REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of 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
Date: 2012-07-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU statistics, European Economic Area, Eurostat, aquaculture, disclosure of information, fishing statistics, production statistics, statistical method

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 30.7.2012  
COM(2012) 422 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the implementation of 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 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE 
COUNCIL 

on the implementation of 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 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

On  9  July  2008  the  Regulation  (EC)  No  762/20081  on  the  submission  by  Member  States  of 
Statistics  on  Aquaculture  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  Aquaculture  Statistics  Regulation)  was 
adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. The Regulation applied from 1 January 2009 
and  repealed  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  788/962.  The  Regulation  aims  to  meet  the  need  for  a 
wider range of data for monitoring of the aquaculture sector and its production in recognition of its 
important role in the EU.  

Under  the  terms  of  Article  11  "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.  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."  This  report  documents  the 
progress made by Member States and EEA countries, together with the Commission, with respect 
to  the  provisions  of  this  Regulation.  Article  6  of  the  Regulation  further  required  submission  by 
Member  States  of  a  detailed  methodological  report  stating  how  the  data  were  collected  and 
compliled.  These  include  details  of  sampling  techniques,  estimation  methods  and  data  sources 
(other  than  surveys)  and  an  evaluation  of  the  quality  of  the  resultant  estimates.  The  information 
supplied by Member States in their asessments forms the basis of this report. 

The cost effectiveness of aquaculture data collection was assessed (with other statistical domains) 
under  Eurostat's  cost-effectiveness  analysis  for  fields  covered  by  the  Community  Statistical 
Programme 2008-20123. Information for the analysis was collected using a questionnaire to all the 
Member States, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland through the Working Group on Programming and 
Coordination in September 2010.  

2. 

COVERAGE AND CONTENT  

The regulation requires submission of data in four areas including;  

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

1 

2 

3 

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: OJ L 218, 
13.8.2008, p. 1–13.  
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  788/96  of  22  April  1996  on  the  submission  by  Member  States  of  statistics  on 
aquaculture production: OJ L 108, 1.5.1996, p. 1–7  
Decision  No  1578/2007/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  December  2007  on  the 
Community Statistical Programme 2008 to 2012 (OJ L 344, 28.12.2007, p. 15–43). 

EN 

2 

   EN 

                                                 
Data are required annually except in the case of structure information (production methods) which 
is  every  three  years.  The  first  year  for  which  data  were  required  to  be  transmitted  (the  reference 
year) was 2008 and was to be received by Eurostat by31 December 2009. The Regulation allowed 
the possibility for Member States to delay implementation or to obtain a derogation from some or 
all of its requirements. Seven Member States were granted  a transitional  period to  implement the 
new Regulation (CZ, DE, EL, AT, PT, PL, and SI) and will supply data for the reference year 2011 
and  beyond.  Three  Member  States  (AT,  CZ  and  LU)  have  been  allowed  derogations  until  31 
December 2012 to either supply no information (in the case of LU) or to supply only estimates for 
some data categories instead of comprehensive validated statistical data. 

2.1 

Data collection and sources 

In  the  majority  of  Member  States,  data  are  collected  through  complete  census  of  registered 
aquaculture producers using annual postal or electronic questionnaires. Registration of aquaculture 
production  businesses  is  a  requirement  of  EU  animal  health  legslation4.  Non  response  rates  are 
reportedly generally low in many Member States and it is relatively simple for authorities to follow 
up  data  providers.  Some  Member  States  report  making  use  of  administrative  information  from 
industry  sources.  Collaboration  between  veterinary  offices  and  fisheries  departments  in  cross 
checking register details and returns occurs in a number of countries. 

2.2 

Data collection systems in the Member States 

Not all Member States collections are described here due to transtional arrangements in place and 
derogations from Regulation being in place for some. 

Belgium 

In view of their relatively low production, Belgium are currently required to supply only summary 
estimates as permitted under Article 3 of the Aquaculture Statistics Regulation. A methodological 
report for Belgium has yet to be provided. 

Bulgaria  

The  Bulgarian  National  Agency  of  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  (NAFA)  maintains  the  national 
register  of  aquaculture  premises  and  requires  businesses  to  keep  a  log  of  sales  to  make  monthly 
sales  declarations  and  to  provide  such  statistical  data  as  are  required  on  statistical  information 
forms. Data sources are regularly cross checked against each other for validity and late data (>30 
days) followed up. Data are also verified by NAFA inspectors at the time of inspection visits.  

Cyprus  

The Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFMR) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural 
Resources  and  Environment  are  responsible  for  aquaculture  statistics  in  Cyprus  and  data 
submission  is  mandated  by  national  legislation.  Data  collection  is  mainly  through  a  statistical 
census  which  is  supplemented  by  site  inspections  and  interviews  with  managers  or  owners  of 
aquaculture  enterprises.  Additional  information  is  obtained  from  approvals  for  the  stocking  of 

4 

Council Directive 2006/88/EC of 24 October 2006 on animal health requirements for aquaculture animals and 
products  thereof,  and  on  the  prevention  and  control  of  certain  diseases  in  aquatic  animals  (OJ  L  328, 
24.11.2006)  and  Commission  Decision  of  30  April  2008  implementing  Council  Directive  2006/88/EC  as 
regards  an  Internet-based  information  page  to  make  information  on  aquaculture  production  businesses  and 
authorised processing establishments available by electronic means (OJ L 138, 28.5.2008, p. 12–20). 

EN 

3 

   EN 

                                                 
ponds or raceways, from details of exports supplied via the Government Veterinary Services and on 
fish  feed  imports.  These  various  sources  are  cross  checked  against  each  other  and  discrepancies 
followed up by the DFMR Aquaculture Division. 

Denmark  

The  Danish  Directorate  of  Fisheries  within  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  collects  data  via  annual 
reports  and  statistical  questionnaires  from  commercial  aquaculture  production  facilities.  The 
coverage of the industry is complete and no sampling techniques are employed. Data are recorded 
on  the  aquaculture  register  maintained  by  the  Directorate  of  Fisheries.  Quality  is  ensured  by 
checking  completeness  of  returns  and  through  a  number  of  other  validation  methods.  Particular 
attention  is  paid  to  the  data  on  production  quantity  and  value.  Denmark  have  highlighted  a 
particular problem with collection of data on hatcheries and nurseries in numbers and so liveweight 
figures  with  approximate  conversion  factors  were  supplied  for  2008  and  2009.  Along  with  other 
Member States Denmark have also flagged problems with definitions for juveniles and suggest that 
differences in definitions between member states may inflate hatchery and nursery figures. 

Estonia  

Statistics  Estonia  is  responsible  for  the  collection  and  publication  of  aquaculture  data.  Data 
collection  is  through  a  survey  of  all  active  aquaculture  facilities.  The  survey  covers  commercial 
production,  breeding,  sales  and  intermediate  production  and  consumption.  Not  all  variables 
required  by  the  Aquaculture  Regulation  are  collected  with  some  on  production  of  hatcheries  and 
nurseries  by  species  needing  to  be  estimated.  Data  are  cross  checked  against  the  Ministry  of 
Environment's  restocking  data  and 
industry. 
Discrepancies are followed with the data supplier by telephone or email. However access to micro 
data for cross checking is inhibited by confidentiality restraints. Non response rates are low, just 6 
percent in 2008, and overall data quality is considered to be high. Estonia has identified a particular 
issue  with  double  counting  of  production  sold  between  farms.  Whilst  considerable  efforts  are 
devoted to excluding these sales, it is recognised that there is further room for improvement.  

information  published  by 

the  aquaculture 

Ireland  

The  Irish  Sea  Fisheries  board  (Bord  Iascaigh  Mhara)  is  responsible  for  data  collection  and 
submission  to  Eurostat.  Responsibility  for  data  quality  falls  to  the  Research  Planning  and 
Evaluation  Unit  of  the  Irish  Sea  Fisheries  Protection  Authority.  No  methodological  report  for 
Ireland has yet been submitted. However, operational contacts are ongoing. 

Spain  

The sub-Directorate General for Statistics of the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine 
Affairs  (MARM)  is  responsible  for  aquaculture  data  collection  and  processing  and  works  in 
cooperation  with  the  Autonomous  Community  of  Andalusia  (for  marine  aquaculture)  and  the 
Autonomous  Community  of  the  Basque  Country  (all  aspects  of  aquaculture)  MARM  retains  the 
competence  for  data  collection  for  the  other  autonomous  regions.  Data  collection  is  via  survey 
questionnaires  and  through  interviews.  Data  are  screened  for  consistency  with  previous  years' 
submissions and discrepancies followed up with the data provider.  

The  majority  of  data  are  collected  through  a  survey  of  aquaculture  facilities  and  coverage  of  the 
Spanish industry by this is complete and the reliability of the survey is considered to be good by the 
Spanish  Authorities.  Additional  stratified  sampling  of  mussel  producers  in  Galicia  is  carried  out. 
Spain  has  identified  a  particular  problem  with  attributing  prices  and  accurate  conversion  factors 

EN 

4 

   EN 

(numbers  of  individuals  to  tonnes  liveweight)  to  wild  caught  inputs  to  the  production  cycle.  No 
factor has been identified for gastropod molluscs. 

France  

In France data collection  and  processing is performed by the  Directorate  of Marine Fisheries and 
Aquaculture  of  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  Food,  Fisheries,  Rural  Affairs  and  Planning.  The 
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics is also involved in data processing and forwarding 
these  to  Eurostat.  Data  collection  is  through  a  comprehensive  annual  postal  survey  of  both 
commercial  and  noncommercial  aquaculture  production.  No  national  register  of  aquaculture  units 
currently  exists  and  various  sources  are  used  to  maintain  a  list  of  those  involved  particularly 
industry bodies. Non responses are followed up and for the most significant businesses data may be 
collected through a telephone survey. Missing data are augmented by substituting data from similar 
premises  in  the  same  geographical  area.  Data  validation  involves  outlier  searches,  internal  cross 
referencing of data and comparisons with earlier submissions.  

Hungary  

In  Hungary  the  Department  for  Natural  Resources  in  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Rural 
Development is the main body responsible administering the aquaculture industry and the Research 
and  Information  Institute  for  Agricultural  Economics  is  responsible  for  data  collection  and 
processing.  Data  are  collected  annually  via  postal  questionnaire.  In  addition  to  the  production, 
stocking and structure data required by the legislation, data on angling from fish ponds are collected 
reflecting the relative importance of this activity. Data are validated on input by comparing against 
set minima and maxima for each species and age class. The relatively small statistical population 
makes  it  possible  to  follow  up  any  discrepancies  by  phone.  Hungary  has  now  compiled  several 
years  of  data  on  their  systems  which  allows  for  comparability  checking  between  years. 
Interregional  comparisons  are  also  made.  Hungary  report  that  their  data  collection  and  analysis 
systems are adequate for current needs. 

Italy  

The  Ministry  of  Agriculture  (Ministero  delle  Politiche  Agricole  Alimentari  e  Forestali)  is 
responsible for coordinating aquaculture data collection on regional basis. An annual census of all 
registered  aquaculture  entreprises  is  conducted  to  collect  the  required  statistical  data  .  No 
estimations  are  made.  Some  questions  of  interpretation  of  the  latter  regulation  have  been 
highlighted  by  Italy  including  differences  in  the  concept  "production"  in  the  Regulation  (EC) 
762/2008  compared  to  its  predecessor.  Questions  were  also  raised  on  various  definitions  of 
production methods and on 'potential capacity' of aquaculture structures. 

Latvia  

The  Central  Statistical  Bureau  collects  data  on  all  economically  active  aquaculture  enterprises 
including  on  marketing  production  (volumes  and  values),  production  for  stocking  purposes, 
structural  information  and  employment  data.  The  Department  of  Fisheries  of  the  Ministry  of 
Agriculture is responsible for ensuring data consistency and reporting to the European Commission. 
Coverage of the industry by the questionnaire is complete and no estimation is made. No particular 
shortcomings of the Latvian systems have been identified. 

Lithuania  

The Fisheries Department (Aquaculture and Inland waters Division) of the Ministry of Agriculture 
is responsible for primary data collection and validation. This is compiled and disseminated by the 

EN 

5 

   EN 

Lithuanian  Department  of  Statistics.  Data  are  collected  through  biannual  postal  surveys  with 
discrepancies being followed up by phone. No specific estimation techniques are used and the data 
are reportedly of high quality.  

Malta  

The  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  Unit  within  the  National  Statistical  Office  is  responsible  for 
aquaculture  data  collection  and  sending  data  to  the  European  Commission.  This  is  carried  out 
through  an  annual  questionnaire  which  covers  fish  stocks,  marketings  (inputs  and  outputs), 
intermediate  consumption  and  structural  information.  The  Maltese  industry  is  relatively  small 
comprising  just  six  farms,  five  of  which  specialise  in  tuna  fattening.  Data  returns  are  intensively 
scrutinised  and  cross  referenced  with  information  on  live  fish  sales  and  international  trade.  The 
main problems reported by Malta relate to the small size of the sample population and in particular 
on form filling burdens and respecting data confidentiality. 

Netherlands  

The  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  Nature  and  Food  Quality,  the  Fish  Products  Board  and  Central 
Statistical  Office  are  involved  in  the  collection  and  processing  of  aquaculture  data.  Shellfish 
production  (mussels  and  oyster)  is  most  important  economically  for  the  Netherlands  however  the 
majority of enterprises are small and many are experimental. Data are obtained from a variety of 
sources including the Dutch Association of Fisher Farmers, the Mussels Office of the Fish Products 
Board and the Dutch Association of Mussels Producers. Aquaculture Producers are registered with 
the Fish Products board and supply data via questionnaire.  Production  and  price  data  for  mussels 
for  both  aquaculture  and  capture  fisheries  are  taken  from  auctions. However  data  for  each 
production type  are identified separately and so there is now no double counting or misreporting. 
Production  data  for  oysters  originates  with  the  administrative  bodies.  Statistical  returns  for  fish 
farming are checked against reported capacity of production units and against sales of feed.  

Romania  

In Romania aquaculture data collection and processing is the responsibility of the National Agency 
for  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  (NAFA).  All  aquaculture  units  are  registered  and  licensed.  The 
register  records  both  administrative  information  and  details  of  the  production  methods,  unit 
structure  and  main  species  cultivated  etc.  Information  on  production  volumes  and  values  and 
product  uses  are  collected  on  a  monthly  basis. Data  are  collected  by  regional  NAFA  Offices  and 
compilation, validation and dissemination is carried out centrally.  

Slovak Republic 

The  Statistical  Office  of  the  Slovak  Republic  is  responsible  for  data  collection,  processing  and 
dissemination.  Data  collection  is  by  a  postal  census  of  certified  aquaculture  producers.  The 
coverage  of  the  census  is  complete  and  no  estimation  is  performed.  Any  anomalies  in  census 
returns are verified by telephone. The Slovak Republic reported a particular problem with regard to 
their trout production. This tends to be in ponds with a high refreshment rate which does not accord 
well with the definition of ponds under the Aquaculture Regulation. 

Finland  

In Finland, collection and treatment of aquaculture data are the responsibility of the Finnish Game 
and  Fisheries  Research  Institute.  The  data  are  collected  via  statistical  questionnaire  sent  to  all 
production units on the Aquaculture Register. Non responses are routinely followed up and in some 

EN 

6 

   EN 

cases  these  may  be  targeted  through  an  additional  telephone  survey.  For  2009  responses  were 
received  from  76  percent  of  registered  premises,  and  estimates  of  the  remainder  are  derived  by 
stratifying the results and applying strata specific coefficients. Prices applied are average first sale 
prices compiled by the Institute.  

Sweden  

The National Statistical Institute is responsible for collecting, processing and compiling aquaculture 
data and for transmission to the European Commission. This is carried out on behalf of the Swedish 
Board of Fisheries. Data are collected through an annual postal census which gathers information 
on  production  (volume  and  value),  production  environment  and  methods  and  industry  structure. 
Non  responses  and  discrepancies  are  followed  up  with  data  suppliers  by  post  (dispatch  of 
replacement questionnaires) and by telephone interview. The non response rate is low and all the 
most  significant  producers  are  accounted  for  and  so  the  data  are  considered  to  be  substantively 
complete. Processing errors are considered to be insignificant. 

United Kingdom  

In the UK aquaculture statistics are collected separately by each of the regional governments: The 
Centre  for  Environment,  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  (CEFAS)  in  England  and  Wales;  Marine 
Scotland  Science  (MSS)  in  Scotland  and  the  Department  for  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development 
(DARD) in Northern Ireland. The UK aggregates are compiled by CEFAS. The data do not include 
information  for  the  Channel  Islands  or  Isle  of  Man.  In  England  and  Wales,  data  are  collected  by 
staff of the Fish Health Inspectorate during inspection visits which are carried out on a rolling basis. 
In  Scotland  data  collection  is  from  an  annual  questionnaire  sent  to  all  registered  production  units 
and in Northern Ireland postal notices are sent to aquaculture producers to request information in 
the format specified in the Annexes to the Aquaculture Regulation.  

For fish there is reportedly good cooperation with the industry and coverage of returns approaches 
100  percent.  Data  on  shellfish  is  also  considered  to  be  complete  but  some  definitional  problems 
remain  including  the  inclusion  of  areas  seeded  with  mussel  spat  (larvae).  No  volume  data  are 
estimated but a range of sources are used to estimate prices. 

EN 

7 

   EN 

EEA Countries 

Iceland  

The Iceland Directorate of Fisheries of the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture is responsible for 
collecting and processing aquaculture data. Statistics Iceland is responsible for sending the data to 
the  European  Commission.  Data  are  collected  through  an  annual  electronic  questionnaire  which 
requires  information  on  production  and  sales,  production  methods  and  environment  and  unit 
structure. Production units under the same business are required to report separately. Data are cross 
checked in cooperation with the Icelandic Veterinary and Food Administration, which also require 
all  aquaculture  premises  to  be  registered.  Data  suppliers  are  contacted  to  supply  missing 
information  or  to  correct  anomalies.  Coverage  of  the  questionnaire  is  complete  and  no  sampling 
techniques are employed. Whilst a variety of cross checking methods were employed, as the data 
collection  system  has  only  been  recently  implemented  it  is  not  possible  to  make  a  definitive 
statement on data quality. 

Norway  

The  Directorate  of  Fisheries'  Department  of  Statistics  with  Statistics  are  responsible  for  data 
collection and publication. Quality assurance and submission to the European Commission is by the 
Directorate  of  Fisheries.  Under  national  legislation  all  commercial  and  research  aquaculture 
producers  are  required  to  submit  data  required  by  the  government.  Five  distinct  paper 
questionnaires  are  completed  according  to  production  type  and  species  produced.  Quality  checks 
are carried out on receipt of data and also secondary validation is carried out during processing. 

2.2 

Data Quality 

The  majority  of  data  providers  report  comprehensive  coverage  of  the  industry  and  good  data 
quality. Few countries highlight specific issues with data quality. Iceland have highlighted that their 
data collection system is new making it difficult to accurately gauge data quality but like many they 
note  that  they  are  striving  for  continuous  improvement.  The  data  provided  on  production  can  be 
compared  with  data  provided  under  the  previous  aquaculture  regulation  (see  Annex)  and  it  is 
therefore  possible  to  objectively  judge  the  quality  of  the  reports  submitted.  Those  submitted  to 
Eurostat  are  compliant  with  Statistical  Data  and  Metadata  Exchange  (SDMX)  data  standards  and 
definitions which allows basic checks against the data schema to be performed when the data are 
received.  More  sophisticated  'second  level'  validation  is  being  developed  by  Eurostat  which  will 
check  consistency  of  data  across  years  and  detect  any  outliers  and  to  check  internal  data 
consistency,  for  example  whether  species  reported  are  compatible  with  the  declared  production 
environment  and  method.  Overall  at  the  aggregate  level  the  consistency  of  data  between  years 
appears  to  be  good.  However,  at  the  more  detailed  production  type  and  species  level,  this  breaks 
down in many cases, for example with differences in the species being reported for some Member 
States. This may in part be due to reporting of genera or groups of species in some cases rather than 
detail  at  the  species  level.  Data  on  egg  production  for  human  consumption  are  missing  in  some 
cases where there is anecdotal evidence that this is carried out, for example in Italy. 

For the data on production of hatcheries and nurseries at the aggregate country and species group 
level the data for the majority of countries look sound and are consistent between the two years for 
which data have been provided. Consistency at the individual species level is much less good but 
likely reflects improvements in the accuracy of reporting and lessons learned. There is an apparent 
use  of  more  generic  species  codes  in  2008  particularly  for  the  reporting  of  molluscs.  However  in 
some cases data accuracy appears to have declined, for example the range of species covered has 

EN 

8 

   EN 

decreased,  notably  for  Romania  who  reported  only  on  diadromous  fish  production  in  2009. 
Denmark  have  been  only  able  to  supply  information  in  weight  (kilos)  rather  than  millions  of 
individuals and is looking to rectify this issue.  

Some large  differences exist  between years  for some countries, for example  the United  Kingdom 
who  reported  large  falls  in  production  of  both  eggs  and  juveniles.  A  number  of  Member  States, 
notably  Germany  and  Denmark  have  requested  clarification  of  the  definition  of  juveniles  in  the 
Regulation.  This  is  not  explicitly  defined  but  is  taken  as  the  same  as  for  the  FAO  aquaculture 
questionnaire  i.e.  larvae,  fingerlings,  juveniles,  etc.  As  regards  detail  of  use  of  production  of 
hatcheries  and  nurseries  which  is  provided  optionally,  the  great  majority  of  Member  States 
provided at least partial information.  

With regard to data on input to capture based aquaculture, Spain have reported a particular problem 
with conversion factors for numbers of individuals to live weight and have declared that for some 
molluscs no reliable figures exist. This affects data in 2008 (the first reference year studied). 

As regards data on the industry structure is supplied every three years and because of this, it is more 
difficult  to  validate  by  comparison  with  other  years.  Some  data  have  been  collected  by  FAO  and 
whilst not complete, particularly for years predating the revised Aquaculture Regulation, it has been 
possible to check some of data for consistency with these reports. In a number of reports there have 
been  internal  inconsistencies  in  the  report  for  example  where  production  method  is  inconsistent 
with the declared species or unit supplied is inconsistent with production type. Queries on structure 
data quality are still outstanding with some Member States and this is preventing publication. 

A number of Member States reported confidential data which has affected publication of complete 
data. A protocol for dealing with confidentiality in aquaculture statistics (confidentiality charter) is 
being  developed  in  cooperation  with  Member  States  and  this  will  allow  more  effective  data 
management by Eurostat in future as well as ensuring preservation of statistical confidentiality. 

3. 

USE OF THE DATA (DATA DISSEMINATION)  

The reports of Member States are made available free of charge through Eurostat's dissemination 
database at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database. Data are 
also published in Eurostat Pocketbooks, most recently 'Agriculture and fishery statistics - Main 
results - 2009-10'  (ISBN: 978-92-79-20424-1). 

4. 

MAIN FINDINGS: ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS 

21 Member States and Norway provided information for Eurostat's cost-effectiveness analysis for 
fields covered by the 2008-2012 Community Statistical Programme. Of the countries not providing 
aquaculture data under transitional arrangements, more than half assessed the burden of responding 
to  Eurostat  as  being  low  with  the  remainder  assessing  the  burden  as  being  medium.  As  not  all 
Member States are currently sending data, a more detailed cost benefit analysis would not be useful 
at this stage. This information will be requested from Member States through the Working Group 
on Fisheries Statistics and their respective methodological reports. 

In addition to the Aquaculture Statistics Regulation, there are a number of other EC requirements 
for collecting and providing information on the aquaculture sector and for which a monitoring and 
reporting  infrastructure  will  already  have  been  established.  This  partially  explains  why  the 
statistical  reporting  burden  isn't  seen  by  Member  States  as  being  particularly  heavy.  The 
Aquaculture  Statistics  Regulation  also  covers  many  of  the  same  parameters  requested  by  FAO  in 

EN 

9 

   EN 

their  own  aquaculture  questionnaire.  FAO  are  content  to  accept  the  same  information  as  sent  to 
Eurostat which avoids duplicate reporting. 

The  EC  requirements  include  the  development  of  registers  of  aquaculture  enterprises  for  animal 
health purposes (as noted earlier) and economic and biological information provided under the EC 
Data Collection Framework (DCF) Regulation5. The DCF requires some submission of production 
and structure data however these are different in scope and coverage to the data collected under the 
Aquaculture Statistics Regulation. 

Summary results of the statistical data collection are presented in the Annexes to the report. Data on 
EU aquaculture production in the years since introduction of the Aquaculture Statistics Regulation 
is  available  for  all  Member  States  as  those  allowed  a  delay  in  implementing  the  Aquaculture 
Statistics Regulation continue to supply data required under its predecessor (Regulation (EC) No. 
788/96 and also to the FAO. In 2009 the volume of production in the EU amounted to nearly 1.3 
million tonnes, 77% of which came from marine areas: 52% from the Atlantic and 24% from the 
Mediterranean and Black Sea.  

Four countries, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Italy accounted for more than 66% of EU 
production  in  2009.  Spain  with  production  of  over  268  thousand  tonnes  (22%)  made  the  major 
contribution followed by France, over 236 thousand tonnes (21%), the United Kingdom, nearly 197 
thousand tonnes (15%), and Italy, more than 162 thousand tonnes (13%). Norwegian production at 
nearly 962 thousand tonnes, is equal to more than 74% of total EU production.  

In 2009 molluscs (mainly Mediterranean and Blue mussels) accounted for more than half of total 
volume of the production. Of the marine fish cultivated, Atlantic Salmon, Gilthead Seabream and 
European  Seabass  were  the  most  significant  in  terms  of  production  volume,  and  Trouts  and 
Common Carp the most important freshwater species. 

A  number  of  Member  States  report  economically  significant  production  of  fish  eggs  for  human 
consumption  totalling  just  under  1,000  tonnes  for  those  countries  reporting  with  a  value  of  more 
than 22 million Euros. Production of trout eggs accounted for nearly 98% of production by volume 
but less than half of the value of production. Production of sturgeon caviar although less than 2% of 
production made up more than half of the total reported value. 

Information  on  capture  based  aquaculture  was  provided  for  eight  Member  States.  The  most 
significant species are mussels (Blue Mussel and Mediterranean Mussel) and Bluefin Tuna. 

Information  supplied  on  production  of  hatcheries  and  nuseries  in  terms  of  volume  by  country, 
largely  follows  that  for  overall  production,  with  Spain  and  France  being  the  most  important 
producers.  

In most of the concerned Member States, the Ministry of Agriculture (or related bodies) rather than 
the National Statistics Institute is in charge of the aquaculture statistics. 

5 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  199/2008  of  25  February  2008  concerning  the  establishment  of  a  Community 
framework  for  the  collection,  management  and  use  of  data  in  the  fisheries  sector  and  support  for  scientific 
advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy - OJ L 60, 5.3.2008, p. 1–12. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

                                                 
5 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

As a number of Member States are still operating under transitional arrangments for implementing 
Regulation (EC) No. 762/2008 a comprehensive evaluation of the costs and benefits associated with 
producing the data has not been possible at this time. A more detailed evaluation will be conducted 
at the end of the transitional period under the auspices of the Working Group on Fisheries Statistics. 
This will be requested as an augmentation to methodological reports. Member States currently rate 
the burden of compliance as being low to medium. 

In  their  reports  the  majority  of  Member  States  provided  a  sufficiently  detailed  account  of  their 
methodologies for an assessment of these to be made. Most are conducting an annual postal census 
with  complete  coverage  of  commercial  production.  Relatively  little  estimation  is  involved  in 
production of the figures.  

As not all Member States are yet supplying data under the Aquaculture Statistics Regulation, it has 
not been possible to compile full figures for the EU for aquaculture data except for production. A 
number of Member States have encountered issues with collecting the full data in compliance with 
the new requirements when implementing their data collection systems but are addressing these in 
consultation  with  Eurostat  and  as  part  of  their  own  processes  of  continuous  improvement.  Data 
quality at the aggregate level appears to be quite high for production data and for input to hatcheries 
and  nurseries  for  Most  Member  States,  however  this  is  less  good  at  the  more  detailed  level  and 
more needs to be done to ensure data consistency in the future. Specific problems with definitions 
for stages in lifecycle need to be addressed. 

There  are  outstanding  issues  with  data  quality  for  some  Member  States  particularly  for  structure 
data. These are being addressed bilaterally with Member States. Eurostat are currently involved in 
implementing new information systems which will flag up quality problems early and allow them 
to be more speedily rectified and the data published. For structure data, some ae supplied annually 
to FAO between years where Eurostat collect data and these reports should be used to cross check 
the Eurostat structure reports. 

Eurostat are developing a 'Confidentiality Charter' through a Task Force of Member States' experts. 
This will define how data will be treated by Eurostat to preserve confidentiality and how data may 
be shared within the Commission services and other interested bodies including the FAO. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

Annex - Tables and charts 

Table 1 : Total Aquaculture production - excluding hatcheries and nurseries 

Tonnes live weight

Value (1000 euro)

2008

2009

2008

2009

EU 27

1,255,332

1,301,866

3,440,127

3,245,953

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

IS

NO

126

7,251

20,395

37,216

43,977

475

44,871

114,888

252,286

238,249

157,865

3,776

583

3,008

15,000

6,727

46,621

2,087

36,813

7,352

12,496

1,315

1,078

13,439

7,596

576

7,912

20,071

34,131

39,957

654

47,212

121,971

268,565

236,438

162,325

3,356

517

3,428

14,171

5,619

55,561

2,141

36,503

6,727

13,131

1,308

823

13,627

8,540

667.767

16,538

41537.57447

98,276

4034.5962

19,513

39,267

88,240

97080.122

94240.346

1,772

92,443

2,235

104,271

369913.151

397790.833

413,458

691,604

465,601

33,145

1,529

6,636

30,373

93,763

96,601

396,739

697,965

474,863

16,464

1,115

6,655

26,495

47,057

84,109

12741.113

13878.544

73284.92585

76372.90526

40175.003

18,131

3485.097

2,749

36,845

23,248

34,064

16,990

3,069

1,766

39,582

18,436

179,843

196,603

678,531

540,741

5,088

843,731

5,165

961,840

15,567

19,115

2109992.1

2,572,091

Special values:

-  not applicable or real zero or zero by default
0  less thanless than half of the unit used
:  not available

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
Chart 1 : EU Aquaculture production by FAO major fishing area - 2009 

Mediterranean and 
Black Sea
24%

Eastern Central 
Atlantic
1%

Inland waters - Total
23%

North-east Atlantic
52%

Chart 2 : EU Aquaculture production by species group - 2009 

Molluscs
50%

Freshwater fishes
24%

Marine fishes
26%

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
Table 2: EU Input to capture based aquaculture  

2008

2009

Number ('000)

Tonnes 
(liveweight)

Number ('000)

Tonnes 
(liveweight)

EE

IE

ES

FR

IT

CY

MT

NL

UK

Freshwater fishes

Molluscs

Molluscs
Crustaceans
Freshwater fishes
Marine fishes

Molluscs

Molluscs
Freshwater fishes
Marine fishes

Marine fishes

Marine fishes

Molluscs

Molluscs
Freshwater fishes
Marine fishes

-
-
-
-
343
22
3,845
34
4,244
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
7
2,400
2,407

0
0
17,378
17,378
10,807
-
-
-
10,807
6,379
6,379
3,871
-
340
4,211
645
645
c
c
19,700
19,700
7,082
-
-
7,082

-
-
-
-
224
-
1,500
-
1,724
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
65
65

429
429
17,879
17,879
10,349
5
2
2,845
13,201
9,612
9,612
4,641
10
28
4,679
-
-
c
c
51,900
51,900
2,010
-
-
2,010

Special values:
-  not applicable or real zero or zero by default
0  less than half of the unit used
:  not available
c confidential
Freshwater fish includes diadromous species such as trout.  Marine species includes Atlantic salmon

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
Table 3: EU Production of hatcheries and nurseries  

2008

2009

Eggs

Juveniles

Eggs

Juveniles

millions

92
:
1
8
232
-
163
-
-
0
1
-
-
-
27
57
143
-

23
:
1
93
1,105
838
176
13
42
155
69
-
13
17
15
373
163
3

44
:
7
3
205
1,022
157
0
-
0
0
C
-
-
31
71
86
-

16
:
2
90
782
1,390
133
13
38
932
46
c
9
0
7
294
85
3

BG
DK
EE
IE
ES
FR
IT
CY
LV
LT
HU
MT
NL
RO
SK
FI
UK
SW

.  

Table 4 – Structure of the EU industry in 2008  

Hectares

000 Cubic Metres

km

Fish

Crusta-
ceans

Molluscs

Seaweed

Total

Fish

Crusta-
ceans

Molluscs

Seaweed

Total

Molluscs

BG
DK
EE
IE
ES
FR
IT
CY
LV
LT
HU
MT
NL
SK
FI
UK
SW

2,666
77
7,306
2,085
8,168
1,072
155,081
-
4,350
9,200
24,243
-
0
1,886
6,864
3,804
12

-
-
6
2
1,047
178
12,328
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

655
412
-
11,472
1,158
15,521
13,224
-
-
-
-
-
7,945
-
-
1,567
-

-
-
-
5
19
22
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

3,321
489
7,312
13,563
10,392
16,793
180,633
2
4,350
9,200
24,243
-
7,945
1,886
6,864
5,372
12

377
1,298
67
-
8,789
2,306
4,863
984
17
1,149
14
2,334
-
27
1,913
17,040
528

-
-
-
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
776
-
-

-
-
-
-
56
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

-
-
-
-
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

377
1,298
67
-
8,849
2,306
4,863
984
17
1,149
14
2,334
-
27
2,689
17,040
528

-
-
-
-
23,098
1,684
2,659
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,332

Special values:
-  not applicable or real zero or zero by default
0  less than half of the unit used
:  not available

EN 

15 

   EN