1
1

Country:

SEAWEEDS

All methods

FAO major
area

Freshwater

Size of the facilities (c)

Saltwater

Size of the facilities (c)

(thousand m3)

Hectares

(thousand m3)

Hectares

Year:

Total

Size of the facilities (c)

(thousand m3)
Hectares

(a) With the exclusion of aquarium and ornamental species.
(b)
If molluscs are grown on ropes, length unit may be used.
(c)
Should be considered the potential capacity.
(d) The shaded cells indicate where information is not applicable.

L

2
1
8
/
1
2

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n

U
n
o
n

i

.

.

1
3
8
2
0
0
8

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Format for the methodological reports of the national systems for aquaculture statistics

ANNEX VI

1.

Organisation of the national system for aquaculture statistics:

— authorities responsible for collecting and processing the data and their respective responsibilities,

— national legislation on the collection of aquaculture data,

— unit responsible for submitting data to the Commission.

2.

Method of collecting, processing and compiling the aquaculture data:

— indicate the source of each type of data,

— describe the methods used to collect the data (e.g. postal questionnaires, personal interviews, censuses or

sampling, frequency of surveys, estimation methods) for each part of the aquaculture sector,

— describe how the data are processed and compiled and how long this takes.

3.

Quality aspects in line with the ‘Code of Practice for the European Statistical System’:

— if estimation techniques are used for some elements of the data, describe the methods used, and estimate the

level of use and reliability of such methods,

— indicate any shortcomings of the national systems, ways of overcoming them and, where appropriate, the

timetable for such corrective actions.