Aquaculture : overview for the EU : in-depth analysis.
Date: 2018-02-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services
Subjects: European Union, aquaculture, common fisheries policy, fishery product, fishing controls, fishing industry, fishing regulations

Aquaculture 

Overview for the EU

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
While fisheries harness the living natural resources of the seas, lakes and rivers, aquaculture consists of 
rearing aquatic animals or cultivating aquatic plants, and uses techniques to increase production in this 
environment, just as agriculture does for terrestrial animals and plants. 

As  part  of  the  fisheries  sector,  aquaculture  is  covered  by  the  common  fisheries  policy,  with  shared 
competence between the EU and its Member States. In particular, it benefits from the financial support 
of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Aquaculture activities are also conditioned by other EU 
policies, in particular those for the protection of the environment and animal health. 

This paper aims to give the reader an overview of the situation of aquaculture in the EU, its diversity 
and its challenges. It covers the policy conducted at European level to stimulate this sector of activity in 
Member States, as well as the outlook for development over the coming years (without, however, at 
this stage, taking into account the changes that will result from the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU). 

PE 608.655 
ISBN 978-92-846-1535-3 
doi:10.2861/650792 
QA-02-17-890-EN-N 

Original manuscript, in French, completed in July 2017. 
Translation completed in September 2017. 

Disclaimer and Copyright 

This  document  is  prepared  for,  and  addressed  to,  the  Members  and  staff  of  the  European 
Parliament as background material to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the 
document is the sole responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not 
be taken to represent an official position of the Parliament. 

Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source 
is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. 

© European Union, 2017. 

Photo credits: © auremar / Fotolia. 

eprs@ep.europa.eu  
http://www.eprs.ep.parl.union.eu (intranet) 
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank (internet) 
http://epthinktank.eu (blog) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aquaculture 

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Aquaculture  is  to  water  what  agriculture  is  to  land.  European  aquaculture  brings 
together a diverse group of activities, essentially consisting of the marine and freshwater 
production  of  fish  and  shellfish  for  human  consumption.  Three  quarters  of  this 
production, both in volume and value, comes from five Member States (in descending 
order of volume of production: Spain, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Greece). While 
the  production  of  aquatic  plants  and  animals  has  been  developing  in  a  continuous 
fashion around the world over several decades, aquaculture production in the EU has 
levelled off at between 1.2 and 1.3 million tonnes a year over the last ten years, barely 
accounting for 1.7% of production worldwide in 2014. 

Aquaculture requires a very high quality aquatic environment and must therefore also 
preserve it. Aquaculture practices are subject to the environmental protection policy and 
in  particular  the  protection  of  water  and  biodiversity.  As  an  animal-rearing  and  food-
production activity, aquaculture is conditioned by all the EU provisions on animal health 
and well-being – in particular including those combating diseases and rules on animal 
nutrition – as well as all the specific measures designed to ensure the quality and safety 
of aquaculture food products. While the European Union (EU) is the world’s largest fish 
importer,  these  high  standards  for  the  protection  of  the  environment,  animals  and 
consumers are seen as both an advantage and a challenge for European fish farmers.  

This  sector,  some  of  the  activities  of  which  are  still  relatively  new,  also  faces  major 
difficulties  of  access  to  aquatic  territories,  in  particular  in  coastal  areas,  as  well  as 
administrative  procedures,  at  national  and  local  level,  that  do  little  to  foster  its 
development. 

Falling under the common fisheries policy and with shared competence between the EU 
and its Member States, European aquaculture falls more particularly under the Common 
Market  Organisation  and  enjoys  EU  financial  support  through the  European Maritime 
and Fisheries Fund. The new common fisheries policy, which was defined in 2013, now 
requires Member States to put multi-annual national strategic plans into place for the 
sustainable  development  of  aquaculture.  It  puts  new  forms  of  governance  into  place 
through the institution of a specific advisory committee for this activity, and through the 
promotion  of  the  open  method  of  coordination  between  Member  States  to  address, 
jointly and voluntarily, some of the challenges facing this sector. 

As  a  blue  growth  sector,  aquaculture  benefits  from  the  EU  policy  for  technological 
development  and  innovation.  Forecasts  for  a  25%  increase  in  total  EU  aquaculture 
production  between  now  and  2020,  based  on  the  national  plans,  may  be  somewhat 
ambitious. Although the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund budget allocated by the 
Member States for the promotion of sustainable aquaculture over the 2014-2020 period 
is likely to exceed EUR 1.2 billion, project financing was significantly delayed. The actual 
realisation of such development forecasts will depend inter alia on the translation of the 
discourse  in  favour  of  administrative  simplification  into  reality  and  the  granting  or 
maintenance of access to space and water to companies in the sector. 

 
 
 
 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 4 

1.1. Aquaculture: definitions ......................................................................................... 5 

1.2. Between fisheries and agriculture .......................................................................... 6 

1.3. Aquaculture around the world - A few figures ....................................................... 6 

1.4. A snapshot of aquaculture activities in the European Union ................................. 7 

1.4.1. Diversity in species and production methods .............................................................. 7 

1.4.2. Activities of varying size between Member States ...................................................... 9 

1.4.3. Stagnating total production, but varying trends according to countries 
and sectors. .......................................................................................................................... 11 

2. EU policy and Aquaculture .......................................................................................... 13 

2.1. Aquaculture and the Common Fisheries Policy ................................................... 13 

2.2. Aquaculture and policies on farming ................................................................... 13 

2.2.1. Aquaculture and agriculture ...................................................................................... 13 

2.2.2. Aquaculture and health policies ................................................................................. 14 

2.3. Aquaculture and other sectoral policies .............................................................. 16 

2.3.1. Aquaculture and environmental protection .............................................................. 16 

2.3.2. Aquaculture and promotion of research and innovation .......................................... 16 

2.4. Many policies and as many challenges for European aquaculture ...................... 17 

3. What EU policy for aquaculture? ................................................................................ 19 

3.1. A relatively recent consideration ......................................................................... 19 

3.1.1. An initial strategy for European aquaculture in 2002 ................................................ 19 

3.1.2. Renewed momentum in 2009 in expectation of a reform of the CFP ....................... 19 

3.2. Aquaculture in the CFP today ............................................................................... 21 

3.2.1. An EU initiative orientated towards financial support and the organisation 
of markets ............................................................................................................................ 21 

3.2.2. Priorities defined by the Member States ................................................................... 22 

3.2.3. New methods of governance ..................................................................................... 23 

3.3. State of play .......................................................................................................... 24 

3.3.1. National strategic plans and aquaculture priorities of Member States’ 
operational programmes ..................................................................................................... 24 

3.3.2. A new Advisory Council for Aquaculture.................................................................... 26 

3.3.3. Commission coordination and promotion activities .................................................. 27 

4. Outlook ........................................................................................................................ 27 

5. Main references ........................................................................................................... 31 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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List of the main abbreviations used 

ACC:  

Advisory Council for Aquaculture 

ACFA:  

Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture 

CFP:  

Common Fisheries Policy 

CMO:  

Common Market Organisation 

EMFF: 

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

EU:  

European Union 

FAO:  

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations 

NGO:  

Non-governmental organisation 

STECF:  

Scientific Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Aquaculture 

1. Introduction 

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According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, global 
per capita fish consumption has now risen above 20 kg a year, which is double the level 
of the average annual consumption of the 1960s. 

Although  natural  marine  and  freshwater  productivity  is  limited  and  living  aquatic 
resources have been depleted by over-fishing, the increase in global availability of fish 
for human consumption is to an enormous extent linked to the significant and sustained 
development  of  aquaculture  practices  over  the  course  of  the  last  decades.  In  2014, 
aquaculture’s share in worldwide fish production for human consumption overtook that 
of fisheries for the first time1 (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1 - Share in supply of fish for food consumption from aquaculture and fisheries 

Data source: FAO, report, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016. 

Aquaculture activities are currently mainly concerned with the production of foodstuffs 
for  human  consumption.  It  should,  however,  be  remembered  that  some  aquaculture 
activities  are  not  concerned  with  food  production.  For  example,  seaweed  is  often 
presented as being of interest in various industrial areas (cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, 
bio-fuels, etc.). The rearing of microscopic shellfish (shrimp to be used as feed for young 
fish or for the carrying out of ecotoxicity tests) and marine worms (clam worms used as 
bait for fishing) are other examples of non-food aquaculture. The rearing of ornamental 
fish or fish  for  aquariums  or  corals  also  falls  under  the  definition  of  aquaculture.  This 
document essentially addresses the subject of aquaculture in terms of its use for food 
production2. 

1  Most of the world level data used in this report comes from the FAO’s 2016 report on the state of world 
fisheries and aquaculture and the corresponding press release. Some information has also been used 
from other FAO sources. 

2 

In this respect it should also be noted that the main indicators on aquaculture production for human 
consumption do not include production techniques that draw on aquaculture practices (such as the 
production of young fish in hatcheries and nurseries for resale to other aquaculture establishments for 
fattening - see below in this chapter). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
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1.1. Aquaculture: definitions 

According to the FAO, aquaculture is defined as:  

‘The farming of aquatic organisms in both inland and coastal areas, implying some form 
of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production and individual or corporate 
ownership of the stock being cultivated’3. 

The EU currently defines aquaculture as:  

‘the rearing or cultivation of aquatic organisms using techniques designed to increase the 
production of the organisms in question beyond the natural capacity of the environment; 
the organisms remain the property of a natural or legal person throughout the rearing or 
culture stage, up to and including harvesting’. 

This definition of aquaculture was specifically established in the Basic Regulation on the 
Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)4. This same definition is also applied, by cross reference, 
in the Regulation on the CFP market policy and the Regulation on the European Maritime 
and Fisheries Fund. 

Although no longer being used, the old definition of aquaculture developed for statistical 
purposes at European level in 1996, illustrates what aquaculture activities consist of in a 
more detailed way: 

‘Aquaculture means the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans 
and aquatic plants. Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to 
enhance  production,  such  as  regular  stocking,  feeding  and  protection  from  predators. 
Farming  also  implies  individual  or  corporate  ownership  of,  or  rights  resulting  from 
contractual arrangements to, the stock being cultivated. For statistical purposes, aquatic 
organisms which are harvested by an individual or corporate body which has owned them 
throughout their rearing period contribute to aquaculture, while aquatic organisms which 
are exploited by the public as a common property resource, with or without appropriate 
licences, are the harvest of fisheries’5. 

3  This definition was drawn up in the 1980s in order to help in the collection of statistics in the sector. 
The French version of the FAO term portal only gives this short version of the definition of aquaculture. 
However, there is a more extensive English version of this definition which is used in some specific FAO 
publications  and  which  gives  details  on  the  aquatic  animals  concerned  and  the  rearing  processes 
involved and associated activities: 
‘The farming of aquatic organisms including  fish,  molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming 
implies  some  sort  of  intervention  in  the  rearing  process  to  enhance  production,  such  as  regular 
stocking,  feeding,  protection  from  predators,  etc.  Farming  also  implies  individual  or  corporate 
ownership  of  the  stock  being  cultivated,  the  planning,  development  and  operation  of  aquaculture 
systems, sites, facilities and practices, and the production and transport.’ 

4  Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. This definition was laid down for the first time in the context of the CFP 
in 2006 as part of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) for the period 
2007-2013. The different EU regulations currently define aquaculture in this same way, as, for example, 
is  the  case  with  Regulation  (EC)  No  762/2008  on  the  collection  of  EU  statistical  data  in  this  area. 
Moreover,  it  was  in  the  realm  of  statistics  that  the  EU  first  formally  defined  this  activity,  in  quite 
comparable terms to those developed by the FAO (see note below). 

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

production. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
 
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1.2. Between fisheries and agriculture 

Aquaculture  consists  of  the  rearing  of  aquatic  animals  and  the  cultivation  of  aquatic 
vegetables6. While farmers need access to land, fish farmers need access to freshwater 
or saltwater. Aquaculture can be carried out both inland (lakes, rivers, ponds, artificial 
ponds, etc.) and in coastal areas, on the foreshore or in open sea, off the coast. 

Like in agriculture, the actions of fish farmers aim to increase the natural production of 
the environment. Aquaculture activities require the best possible production methods of 
living organisms to be mastered: reproduction or multiplication of animals and plants, 
their requirements for growth and nutritional supplements, control of disease and other 
pathogens, harvesting processes, product selection, etc. As in agriculture, fish farmers 
are  also  able  to  exercise  their  property  rights  over  their  production  throughout  the 
rearing or cultivation period. 

Thus, aquaculture is to fishing what agriculture is, for terrestrial organisms, to hunting 
and gathering. However, aquaculture is similar to fishing with respect to the nature of 
the  living  organisms  involved,  the  upstream  processing  activities  and  markets,  in 
particular  for  products  for  human  consumption.  Therefore,  particularly  at  EU  level, 
aquaculture is often addressed in general terms as being part of the ‘fishing sector’, or 
in other words the ‘fish sector’ (as well as other aquatic products). 

References to aquaculture production activities are often grouped according to area or 
the nature of the aquatic environment, namely marine (saltwater) or inland aquaculture 
(freshwater).  They  may  also  be  subdivided  into  types  of  production:  seaweed,  fish, 
shellfish, crustaceans, frogs7, etc. 

1.3. Aquaculture around the world - A few figures 

The  aquaculture  sector  has  been  growing  rapidly  globally  over  recent  decades.  The 
average  annual  growth  between  2005  and  2014  was  5.8%.  This  followed  on  from  an 
average annual increase of 7.2% between 1995 and 20048. 

In  2014,  world  animal  aquaculture  production  totalled  almost  74  million  tonnes 
(including around 50 million tonnes of fish), with an overall first-sale value of USD 160 
billion.  Almost  90%  of  this  global  fish  production,  molluscs  and  other  farmed  aquatic 
animals came from Asia (see Figure 2). 

6  Aquatic plants include both plants and seaweed. Seaweed is a distinct branch of the plant world and 
stands out for the absence of certain tissue characteristics (such as roots, leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, 
etc.). Some species of seaweed are microscopic (single-cell). However, the seaweed commonly known 
as  ‘blue  seaweed’  (such  as  spirulina)  belong  to  the  group  of  cyanobacteria  and  are  not  generally 
classified as seaweed. 

7  Amphibians  are  often  categorised  as  aquatic  animals,  in  particular  by  the  World  Organisation  for 

Animal Health (OIE). 

8  Source FAO: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016 report. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
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Figure 2 – World aquaculture production (in tonnes) 

Data source: FAO, report, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016. 

Inland fish farming carried out in inland ponds is by far the most common aquaculture 
activity globally. The species farmed vary by continent and country. Fish represent more 
than 360 of the 580 odd different species, groups of species and hybrid species used in 
aquaculture  and  listed  by  the  FAO.  Mollusc  (including  shellfish)  farming  involves  a 
hundred different species and crustacean farming more than 60. 

Aquatic  plants  (a  little  less  than  40  species,  the  large  majority  of  which  are  marine 
seaweed)  are  currently  farmed  in  around  50  countries.  In  2014,  total  aquatic  plant 
production was in the region of 27 million tonnes, with a value of USD 5.6 billion. 

China  is  the  largest  global  aquaculture  producer,  alone  accounting  for  three  fifths  of 
world production in 2014 (more than 45 million tonnes of animals and over 13 million 
tonnes of plants from aquaculture). It is followed by Indonesia (14.3 million tonnes in 
total, of which 10 million tonnes of aquatic plants), India (4.8 million tonnes), Vietnam 
(3.4  million  tonnes),  the  Philippines  (2.3  million  tonnes)  and  Bangladesh  (1.9  million 
tonnes). 

Norway is the eight largest global producer, producing over 1.33 million tonnes of fish in 
2014  (or  around  2%  of  world  farmed  aquatic  animals  tonnage).  As  the  largest 
aquaculture-producing  country  on  the  European  continent,  Norway  alone  produces 
more than the 28 EU Member States put together, whose combined production was in 
the region of 1.27 million tonnes in 2014. In individual terms, Spain, the United Kingdom 
and France are 22nd, 24th and 25th respectively in world rankings. 

1.4. A snapshot of aquaculture activities in the European Union 

1.4.1. Diversity in species and production methods 
A very diverse sector, European aquaculture is mostly orientated towards the farming of 
aquatic animals, mainly for human consumption. Aquatic plant farming is as yet quite 
undeveloped. 

Most aquaculture production activities in the EU are orientated towards the farming of 
around ten main categories of saltwater fish (salmon, sea bass, sea bream, turbot, etc.), 
freshwater fish (trout, carp, sturgeon, etc.) and bivalve molluscs (mussels, oysters, clams, 
etc.).  Some  of  these  categories  include  several  species  (for  example,  at  least  eight 

 
 
 
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different species of sturgeon are reared), the characteristics of which sometimes differ 
quite significantly in terms of farming or markets. 

The  EU  farmed-fish  industry  covers  an  even  more  diverse  range  of  species.  Some 
producers, for example, farm European saltwater fish, such as sole or other white fish, 
while other aquaculture farms have begun rearing freshwater fish from other continents, 
such as tilapia or different species of catfish and have even specialised in the production 
of artificial hybrids of these species (which are sold in the form of fillets with a registered 
commercial name). 

Other aquaculture activities consist in putting individual fish that have been caught alive 
into cages or ponds and then feeding them for a certain time to fatten them; this activity 
is  known  as  capture-based  aquaculture  and  essentially  involves  species  whose 
reproduction cycle cannot yet be fully mirrored. This is the case in the EU for two species 
in particular: eels and bluefin tuna. 

Apart  from  the  very  wide  variety  of  species,  aquaculture  methods  of  production  and 
farming systems can be very diverse. Filter feeding shellfish are farmed on the foreshore 
or on open water, directly on the seabed, in lanterns (net enclosures) or on lines. Fish 
can be confined in natural or artificial pools or ponds, in floating cages in lakes or the sea, 
etc.  

Aquaculture activities take place using all possible farming practices, from extensive to 
the most intensive. Some forms of extensive aquaculture or farming in natural lakes or 
pools have been going on for decades or even centuries and have contributed to forming 
the characteristics and landscapes of certain lake and coastal areas. Other aquaculture 
activities  developed  more  recently,  due  in  particular  to  an  increased  mastering  of 
farming  techniques.  Fish  and  shellfish  are  farmed  in  artificial  lakes,  inside  buildings, 
entirely  cut  off  from  the  natural  environment,  with  fully  managed  water  circulation 
systems  (quality,  temperature,  dissolved  oxygen,  etc.)9.  In  many  cases,  natural 
reproduction  and  feed  are  replaced  by  managed  methods  with  genetically  selected 
reproduction and managed feeding, with specifically produced compound feed that is 
formulated  for  each  stage  of  growth  and  using  the  most  modern  and  innovative 
techniques  for  monitoring  breeding  performance,  environmental  control,  disease 
prevention by vaccination, etc. 

9  For further information, see for example the educational documents drawn up by institutions such as 
the European Commission (main species and methods of production) and the FAO (aquaculture species 
and technologies). The sector’s European or national professional organisations for fish or shellfish also 
communicate on the presentation of the fish farming profession and the main methods used or the 
history of shellfish farming and the main species farmed (oysters, mussels, clams, etc.). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
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Polyploid aquatic animals and transgenic fish  

Some farming techniques used, for example, in trout or oyster farming enable the production of 
triploid10  aquatic  animals.  Such  triploid  fish  or  shellfish  are  generally  sterile  and  do  not 
reproduce. This can have certain advantages in terms of growth, availability of products in all 
seasons and reducing certain environmental risks (triploid fish have practically zero chance of 
reproducing in the wild and therefore of crossing with wild species if they escape). 

Like  some  terrestrial  plants  and  animals,  some  fish  species  have  also  been  the  subject  of 
transgenic experiments, the first of which occurred in the middle of the 1980s. At the beginning 
of the 2010s, an analysis of the scientific literature showed that around thirty different species 
of fish had been used for the purposes of genetic modification. This analysis also mentioned the 
existence of potential transgenic lines for five of these species (carp, trout, salmon, tilapia and 
zebra  fish,  a  small  species  not  used  for  consumption  but  for  experimental  and  ornamental 
reasons) that were likely to be developed for later commercialisation11. 

In  2015,  the  US  health  authorities  gave  the  green  light  to  the  first  transgenic  fish  for  human 
consumption: a genetically modified salmon with  a much faster rate  of growth than ordinary 
salmon.  Reared  in  an  enclosed  and  confined  system,  this  transgenic  salmon,  according  to  its 
developers12, reaches a sufficient size to be sold after 18 months, while around three years is 
needed for a conventional salmon. The examination of the file requesting authorisation for this 
transgenic salmon was extended for almost 20 years and caused a great deal of controversy. This 
same GM salmon was then approved in 2016 by the Canadian government13. Although transgenic 
salmon farming has thus become a reality on the other side of the Atlantic, a few more years will 
probably be needed before such a product’s actual impact on the North American market can be 
evaluated and it can be seen if this type of aquaculture is to become a lasting economic reality. 
The  development  of  a  transgenic  fish  offer  on  the  European  market  in  the  short  term  is 
unrealistic, even if we are only to consider the applicable European legislation in this respect, not 
to mention the lack of any such current demand. 

1.4.2. Activities of varying size between Member States  
Aquaculture production in the EU totals a little less than 1.3 million tonnes a year, with 
a  first-sale  value  of  over  EUR  4  billion,  the  great  majority  of  which  is  for  human 
consumption (a proportion of the freshwater fish produced is also sold for fish stocking 
or leisure fishing activities)14. 

10 

In many living beings, there are two sets of chromosomes containing the genetic information of cells 
(other than reproductive cells): these species or individuals are known as diploids. In certain cases, 
there are three sets of chromosomes or more in cells and these individuals are known as triploids, or 
more  generally  polyploids.  Their  genetic  pool  is  not  modified  by  the  artificial  introduction  of  genes 
belonging to another species and these polyploid individuals are not genetically modified organisms 
(GMO)  as  such.  Thus,  many  agricultural  or  horticultural  plant  species  are  polyploid.  In  the  animal 
kingdom, while polyploidy is not viable in all members of a mammalian species, it is possible for certain 
species of fish and shellfish. Effectively applied in trout for several decades, triploidy was developed 
for oysters in the early 2000s. For other significant aquaculture species, such as salmon for example, 
the production of triploid individuals has not (yet) been developed commercially to a significant extent. 

11  Source: DOGMATIS project (conference from 22-23 November 2010 – unpublished). 
12  See the site of the company concerned. 
13  See in particular the websites of the competent authorities in the United States and Canada. 
14  The  data  used  in  this  document  does  not  include  production  at  intermediate  rearing  stage.  More 

detailed data is available in institutional and professional publications, in particular: 
–  Facts and Figures on the CFP – basic data on the Common Fisheries Policy  – 2016 Edition (2013 

data) - European Commission, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries; 

–  Agriculture,  forestry  and  fishery  statistics  —  2016  Edition  (2014  data  and  general  overview)  – 

European Commission, EUROSTAT, December 2016; 

 
 
 
                                                      
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Shellfish  and  crustaceans  make  up  around  45%  of  the  volume  of  EU  aquaculture 
production and fish 55%. Three fifths of these fish are from marine fish farms. A very 
large majority of the EU’s aquaculture production is made up of around ten groups of 
species:  97%  of  the  tonnage  and  95%  of  the  value  lies  in  the  production  of  oysters, 
mussels and clams (for shellfish); trout and carp (for freshwater fish); and salmon, sea 
bass, sea bream, turbot and bluefin tuna (for marine fish farming)15. Mussels alone consist 
of around a third of EU aquaculture tonnage, but only make up a tenth of total value of 
products. Salmon contributes by far the most value in EU aquaculture (see Figure 3). 

Figure 3 – Principle aquaculture species in the EU (2013) 

Data source: European Commission, Facts and Figures on the CFP, basic data on the Common Fisheries Policy, 2016 
Edition. 
Illustration and photo credits: Illustrations by J. Frye, A. Shlain, Y. Luck, Bmijnlieff, Laymik, Dong Ik Seo and 
Mondokinetic (Noun Project) 

75%  of  the  tonnage  of  EU  aquaculture  production  is  from  five  Member  States. 
Aquaculture activities are varied even if the main sectors differ by country. Spain is the 
largest  aquaculture  producer  in the EU  in terms of  volumes  (285 000  tonnes  in 2014, 
more  than  70%  of  which  are  mussels),  followed  in  descending  order  by  the  United 
Kingdom (where Salmon represents over 80% of national tonnage), France (oysters and 
mussels make up more than 70% of the volume of products), Italy (more than 60% made 
up of mussels and clams) and Greece (where sea bream and sea bass made up over 80% 
of  the  104 000  tonnes  produced  in  2014).  In  terms  of  total  value  of  aquaculture 
production, the United Kingdom comes out on top (EUR 953 million in 2014), followed 
by  France,  Spain,  Greece  and  then  Italy  (EUR  366  million  in  2014).  These  same  five 
Member States also contribute three quarters of the value of EU aquaculture products. 

In some other Member States, the great majority of aquaculture activities are orientated 
towards a single type of production, often freshwater production. Thus, trout farming 

–  Economic  report  of  EU  aquaculture  sector  (STECF-16-19)  –  European  Commission,  Scientific, 

Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, October 2016; 

–  European  aquaculture  production  report  2007-2015  –  Federation  of  European  Aquaculture 
Producers (FEAP). NB: this professional organisation only groups together national associations of 
fish farmers; it includes members of European countries from outside the EU, in particular Norway. 
15  Tuna aquaculture is centred around the fattening of fish from the wild that are put in cages after being 

caught alive through fishing (capture-based aquaculture – see also Chapter 1.4). 

 
 
 
 
                                                      
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dominates in Denmark, where it represents a significant activity (38 000 tonnes in 2014), 
while carp farming makes up more than 90% of aquaculture in the Czech Republic. 

In the EU, aquaculture accounts for approximately 80 000 jobs but the organisation of 
companies differs greatly depending on the sector involved. The salmon farming industry 
is  focused  and  integrated,  and  production  is  essentially  carried  out  by  multinational 
companies, some of which are listed, that vertically integrate the different professions 
specialised  in  aquaculture  (selection  of  breeding  stock  and  hatcheries,  fattening, 
factories for the production of feed for fish, etc.). While there are also some medium-
sized aquaculture companies, especially in the sea bass and sea bream sector, almost 
90% of the 14 000 to 15 000 aquaculture companies in the EU are micro-enterprises (less 
than 10 employees). 

1.4.3. Stagnating total production, but varying trends according to countries and 
sectors. 
EU aquaculture production underwent continuous growth in the 1990s (3 to 4% per year 
on average), but this trend was reversed in the first half of the 2000s. For more than ten 
years or so now, the volume of EU aquaculture production has remained stable overall, 
even  if  there  has  been  an  increase  in  total  sale  value.  The  28  Member  States  now 
contribute just 1.7% of world annual production in tonnage (3.4% of value). 

Figure 4 – Aquaculture production in the EU (in tonnage and in value), in the five main 
Member State producers, and in Norway, between 2000 and 2015 

Data source: European Commission, Eurostat, Agriculture, forestry and fishery statistics, 2016 Edition. 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
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This general stagnation at EU level over the last ten years or so results, however, from 
various  sectoral  and  country  trends,  with  annual  variations  that  are  sometimes  very 
marked from one to the next when they involve a particular type of rearing or a dominant 
sector among the main Member State producers16. 

Thus, aquaculture in the EU has undergone significant development in terms of marine 
fish farming in cold or warmer waters, namely salmon (in particular in the UK), as well as 
sea bass and sea bream (particularly in Greece) — though production growth in this last 
sector  has  also  been  interspersed  with  periods  of  recession  and  economic  crisis. 
Production from traditional freshwater fish farming, particularly trout, is falling slowly 
but steadily, in spite of the fact that production remains stable or has even increased 
slightly in some Member States. For the last ten years or so, oyster farming has had to 
deal with high mortality rates caused by viral diseases, which have had a major impact 
on production levels and the viability of companies and jobs in this sector. Since 2014, 
massive mortalities have also been reported in the mussel farming sector17. 

Between 2012 and 2014, the number of equivalent full-time jobs fell by 5%, which the 
Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) considers may reflect 
a  trend  towards  greater  specialisation  and  fewer  part-time  jobs  in  aquaculture,  even 
though part-time jobs are still a significant component of jobs in this sector. Over the 
2008-2014  period,  employment fell  by  more than 17%  overall.  While  STECF  members 
recognise  that  this  decline  is  negative  in  social  terms  and  in  terms  of  the  role  of 
aquaculture in people’s lives, they also see it being positive in terms of the increase in 
productivity and competitiveness of the companies in the sector. 

Organic aquaculture represents between 4 and 5% of EU aquaculture production but its 
performance is not optimal18. Other aquaculture practices — such as aquaponics which 
combines fish and plant farming19, or the farming of new species that can be fed with 
plants  —  are  sometimes  seen  as  offering  a  sustainable  development  model  or 
perspectives  for  growth.  However,  such  production  practices  are,  at  this  stage,  still 
marginal  in  the  EU.  Apart  from  aspects  relating  to  technological  innovation  and  the 
implementation  of  production  systems,  the  development  of  these  new  forms  of 
aquaculture also requires that products be positioned in a meaningful way on the market 
for European consumers. 

16  More detailed information on the national aquaculture situation and changes in Member States and/or 
different types of production can be consulted in the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for 
Fisheries  (STECF)  reports  on  the  economic  situation  of  the  aquaculture  sector  (STECF-16-19).  The 
European aquaculture productions 2007-2015 report illustrates the changes in fish farming production 
in the different European countries. FAO fact sheets are also available for over one hundred countries 
and provide an overview of the national farmed-fish industry. These fact sheets are regularly updated 
and are useful sources of data, especially when it comes to the historic development of productions. 
17  See for example the epidemiological bulletin on animal health and nutrition, No 67, from the French 

Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety ANSES. 

18  EU  Organic  Aquaculture,  May  2017  /  European  Commission,  publications  by  the  European  Market 

Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA). 

19  See for example the INAPRO project or the discussions on aquaponics in the report of the conference 

‘Tapping into blue growth: the way forward for European aquaculture’. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
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2. EU policy and Aquaculture 

Due to its various facets, the aquaculture industry is more or less specifically affected by 
several EU policies and regulations depending on their fields of application. 

2.1. Aquaculture and the Common Fisheries Policy 

On the basis of treaties20, the European Union has developed a Common Agriculture and 
Fisheries Policy with shared competence between Member States in both these areas 
(except for marine biological resource conservation)21. 

Its  methods  of  production  make  aquaculture  comparable  to  agriculture  and  in  this 
respect it could fall within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy. However, 
its products mean that aquaculture is part of the same sector and the same processing 
and marketing systems and market as fisheries products. Thus, following a logic of the 
‘chain of value of fish’, the Union has chosen to treat aquaculture more specifically under 
the Common fisheries policy (CFP). 

Therefore,  under  its  new  Basic  Regulation,  the  CFP  seeks  to  ‘ensure  that  fishing  and 
aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable in the long term, and are managed 
in such a way as to produce economic and social benefits and jobs and to help ensure 
food security’22. As an integral part of the CFP, aquaculture also benefits from the EU’s 
financial  support  for  this  policy  through  the  European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund 
(EMFF) and measures on the common organisation of the markets (COM) for fisheries 
and  aquaculture  products  (these  aspects  are  developed  in  more  detail  later  in  this 
document, in particular in Chapter 3.2). 

2.2. Aquaculture and policies on farming 

2.2.1. Aquaculture and agriculture 
Some instruments developed as part of the Common Agricultural Policy, in particular the 
Food Quality policy23, are also applicable to aquaculture. Aquaculture products can thus 
benefit  from  legal  protection  under  different  quality  designations,  in  particular 
protected  geographical  indications  (PGI),  protected  designations  of  origin  (PDO)  and 
traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG). Examples of aquaculture PGIs include the ‘Black 
Forest  trout’  (Germany),  ‘Trentino  trout’  (Italy),  ‘Scottish  farmed  salmon’  (United 
Kingdom) and ‘Huîtres Marennes Oléron’ oysters (France). ‘Bouchots mussels’ (France) 
are listed as a TSG, while the ‘Bouchot mussels from the Baie du Mont Saint Michel’ have 

20  See Title III (Agriculture and Fisheries) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), 
according to which ‘The Union shall define and implement a common agriculture and fisheries policy’. 
Moreover, it is also stated therein that ‘agricultural products means products from the soil, livestock 
farming and fisheries and products from first-stage processing’ and that ‘references to the common 
agricultural policy or to agriculture, and the use of the term “agricultural”, shall be understood as also 
referring to fisheries, having regard to the specific characteristics of this sector’. Aquaculture products 
are  therefore  agricultural  products,  and  activities  related  to  aquaculture  are  also  covered  by  the 
agricultural objectives of the Treaty. 

21  This section of the CFP falls under the exclusive competence of the Union. 
22  See Article 2, paragraph 1 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the CFP. 
23  See in particular the web page dedicated to the EU agricultural product quality policy of the European 

Commission (Directorate General for Agriculture and rural development). 

 
 
 
                                                      
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PDO  status,  just  like  inter  alia  the  ‘Pohořelice  carp’  (Czech  Republic)  or  the  ‘Galician 
mussel’ (Spain)24. 

By analogy, aquaculture can also qualify as being part of the organic sector, in which case 
farming  activities  and  cultivation  in  aquatic  environments,  as  well  as  all  elements  of 
marketing, labelling and control in this respect, fall under the EU policy for ‘organic’25 
production,  whose  framework  regulation  applies  to  agricultural  products,  ‘including 
aquaculture products’26. 

2.2.2. Aquaculture and health policies 
In the same way as farming of terrestrial animals, aquaculture practices in the EU must 
ensure a high level of health and well-being of farmed aquatic animals. Aquaculture is 
thus subject to the EU Animal Health Policy, in particular for the control and combating 
of  contagious  animal  diseases.  The  ‘animal  health’  package,  which  includes  specific 
provisions for aquaculture animals, is organised around a complex system of registration 
and licensing of farms, measures and programmes for the monitoring of and fight against 
specific  contagious  diseases,  sanitary  certifications  for  the  movement  of  animals  and 
products  in  the  EU  and internationally,  and  controls,  inspections  and  penalties in this 
respect27. The fight against these diseases may also qualify for financial support from the 
European Union28. Aquaculture is also subject to the EU policy on the well-being of farm 
animals (including during transport or slaughter) and the general legislation relating to 
this also covers fish and amphibians. 

24  All food products that have quality designations (or for which a registration request as such has been 
made), as well as their specificities can be consulted in the  DOOR database (Database of Origin and 
Registration – see in particular Class 1.7: Fresh fish, molluscs and crustaceans). 

25  For  more  extensive  information  on  organic  production,  see  Organic  production  and  the  European 
Union, EPRS, European Parliament, February 2015, chapters 3.1.3 and 3.1.4 of which are on organic 
aquaculture, or consult the web page on the European Commission (Directorate General for Agriculture 
and rural development) website on organic farming. 

26  See footnote 20 on the definition of agricultural products in the TFEU. Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on 
organic production and labelling of organic produce, for which the implementing rules (Regulation (EC) 
No 889/2008) were supplemented by specific provisions for organic aquaculture animal production in 
2009, is the subject of a proposal for a general revision (procedure 2014/0100(COD)). 

27  The  EU  Animal  Health  Policy  has  just  undergone  a  thorough  review  and  now  falls  under  a  new 
framework of measures defined by Regulation (EU) No 2016/429 of the European Parliament and the 
Council  on  transmissible  animal  diseases.  This  new  regulation  covers  both  terrestrial  and  aquatic 
species. It repeals, in just under four years from now (21 April 2021), several current legal texts on the 
subject, in particular Directive 2006/88/EC which specifically relates to animal health in aquaculture 
and the prevention of and fight against certain aquatic animal diseases and which involves the adoption 
of new detailed measures between now and then. For further information, see also the corresponding 
Commission website (Directorate General for Health and Food Safety). 

28  See in particular the European Commission website on national veterinary programmes. However, as 
with  past  years,  aquaculture  diseases  do  not  feature  in  the  first  two  financing  priorities  for  2017. 
Moreover, any co-financing of measures to fight against certain aquaculture diseases falls under the 
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, on the condition that it has been programmed beforehand by 
the Member States for this purpose (EU financing for health programmes to fight against the diseases 
of  terrestrial  animals  comes  under  a  specific  regulation  and  ad  hoc  financing  decisions  by  the 
Commission, on the basis of an evaluation of the programmes combating these diseases). 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
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Contagious diseases in aquaculture subject to control measures in the EU 
The  appearance  of  certain  contagious  diseases  in  farmed  animals  is  likely  to  have  significant 
economic repercussions in the sector or be prejudicial to the populations of wild animals in the 
environment.  To  prevent  or  restrict  such  impacts  in  the  case  of  aquatic  animals,  Directive 
2006/8827 identifies a certain number diseases known as being alien to the EU and indigenous 
diseases that are all the same absent in several Member States and it provides for measures for 
the monitoring and prevention of the introduction of such diseases into disease-free areas, as 
well  as  measures  combating  or  eradicating  them  in  the  event  of  the  appearance  of  such 
outbreaks. 
The list of indigenous diseases includes viral infections in fish (septicaemia, viral haemorrhaging, 
infectious  haematopoiesis  necrosis,  Koi carp  herpes  virus,  infectious  salmonoid  anaemia)  and 
crustaceans (white spot disease), as well as parasitic infections in oysters and mussels (marteilia 
refringens,  bonamia  ostreae).  The  list  of  alien  diseases  includes  a  fish  virus  (epizootic 
haematopoiesis  necrosis,  in  trout  in  particular),  two  shrimp  viruses  (Taura  syndrome  and 
yellowhead disease) and three parasitic oyster infections (bonamia exitiosa, perkinsus marinus, 
microcytos mackini). 

The fight against animal diseases also covers the emergence of new health issues in aquaculture 
for new diseases, as was the case, for example, with the appearance of abnormal mortality levels 
in oysters from 2007-200829. 

Beyond  the  obligatory  fight  against  certain  diseases  that  are  legally  considered  to  be 
contagious, the indispensable monitoring of the state of health of fish farmers’ animals 
can require, where appropriate, recourse to veterinary care, including the preventative 
use of specific vaccines for specific diseases and even recourse to medicinal treatments.  

As with terrestrial domestic animals, this implies compliance with EU legislation on the 
authorisation and use of veterinary medicine and medicated feed, where appropriate, 
which aims to ensure the quality, efficiency and safety of animals, the environment and 
users and consumers of food from such animals.  

As a farming activity, pisciculture is also heavily dependent on legislation applicable to 
animal  feed,  in  particular  in  terms  of  composition  (sub-products  from  animals,  in 
particular flour and fish oils and additives) and any contaminants (dioxins, heavy metals, 
banned substances, etc.) in order to ensure the protection of consumers of foodstuffs 
from these farmed animals or in order to comply with organic food regulations30. More 
generally, as a food-producing activity, aquaculture must guarantee a high level of food 
security in application of the EU policy on the subject31, the legislative framework for 
which also includes, in certain cases, specific measures targeting certain aquatic products 
- for example to monitor risks relating to the possible presence of viruses or pathogenic 
bacteria in filter feeding shellfish and their breeding areas32. 

29  This  abnormal  mortality  level,  associated  with  a  viral  infection,  required  measures  to  be  taken  at 
national and European level (see for example the Commission Implementing Decision 2014/250/EU), 
their monitoring and evaluation on the basis of work done by groups of experts, from the European 
Reference Mollusc Laboratory and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). 

30  See for example Regulation (EU) No 2017/893 authorising the use of processed animal protein derived 
from insects in feed for aquaculture animals or Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2017/838 on feed for 
certain organic aquaculture animals. 

31  For  further  information  on  these  various  policies,  see  in  particular  the  European  Commission 

Directorate General Health and Food Safety website (veterinary medicines, food safety, etc.). 

32  As a simple illustration, see for example Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 on the organisation of official 

checks, and in particular its Annex II, as well as the footnote on page 34. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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2.3. Aquaculture and other sectoral policies 

Aquaculture companies are an industry. They are thus subject to lots of legislation, more 
often  than  not  in  a  non-specific  way,  whether  it  be  trading  rules  or  State  grants  for 
example33 or indeed environmental policy or innovation and research support policies. 

2.3.1. Aquaculture and environmental protection 
Environmental protection is a prerequisite for aquaculture. Aquaculture activities cannot 
exist  without  adequate  protection  of  the  natural  resources  on  which  they  depend. 
Polluted water or water of insufficient quality is unfit for farming, or even the survival, 
of aquatic animals. For shellfish farming, the water must not only be of optimal quality 
to ensure food security34, but it must also be sufficiently productive in terms of food. The 
quality  of  the  environment  also  has  an  impact  on  the  initial  quality  of  certain  raw 
materials that  go  into  the  composition  of feed for fish  or  crustacean farming  (marine 
contaminants in flour or fish oils for example). 

While aquaculture activities depend on a high-quality aquatic environment, they must 
also  be  practised  in  a  way  that  is  compatible  with  the  high  level  of  environmental 
protection that the EU promotes, and comply with many requirements in this respect. 
This  is  particularly  the  case  for  EU  legislation  on  environmental  impact  studies,  the 
quality of fresh or marine water (organic pollution, use of biocidal products, etc.) or again 
the  protection  of  nature  and  biodiversity35,  including  in  this  the  fight  against  non-
indigenous invasive species. In this respect, aquaculture is the only economic activity for 
which the EU has developed specific sectoral legislation and with which all fish farmers 
must  comply  if  they  envisage  farming  alien  aquatic  species or  simply  species  that  are 
naturally locally absent in the area in which they carry out their activities36. 

2.3.2. Aquaculture and promotion of research and innovation 
Even if aquaculture is a more recent activity than agriculture, its development, like that 
of agriculture, is highly conditioned by success in research and innovation. Apart from 
progress  in  the  areas  of  biology  and  zootechnics,  technological  innovations  have 
contributed  to  the  development  of  aquatic  farming  in  many  of  its  forms  (intensive 
farming,  farming  in  insulated  buildings,  in  artificial  lakes  and  ponds,  with  water 
recirculation and treatment for example). Innovations in the blue economy also enable 
the  development  of  forms  of  aquaculture  to  be  envisaged  in  maritime areas  far  from 
coastlines,  in  environments  that  are  less  protected  and  subject  to  sometimes  very 
challenging marine conditions. 

More than EUR 103 million was thus contributed by the EU under the previous Seventh 
Research  Framework  Programme  (2007-2013)  in  support  of  aquaculture  research 

33  This  includes  the  carrying  out  of  anti-dumping  surveys  and  resulting  measures  to  be  taken  (see  for 

example Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/309). 

34  See in particular the Directive on the quality required of shellfish waters (2006/113/EC). 
35  For  further  information  on  these  different  policies,  see  in  particular  the  European  Commission 

(Directorate General Environment) website on: 
–  environmental  assessments,  and  in  particular  the  Directive  on  the  assessment  of  the  effects  of 
certain projects on the environment (2011/92/CE), which covers inter alia intensive fish farming; 
the  protection  of  fresh  and  marine  water,  in  particular  the  Water  Framework  Directive 
(2000/60/EC) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC); 
 the protection of nature and biodiversity, and in particular the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) and 
the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), and the Natura 2000 network. 

– 

– 

36  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  708/2007  concerning  the  use  of  alien  and  locally  absent  species  in 

aquaculture. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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projects, to cover multiple priorities: essential biological functions, new species, animal 
health,  microbiological  checks,  shellfish  farming,  genomics,  ecosystem  approach, 
environmental impact reduction, new technologies, etc. Several research and innovation 
projects in the field of aquaculture have already begun under the Horizon 2020 (2014-
2020) programme, in particular regarding the priorities of ‘blue growth’ and ‘sustainable 
food safety’37. 

2.4. Many policies and as many challenges for European aquaculture 

Like  any  other  industry,  European  aquaculture  must  comply  with  Union  policies  and 
regulatory  requirements  as  well  as  the  societal  demands  of  European  citizens,  at  the 
same  time  as  operating  in  a  highly  competitive  market  economics  environment.  The 
issues and challenges facing the sector are many and complex38. 

The growing demand for food products of aquatic origin, the size of the European fish 
market39, European expertise and the progress made in aquaculture technologies are all 
advantages  for  European  aquaculture,  as  are  the  demanding  requirements  for 
environmental  protection,  health,  and  food  quality  of  productions  in  the  Union.  But 
these  demanding  EU  requirements  also  entail  additional  constraints  and  costs,  in 
particular in comparison to imported products, in a context of globalisation of trade and 
strong  competition,  the  financial  crisis  and  other  economic  challenges  in  this  sector, 
some  of  which  are  more  specific  to  aquatic  animal  farming  activities  or  the  type  of 
aquaculture involved (see box below). 

Aquaculture,  particularly  in  some  of  its new forms  of development,  is  also faced  with 
new societal demands, sometimes even image problems. The lack of information and 
knowledge of the overall realities of aquaculture among the public or governments, at 
different levels, can further complicate the difficulties that aquaculture companies face 
in accessing space and water and in establishing themselves in different areas. 

The  various  policies  that  apply  to  aquaculture  can  therefore  represent  just  as  many 
obstacles  or  opportunities  for  aquaculture  companies  in  the  EU,  depending  on  the 
degree of adaptation of these policies to the specifics of this economic activity and on 
the  level  of  coherence  between  the  various  regulatory  requirements,  at  all  levels  of 
intervention by governments. The development of aquaculture in the EU also depends 
on the specific policies led in different parts of the EU and the practical consequences of 
these for operators, in particular in terms of administrative requirements. 

37  As an illustration, see a presentation on European financing of aquaculture research, or some examples 
of projects underway on animal health in aquaculture (‘ParaFishControl‘) or on the question of access 
to space and water for the development of aquaculture (‘Aquaspace’, ‘Tapas’). 

38  There is a great deal of literature on the difficulties and challenges facing European  aquaculture and 
these problems are addressed in several sources mentioned in this document (see inter alia Chapter 
3.1 and certain studies that are quoted from). 

39  The EU Fish Market, 2016 edition, European Commission, European Market Observatory for Fisheries 

and Aquaculture Products (EMOFAP). 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
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Some examples of the challenges facing European aquaculture 

The farming of aquatic animals is an activity that is subject to particular economic constraints as 
well as political and societal demands that can sometimes be difficult to reconcile. 

- In aquaculture the farming and production cycles are very long. Depending on the species, at 
least  a  year  and  a  half  to  three  years  are  generally  required  before  fish  or  shellfish  reach  a 
sufficient  size  to  be  sold  for  human  consumption  (even  eight  to  ten  years  for  sturgeon), 
compared to just a few weeks or months for poultry farming for example. Meeting operational 
costs over such a long period before enjoying the income from the sale of products represents a 
particularly  significant  financial  challenge,  something  that  is  especially  challenging  for  new 
operators  in this  sector.  This  investment  is  all  the more  difficult  and  carries  all  the more  risk 
because the activity is subject to numerous prior regulatory requirements (impact  studies for 
example),  many  and  complicated  administrative  procedures  and  administrative  operating 
authorisations that are too short in view of the activity’s economic cycles. 

-  In  most  aquaculture  companies,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  value  (or  capital)  lies  in  the 
livestock being farmed. The least mortality or impact on the growth of these animals (disease), 
or extended ban on the sale of products for health reasons (microbiological contamination in 
shellfish  farming  areas)  can  very  rapidly  threaten  the  economic  viability  of  the  company. 
However,  the  resources  at  the  disposal  of  companies  to  offset  such  difficulties  or  protect 
themselves  against  them  are  limited  (lack  of  veterinary  medicines  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
different aquatic species and their specific pathologies, lack or inappropriateness of insurance 
products in the event of environmental problems, etc.). 

- Many parts of the EU fish farming sectors (salmon, trout, bass, sea bream, turbot, etc.) are faced 
with challenges relating to their intrinsic dependence on fish-based food. Important progress has 
been made to reduce the use of flour and fish oils in compound feed for aquaculture, as well as 
the benefits of reduction in costs. However, the incorporation of feed of plant origin in too large 
quantities in the rations of such species, which are naturally essentially carnivorous, can have 
negative effects on their health and well-being (physiological modification in the digestive tract 
for example) or on the environment (relative increase in the excretion of waste in water linked 
to the reduced digestibility of certain substitution foods). 

-  Some  lake  regions  with a  tradition of  extensive  aquaculture  (carp,  pike)  are prized  for  their 
environmental value  as wet  areas  rich  in  biodiversity.  However,  in  these  areas  producers  are 
faced with sometimes very significant losses in their livestock due to the growth of populations 
of  strictly  protected  fish-eating  predators (cormorants). Maintaining  these  farming  systems  is 
very costly (mud removal, maintenance of dykes and drainage systems, etc.) while the European 
market  for  the  consumption  of  these  products  would  not  seem  to  be  very  profitable  and 
restrictions apply to the use of fish for restocking other lakes or for leisure fishing (see below), 
thus contributing to the risk of decline in such extensive aquaculture activities. 

-  The  animal  health  policy  promotes  ‘compartmentalisation’  as  a  means  of  fighting  against 
contagious diseases. Environmental legislation however promotes the re-establishment of the 
natural continuity of aquatic systems and water courses and their general protection, including 
against  risks  relating  to  possible  interactions  between  farmed  and  wild  animals.  The 
interpretation  of  these  objectives  in  practice,  in  particular  by  the  various  competent 
administrations, can also be a particularly significant challenge to some aquaculture activities, 
including those that have been long established (trout farming restrictions in lakes or ponds that 
are supplied by water courses or bans on the transfer of farmed fish for restocking for example). 

 
 
 
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3. What EU policy for aquaculture? 

3.1. A relatively recent consideration 

Since its origins, the EU has developed and led a Common Agricultural Policy, which is an 
essential component of the founding treaties. As of the 1970s, the EU also adopted - on 
the basis of the same agricultural provisions in the Treaty - a common fisheries policy, 
some  parts  of  which  were,  specifically  or  otherwise,  related  to  aquaculture  produce 
activities40. It was only in 2002 that the first political initiative was taken at EU level to 
address aquaculture at last as a specific sector of activity in all its dimensions and issues. 

3.1.1. An initial strategy for European aquaculture in 2002 
In  September  2002,  the  European  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  entitled  ‘A 
Strategy  for  the  Sustainable  Development  of  European  Aquaculture’41.  In  it  the 
Commission  set  out  its  vision  for  the  sector  and  announced  a  list  of  measures,  in 
particular of a regulatory character, to guarantee that the activity would be respectful of 
the  environment42  and  to  ensure  the  provision  of  high  quality  and  safe  products  to 
consumers as well as to promote high standards in terms of the health and well-being of 
the  animals.  Drawing  on  the  trend  observed  in  the  previous  decade,  the  Commission 
also,  as  part  of  this  strategy,  targeted  the  continuous  growth  of  EU  aquaculture 
production and the creation of jobs, in particular in regions dependent on fisheries. 

For the first time, this communication gave the aquaculture sector visibility on the EU 
landscape. It also announced actions in response to numerous criticisms made of this 
activity  which  was  developing  in  certain  regions  without  necessarily  being  known  or 
accepted in the same way as older agricultural activities or fishing. By underlining the 
fact that aquaculture offered ‘alternatives to the fishing sector’ and constituted a very 
valuable  ‘alternative  source  of  employment  in  coastal  areas’,  the  Commission  also 
provided a response to fears of a social and economic crisis in the fishing sector, following 
its  proposals  presented  a  few  months  before  to  resolve  the  continued  issue  of  over-
fishing43. 

3.1.2. Renewed momentum in 2009 in expectation of a reform of the CFP 
In 2007, the European Commission began a public consultation process on the challenges 
and needs of the EU aquaculture sector44. Providing a mid-way assessment of the 2002 
strategy, the Commission’s departments considered that, in terms of the sector at EU 
level, the main actions had been undertaken, both in terms of putting a framework in 
place  that  was  favourable  to  the  development  of  aquaculture  (through  the  structural 
funds and support for research) and in terms of supplementing the legislative framework 
designed  to  guarantee  a  high  level  of  protection  for  health  and  the  environment. 

40  Read  inter  alia  Chapters  1.3  and  1.4  of  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy,  EPRS,  European  Parliament, 
September 2016. As of its initial form, the Common Market Organisation covered fish, crustaceans and 
other shellfish independently of any reference to production methods. Aquaculture was also identified 
as a specific CFP sector when the structural aspect of this policy benefited from the implementation of 
the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance in 1993. 

41  COM(2002) 511. 
42  As an example, this strategy announced the Commission initiative that led to the  presentation of a 
specific regulatory proposal relating to the use of alien species in aquaculture (see footnote 36). 
43  See in particular the Commission press release on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy proposed 
in May 2002 and the Communication on an EU aquaculture strategy that followed in September 2002 
(see footnote 41). 

44  See the consultation document published by the DG MARE in 2007. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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However, it also had to be recognised that total EU aquaculture production was levelling 
off and that the perspectives for growth and job creation in this sector, such as envisaged 
by the Commission in its 2002 strategy, had not been attained. 

In  2009,  the  adoption  of  a  second  Communication  followed,  designed  to  give  a  new 
impetus to the Strategy for the Sustainable Development of European Aquaculture45. In 
it the Commission identified some short or medium-term measures of an essentially non-
legislative  nature,  aiming  to  promote  aquaculture  from  the  point  of  view  of 
competitiveness, sustainability and governance. This Communication was also, to a great 
extent, an invitation to the different political and administrative bodies to help facilitate 
the development of aquaculture at national or infra-national level, on the basis of the 
principle of subsidiarity. It was also on the basis of this principle that the Commission set 
aside  the  option  of  the  development  of  a  ‘common  aquaculture  policy’46,  without 
however making any further pronouncements on the more long term role of the EU in 
this sector. At the same time, in its Green Paper published that year in preparation for 
the  reform  of  the  CFP  for  post-2013,  the  Commission  inserted  several  questions 
regarding the space to be given to aquaculture in the forthcoming CFP47. 

In response to this communication, the European Parliament, also drawing on specific 
studies,  asked  in  particular  that  the  EU  give  greater  strategic  importance  to  the 
sustainable  aquaculture sector48.  It  also  expressed  the  opinion  that  the reform of  the 
legislative  framework  for  aquaculture  should  be  part  of  the  forthcoming  CFP  reform 
process and for which Parliament was now co-legislator. 

In 2011, when presenting its draft reform of the CFP, the Commission summarised its 
proposals for aquaculture in these few lines: 

‘A better framework for aquaculture will increase production and supply of seafood in the 
EU, reduce dependence on imported fish and boost growth in coastal and rural areas. ... 
Member States will draft national strategic plans to remove administrative barriers and 
uphold environmental, social and economic standards for the farmed-fish industry. A new 
Aquaculture Advisory Council will be established to give advice on industry-related issues. 
There  is  a  clear  EU  dimension  in  aquaculture  development:  strategic  choices  made  at 
national level can have a bearing on such development in neighbouring Member States.’49 

45  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council:  Building  a 
sustainable future for aquaculture — A new impetus for the Strategy for the Sustainable Development 
of European Aquaculture (COM(2009) 162). 

46  See  in  particular  the  impact  assessment  (SEC(2009)  453)  and  its  summary  (SEC(2009)  454),  which 

accompany the Commission Communication. 

47  See  the  website  relative  to  the  preparation  of  the  CFP  reform  of  the  time  and  in  particular  the 
Commission’s Green Paper, which, in the few lines dedicated to aquaculture (section 5.9), asked the 
following questions: ‘What role should aquaculture have in the future CFP: should it be integrated as a 
fundamental pillar of the CFP, with specific objectives and instruments, or should it be left for Member 
States to develop on a national basis? What instruments are necessary to integrate aquaculture into 
the CFP? ‘ 

48  See  in  particular  the  studies  entitled  ‘Contraintes  juridiques  et  règlementaires  de  l'aquaculture 
européenne’ (EU aquaculture: legal and regulatory constraints) and ‘Evaluation of the Impact of  "A 
strategy for the Sustainable Development of European Aquaculture"’ (Policy Department: Structural 
and cohesion policies, European Parliament, 2009), as well as the European Parliament Resolution ‘On 
a  new  impetus  for  the  Strategy  for  the  Sustainable  Development  of  European  Aquaculture’  — 
procedure 2009/2107(INI). 

49  See the website relative to the presentation of the CFP reform package at the time and the questions 

and answers section for the press. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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In this respect, the Commission proposed that the EU role be channelled through an open 
method of coordination and that the strategic national plans of Member States be drawn 
up  on  the  basis  of  non-binding  guidelines  that  the  Commission  would  establish 
beforehand.  The  new  CFP,  which  thus  covered  aquaculture,  was  adopted  by  the 
European Parliament and the Council at the end of 2013. 

3.2. Aquaculture in the CFP today 

3.2.1. An EU initiative orientated towards financial support and the organisation of 
markets 
The new CFP basic regulation states that the scope of this policy covers aquaculture and 
the marketing of aquaculture products within the framework of ‘market measures and 
financial measures in support of its objectives’50. 

In doing so the new CFP basic regulation only formalises the continuity, from pre and 
post-2013 of  the  main  EU  policy  areas  with  regard to  aquaculture under  the  fisheries 
policy. The revision of the two pillars ‘markets’ and ‘financial support’ in the CFP was 
conducted in parallel to that of the basic regulation. 

Thus, the available EU financial support from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 
(EMFF)51 for the 2014-2020 period enables the promotion of aquaculture in very varied 
forms  (see  box  below)  by  offering  some  new  possibilities  (e.g.  grants  for  new  fish 
farmers, advisory services) with respect to the previous one. 

Aquaculture and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

One of the Union’s priorities supported within the framework of the EMFF relates to fostering 
environmentally sustainable, resource-efficient, innovative, competitive and knowledge-based 
aquaculture. Each Member State  defines  the measures  and types of projects likely to benefit 
from financial support from the government in its operational programme. 

The principle specific measures for the promotion of aquaculture eligible under the EMFF and 
that fish farmers can benefit from relate to: 
– 
Initiatives that promote innovation, 
–  Productive investment in aquaculture companies, 
–  The  setting-up  and  purchase  of  management,  relief  and  advisory  services  for  aquaculture 

farms, 

–  The  promotion  of  human  capital  and  networking  (professional  training,  improvement  in 

working conditions, experience-sharing, etc.), 
–  The setting up of companies by new fish farmers, 
–  Additional costs relating to the conversion to eco-management and audit schemes (EMAS) 

and organic aquaculture, 

–  Additional  costs  relating  to  the  supply  of  environmental  services,  in  association  with  the 

50  Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Common Fisheries 

Policy (see in particular Article 2). 

51  Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime 
and Fisheries Fund. This regulation follows on from Regulation (EU) No  1198/2006 on the European 
Fisheries Fund (EFF), which helped Member States to provide financial assistance for the sustainable 
development of aquaculture over the period 2007-2013. In 2014, in a special report from the European 
Court of Auditors, the effectiveness of the EFF’s support for aquaculture was extensively criticised in 
as much as the existing framework for the development of this sector at EU and Member State level 
was  relatively  limited  and  the  measures  actually  implemented  were  not  sufficient  to  enable  the 
achievement of the results desired. Considering that the EMFF provided a clearer framework for the 
financing of aquaculture than the EFF, the Court issued some recommendations for its implementation 
by the European Commission and Member States. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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Natura 2000 network, 

–  Compensation for certain temporary activity suspensions, in the shellfish farming sector for 

reasons exclusively pertaining to public health, 

–  Costs relating to the promotion of the health and well-being of farmed aquatic animals, 
–  Contributions  to  certain  insurance  schemes  for  risks  specific  to  the  farmed-fish  industry 

(natural catastrophes, sudden changes in water quality, etc.). 

Government bodies can also be beneficiaries of the EMFF under some of these measures (e.g. 
validation  of  innovation,  training  initiatives).  They  are  the  only  possible  beneficiaries  for 
initiatives aiming to increase the potential of farmed-fish sites in Member States (e.g. for space 
planning processes or the protection of aquaculture areas). 

Aquaculture  can  also  benefit  indirectly  from  other  financial  priorities  under  the  EMFF,  in 
particular  those  that  aim  to  support  territorial  development  (development  of  fisheries  and 
aquaculture  areas  by  local  stakeholders)  or  the  promotion  of  the  fish  sector  (marketing  and 
processing)52. 

Moreover, the EMFF provides financial contributions to certain Union governance needs in the 
area  of  aquaculture  (data  collection,  advisory  councils,  market  intelligence,  communication, 
etc.). 

The new Common Market Organisation (COM) under the CFP concerns, as the previous 
one  did,  fisheries  and  aquaculture  products.  Apart  from  the  marketing  standards 
framework (labelling of products), the COM aims to strengthen the role of the industry 
within producer organisations and industry inter-branch organisations, in particular to 
help  them  improve  production  and  marketing  plans  for  farmed-fish  products53.  In 
contrast to the situation regarding fisheries products and certain agricultural products, 
for  which  certain  intervention  measures  can  be  implemented54,  the  Union  does  not 
intervene  directly  in  the  markets  and  management  of  production  in  the  aquaculture 
sector. Nevertheless, in order to help expand the information available, in particular to 
operators  and  governments,  the  European  Commission  has  put  in  place  a  European 
Observatory  for  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  Products,  a  public  tool  for  monitoring  the 
markets for some of this industry’s significant products55. 

3.2.2. Priorities defined by the Member States 
Management of the development of aquaculture companies and their activities is still, 
first and foremost, the responsibility of the various government bodies at national level. 
However, pursuant to the new CFP, Member States now have to put in place a  multi-
annual National Strategic Plan for the development of aquaculture activities56. The CFP 
basic  regulation  also  provides  for  these  plans,  which  were  supposed  to  have  been 
established by the end of June 2014, to have the following aims: 

  Administrative  simplification,  in  particular  regarding  evaluations  and  impact 

studies and licenses; 

52  See for example the fact sheet published by the European Commission and the European maritime and 

fisheries fund, EPRS, European Parliament, June 2017. 

53  Regulation  (EU)  No  1379/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  common 
organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products. See also the Directorate General for 
Maritime Policy and Fisheries website on the organisation of markets. 

54  This includes for example, possible grants for the storage of fisheries products (see Articles 30 to 32 of 
the  CMO  Regulation  (EU)  No  1379/2013)  or  intervention  measures  for  certain  agricultural  markets 
under the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy. 

55  See  the  European  Market  Observatory  for  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  Products  (EMOFAP)  website 

developed by the European Commission. 

56   See Article 34 of the CFP basic Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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  Reasonable  certainty for  aquaculture  operators  in  relation  to  access  to waters 

and space; 
Indicators for environmental, economic and social sustainability; 

 
  Assessment of other possible cross-border effects, especially on marine biological 

resources and marine ecosystems in neighbouring Member States; 

  The  creation  of  synergies  between  national  research  programmes  and 

collaboration between the industry and the scientific community; 

  The promotion of the competitive advantage of sustainable, high quality food; 
  The promotion of aquaculture practices and research with a view to enhancing 
positive effects on the environment and on the fish resources, and to reducing 
negative  impacts,  including  reducing  pressure  on  fish  stocks  used  for  feed 
production, and increasing resource efficiency. 

Moreover the new basic regulation requires the European Commission to draw up non-
binding Strategic Guidelines for the development of sustainable aquaculture activities, 
in order to put forward common goals and priorities to serve as a basis for Multi-annual 
national strategic plans.  

In practice the Commission did not wait for the inter-institutional discussions on its CFP 
reform  proposals  to  be  completed  before  finalising,  as  of  the  end  of  April  2013,  a 
Communication  on  Strategic  Guidelines  for  the  sustainable  development  of  EU 
aquaculture57. The Commission consider that four priority areas should be addressed in 
order to unlock the potential of EU aquaculture: 

  Simplifying administrative procedures, 
  Coordinating spatial planning, 
  Enhancing the competitiveness of EU aquaculture, and 
  Promoting a level playing field for EU operators by exploiting their competitive 

advantages. 

3.2.3. New methods of governance 
Open coordination procedure 
The  new  CFP  now  provides  for  Member  States  to  exchange  information  and  best 
practices in aquaculture through an open coordination procedure — a voluntary process 
that assumes concerted action between national policies, with full compliance with the 
principle  of  subsidiarity  and  designed  to  provide  concrete  answers  to  some  of  the 
challenges  facing  Member  States  and  stakeholders58.  The  European  Commission  is 
charged with encouraging them in this and must also facilitate the coordination of the 
national measures provided in the Multi-annual national strategic plans for aquaculture. 

An Advisory Council for Aquaculture 
The reform of the CFP has led to the establishment of new advisory bodies for interested 
parties in this field. Thus, the 2013 basic regulation institutes a specific advisory council 
for  aquaculture  alongside  other advisory  councils.  This  body,  the  implementation and 
functioning of which is the responsibility of the interested parties, must be made up of 
representatives from professional organisations in the industry and other interest groups 

57  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  —  Strategic  Guidelines  for  the 
sustainable development of EU aquaculture (COM(2013) 229). 

58  See ‘Open method of coordination’ in the glossary of the website for the electronic publication of EU 

texts (EUR-Lex). 

 
 
 
                                                      
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(environmental protection, consumers, etc.) and can benefit from EU financial support. 
This committee, which can be consulted by the Commission and even by Member States, 
may  also  raise  any  question  on  aquaculture  on 
initiative  and  make 
recommendations on the matter59. 

its  own 

3.3. State of play  

3.3.1. National strategic plans and aquaculture priorities of Member States’ operational 
programmes 
As a prior requirement to the adoption of their operational programmes by the EMFF, 
Member States all drew up a National Strategic Plan for the development of aquaculture 
(with  the  exception  of  Luxembourg  on  whose  territory  there  are  no  aquaculture 
activities)60. 

These plans address, to varying and specific degrees depending on national situations, 
the main issues identified in the European Commission Guidelines of April 2013 see 57, in 
particular  to  simplify  the  administrative  burden  and  improve  access  to  water  and 
production sites. As an illustration, the Commission has pointed out that, faced with the 
lack  of  space  for  the  development  of  marine  fish  farming  in  sheltered  areas  near  the 
coastline, the United Kingdom aims to develop aquaculture in offshore areas, while other 
countries  (Greece,  Italy,  Spain  and  Ireland)  will  focus  on  reorganising  and  optimising 
existing sites61. 

According to the data aggregated by the Commission, EU farmed fish production could 
increase  by  more  than  300 000  tonnes  between  now  and  2020  (with  150 000  tonnes 
coming from marine fish farming and 110 000 tonnes from shellfish farming), to reach a 
total of some 1.5 million tonnes at the end of the current programme period62. 

However, the outlook for each Member State in terms of growth and national production 
seem very variable. Thus, the Czech Republic, for example, expects production levels to 
remain stable overall between 2014 and 2020 (at around 20 000 tonnes a year) and the 
Netherlands only envisages growth in aquaculture in terms of value (up 3% between now 
and  2023).  On  the  other  hand,  Belgium  expects  to  see  an  increase  in  aquaculture 

59  This  reform  of  the  CFP  saw  the  prior  discontinuation  of  the  Advisory  Committee  for  Fisheries  and 
Aquaculture (ACFA) by the Commission. The ACFA was the specific advisory body, at European level, 
for the Common Fisheries Policy and had been since the development of this policy in the 1970s. Given 
the  increased  importance  of  the  aquaculture  sector,  the  Commission  decided  to  increase  the 
representation of aquaculture within the ACFA in 2004. The functioning and work of the ACFA were 
managed by the European Commission departments and this forum helped institute early information 
exchange and a structured dialogue between all the parties (fish farmers, shellfish farmers, producers 
of fish feed, processing companies and operators in the value chain, consumers, environmental and 
developmental NGOs) and representatives from Commission departments (DG MARE, SANTE, ENVI and 
COMP for example, depending on the subjects addressed at the request of any represented party). 
60  See the specific internet page on these multi-annual national plans for aquaculture on the European 

Commission’s DG MARE website. 

61  See the general summary of the plans of the 27 Member States published by the Commission in May 

2016. 

62   All the statistics on the future outlook for European aquaculture in this report are based on the EU and 
its current 28 Member States. Aquaculture statistics, that are given for 27 Member States only, result 
from Luxembourg’s particular situation (territory on which there is currently no aquaculture and which 
therefore does not receive any EU financing under the EMFF). The United Kingdom’s eventual exit from 
the EU will change the situation of aquaculture in the Union, if only in terms of the descriptive and 
statistical  plan,  but  as  the  outlook  for  Britain’s  exit  cannot  yet  be  defined,  it  is  not  covered  in  this 
document. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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production in the order of 210% over the same period (from 330 tonnes to more than 
1 000  tonnes),  but  this  volume  nevertheless  remains  proportionately  insignificant  in 
terms of the EU as a whole in comparison with the possible developments in aquaculture 
in the five main producer Member States (targeted increase between now and 2020 from 
20% for Spain up to 49% in the case of Greece)63. 

The Member States are now also in the process of implementing their EMFF operational 
programmes,  including  in  terms  of  fostering  the  development  of  an  ‘environmentally 
innovative,  competitive  and  knowledge-based 
sustainable, 
aquaculture’64. 

resource-efficient, 

Out of the EUR 6.4 billion of EU support under the EMFF for the financial period 2014-
202065,  around  EUR  1.2  billion  has  been  allocated  by  Member  States  to  the  specific 
priority of developing sustainable aquaculture. Adding the national contribution to the 
EU financial support, Spain is the country with the highest total budget allocated to this 
priority (over EUR 274 million over the financing period), followed by Poland (EUR 269 
million), Italy (EUR 221 million), France (EUR 149 million) and Romania (EUR 112 million). 
In relative terms, the Czech Republic and Hungary reserve the largest share of their total 
EMFF  budget  (over  65%)  for  the  promotion  of  aquaculture  among  all  the  possible 
priorities  (see  Figure  5).  Moreover,  these  figures  do  not  take  the  financial  support  of 
other measures into account (such as for example support for producer organisations, 
for  local  development  in  the  territories  or  for  actions  promoting  fisheries  and 

63   Data from the info-graphic summaries published by the Commission on each of the national plans, in 
particular for the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Italy 
and Greece. 

It  should  be  pointed out  that  the  data  reproduced  here  needs  to  be  treated  with  a  certain  amount  of 
circumspection, given the existence of errors or unexplained discordant data in the source documents 
(such as those put online in July 2017). Thus, for example, it should be noted that the Czech Republic’s 
national plan infographic is erroneous where it shows that the production of carp is significantly lower 
than that of trout (although the European Commission infographic on the same country’s operational 
programme indicates the opposite, as do other sources such as the  FAO). It can also be pointed out 
that these infographics are based on figures from total aquaculture production by country on the basis 
of Eurostat data (2013), but that they also, in order to illustrate outlook for growth, use data from the 
start of production from the National Strategic Plans. For some countries these two pieces of data are 
similar (e.g. infographic for Italy) but, in other cases, the differences in production volumes are very 
significant for periods that are close to each other and it has to be asked where these differences come 
from (e.g.: infographics for Denmark or Greece). Moreover, the data summarised in these infographics 
cannot  be easily cross referenced with the detailed information contained in all the national plans: 
apart from the fact that these plans are only available in the domestic language of the Member State 
concerned, some electronic hyperlinks on the internet page directing us to the national plans put online 
by Member States no longer seem to be operational. It is also possible that certain national plans are 
more  nuanced  than  others  with  respect  to  future  outlook  for  production  growth.  This  would  in 
particular seem to be the case for the French plan, which according to the press which reported the 
plan at the time of its adoption, envisages several potential growth hypotheses depending on various 
developments. The summary prepared by the Commission does not mention the existence of various 
possible scenarios but gives an outlook for growth in production of more than 300 000 tonnes between 
now and 2020 (while adding up the growth figures presented in the various summaries of the national 
plans gives a total of more than 440 000 tonnes). 

64  See in particular Article 6(2) and Title V, Chapter II of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 on the EMFF. 
65  For  further  information  on  the  EMFF,  see,  inter  alia,  European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund,  EPRS, 
European Parliament, June 2017. Each Member State’s operational programme can be consulted on 
the  Directorate  General  for  Maritime  Affairs  and  Fisheries  website,  either  in  full,  summary  or 
infographic format, in which can be found the budgets allocated to develop aquaculture and the main 
measures supported. 

 
 
 
                                                      
Aquaculture 

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aquaculture  products)  which  can  also  indirectly  benefit  the  fish  farming  industry,  in 
particular by making it more competitive. 

Figure 5 – Financial support for the promotion of aquaculture under the EMFF (2014-2020)  

NB: The percentages with respect to budgetary values correspond to the proportion of the budget reserved for the 
‘aquaculture’ priority in comparison to the total budget available under the EMFF (EU contribution plus national 
contribution). 

Data sources: European Commission, Aquaculture in the EU – Tapping into blue growth, and individual summaries by 
country. 

3.3.2. A new Advisory Council for Aquaculture 
While the new CFP adopted at the end of 2013 instituted the principle of an advisory 
council for aquaculture (ACA), it is up to any interested parties themselves to organise 
its  constitution.  More  than  two  years,  however,  were  needed  for  the  representative 
organisations of the various professional aquaculture sectors and other interest groups 
to come to an agreement and achieve the implementation of this new advisory body, in 
compliance with the rules established to this effect by the European Commission (for 
example, a proportional representation set at 60/40 between industry representatives 
and NGOs). It was only in February 2016 that the Commission indicated that the Advisory 
Council for Aquaculture could start work and become eligible for EU financial support66. 

The three specific working groups (Fish, Shellfish and Horizontal Issues) put into place by 
the  ACA  general  assembly  at  its  first  official  meeting  in  2016  began  meeting  at  the 
beginning of 201767. At this stage, the ACA still has not been able to finalise any specific 
recommendations on Aquaculture for the Commission. 

66  Commission  Communication  C(2016)  1081  regarding  the  start  of  the  functioning  of  the  Advisory 

Council for Aquaculture. 

67  See, inter alia, the FEAP 2017 Annual Report (p. 12-13), or other information on the ACA or the holding 

of meetings by its working groups. 

 
 
 
 
                                                      
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3.3.3. Commission coordination and promotion activities  
To promote the Open Method of Coordination, the Commission organised four technical 
seminars between November 2015 and April 2017 in the course of which Member State 
experts  shared  information  on  best  practice  and  methods  for  implementing  their 
in  terms  of 
administrative  requirements  applied  to  aquaculture, 
environmental  protection68.  In  this  respect,  the  European  Commission  developed  an 
orientation document in 2016 on the application of the Water Framework Directive and 
the  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  to  aquaculture  activities.  These  Guidelines 
complement  other  similar  documents,  drawn  up  over  several  years  now  and  with 
application  in  other  areas  of  the  EU  environmental  protection  policy  which  have  an 
impact for aquaculture (in particular Natura 2000, environmental impact studies, or the 
issue of protected fish-eating birds)69. 

in  particular 

The European Commission also committed to several actions to promote aquaculture 
through conferences and a marketing aimed at the general public and schools70. It also 
continues to provide financial support to new research and innovation projects in the 
field of aquaculture and ‘blue economy’ development projects71. 

4. Outlook 

According to the FAO, global aquaculture is going to continue to develop and production 
increase. From 50% in 2013-2015, the share of aquaculture in global consumption of fish 
is expected to reach 57% in 2025, due to aquaculture production that will surpass the 
threshold of 100 million tonnes between now and then. The vast majority of this growth 
outlook concerns Asia and developing countries. On the European continent as a whole, 
the FAO envisages an increase in annual production in the order of 0.7 million tonnes 
between now and 2025. 

In  2012,  the  European  Commission  identified  aquaculture  as  being  among  the  five 
priority  sectors  likely  to  bring  about  growth  and  sustainable  employment  in  the  blue 
economy72. If we refer to the outlook communicated by the Commission in 2016, annual 
EU aquaculture production could, on the basis of the Member States’ multi-annual plans, 
increase  by  300 000  tones  between  now  and  2020  (essentially  in  the  marine  fish  and 
shellfish sectors). The approach to aquaculture and the introduction of new methods of 
governance  in  the  framework  of  the  CFP  after  2013  are  also  presented  as  aiming  to 
facilitate development of this sector and help remove numerous obstacles in terms of 

68  See  Directorate  General  for  Maritime  Policy  and  Fisheries  internet  page  on  the  exchange  of  best 

practice in aquaculture. 

69  See  the  environmental  guidance  documents  applied  to  aquaculture  published  by  the  Directorate 
General for Maritime Policy and Fisheries. NB: In its 2013 Communication on the strategic orientations 
for aquaculture, the Commission announced that the guidance document on the Water Framework 
Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive would be finalised before the second quarter 
of 2014. These guidance documents were, however, only finalised two years later in May 2016. 

70  See in particular the information on the conference organised in May 2016, or the campaign for the 

promotion of fish farmed in the EU, including through projects developed in schools. 

71  As an illustration, see the aquaculture projects financed under the European research and innovation 
programme Horizon 2020 (2014-2015) or projects selected under the framework of the call for  blue 
technology proposals financed by the EMFF. 

72  See COM(2012) 494: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, 
the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  –  Blue  growth: 
opportunities for sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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access to space and administrative simplification. Apart from continuing to fund research 
and  innovation,  EU  financial  support  for  the  promotion  of  sustainable  aquaculture 
through the EMFF should reach some  EUR 1.2 billion over the 2014-2020 period73, or 
practically  three  times  more  than  the  EU  budget  that  was  allocated  to  support 
aquaculture by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) for the 2007--2013 period. 

In 2014, the European Court of Auditors published extensive criticism of the European 
Commission and Member States with regard to inadequacies both at EU and national 
level in support and guidance for the development of this sector as well as those in terms 
of the results of financial measures implemented by the EFF over the previous period see 
51.  Although  on  this  occasion  the  Court  also  considered  that  the  new  EMFF  initially 
provided  a  clearer  framework  than  the  EFF  for  the  financing  of  aquaculture,  it  is 
nevertheless reasonable to expect the new fish farming policy to be examined at least as 
carefully if we consider how much financial support the EU is providing for aquaculture 
under the EMFF between now and 2020-2022. 

The  effective  implementation  of  the  EMFF  has  fallen  a  long  way  behind  the  initial 
provisional  schedule,  just  like  other initiatives planned  by the  Commission  in  its  2013 
Communication  on  the  Strategic  Guidelines  for  aquaculture74.  While  published 
information available on progress made at this stage is therefore very fragmented, a few 
remarks can nevertheless be made on the general perspectives evoked at EU level. 

Firstly, in terms of the trends and announcements of growth in aquaculture production 
in the EU, it has to be said that overall, EU aquaculture production figures (in volume), 
all  sectors  of  production  combined,  have  stagnated  at  between  1.2  and  1.3  million 
tonnes a year over the last ten years or so, at least until 2013-2014 (according to the 
statistics available). On the basis of its summary of the content of the national plans, the 
Commission put forward a forecast for 25% growth in farmed-fish production between 
now and 2020 (namely annual EU production of around 1.5 million tonnes of farmed fish 
and  shellfish  between  now  and  then)75.  In doing so,  however, the  Commission  seems 
only  to have  counted  part  of the  total  growth estimates  made by Member  States for 
farmed-fish production on their territories, thus suggesting that these forecasts may be 
too optimistic or that the conditions required for their realisation may not fully come 
about76.  These  national  growth forecasts  also  seem  ambitious  if  we  consider that the 
financing of projects under the EMFF has been significantly delayed and that quite some 
time  will  be  needed  before  this  materialises.  Given  the  particular  length  of  fish  and 
shellfish  farming  breeding  processes,  an  operator  who  wishes  to  invest  or  increase 
production levels using juveniles will not see sales sooner than two or three years later 

73  NB:  These  different  outlook  elements  cannot,  at  this  stage,  take  account  of  the  United  Kingdom’s 

eventual exit from the EU (see footnote 62). 

74  See for example footnote 69 or Chapter 3.3.2 on the implementation of the CFP. 
75  The summary of the plans of the 27 Member States published by the European Commission in May 
2016  forecasts  EU  production  growth  of  over  300 000  tonnes  by  2020.  However,  this  figure  rises 
significantly beyond 400 000 tonnes if the individual growth forecasts included in the different national 
plan summaries, such as those published by the Commission, are added together (also see footnote 63). 
76  The simplification of regulatory requirements providing for the access of any new operators to space 
and water seems to be relatively slow to implement or is meeting practical difficulties, at least in some 
Member States.  As an  example, in their  presentation at the  technical  coordination meeting in May 
2016, the representative of the French minister in charge of aquaculture, noted that ‘in spite of these 
positive  signs...there  are  still  just  as  few  new  marine  aquaculture  installations  (fish,  seaweed,  new 
species, etc.)...there are still conflicts in the usage of the coastline (water + land) and still legal insecurity 
for promoters (provisional authorisations, bringing actions before the courts, etc.)’. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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on  average —  a  period to  which  must  be added  the delays  inherent to the  statistical 
collection process for the industry. 

In this respect, the response of public authorities to the inadequacies identified by the 
European  Court  of  Auditors  should  also  be  assessed  in  terms  of  the  collection  and 
validation  of  aquaculture  statistics  and,  more  generally,  needs  in  terms  of  social, 
economic  and  environmental  indicators  for  an  adequate  assessment  of  the  initiatives 
promoting the development of sustainable aquaculture in the EU77. 

Regarding the new methods of governance in aquaculture, the early discontinuation of 
the ACFA by the European Commission and the necessary delays in getting the ACA up 
and running mean that there has been an interruption of several years of the only forum 
allowing a process of direct, balanced and organised dialogue between representatives 
of  the  professional  fish  farming  sector,  other  interest  groups  and  the  different 
departments of the European Commission78. In the absence of any organised advisory 
body  specifically  for  aquaculture,  the  representatives  of  the  different  aquaculture 
industries had no other option than to come together, spontaneously or by invitation, to 
take part in consultation processes organised by the Commission under the framework 
of general policies (environmental or animal health for example). These opportunities 
independently  of  the  establishment  of  the  ACA.  However,  under  such 
exist 
circumstances, the representation of aquaculture (and its diverse forms) cannot always 
be  guaranteed  and  it  often  finds  itself  to  be  a  minority  voice  with  regard  to  other 
productive  and  industrial  sectors  that  are  also  represented  and  affected  by  these 
policies. 

Moreover, the Open Method of Coordination put in place under the new CFP to address 
certain important aquaculture issues relies exclusively on the voluntary participation of 
Member States in the process. The effectiveness of this method of coordination, applied 

77  See the European Court of Auditors' Special Report from 2014. In this context, it should be noted that 
data collection within the framework of the CFP also benefits from EU financial support under the EMFF 
and  that  the  requirements  relating  to  this  collection  of  data  have  just  been  revised  (procedure 
2015/0133(COD)). Pursuant to this new Regulation on data collection, of May 2017, the collection of 
socioeconomic  data  and  data  regarding  the  sustainability  of  aquaculture  is  obligatory  for  marine 
aquaculture, but still optional for freshwater aquaculture (see Article 5, paragraphs 2 and 3), in spite 
of the fact that the lack of certain statistical indicators for freshwater aquaculture was again the subject 
of finger-pointing by the STECF in its most recent report (see STCEF-16-19, particularly page 13), and 
that a significant share of the EMFF budget of certain Member States will be dedicated to freshwater 
aquaculture projects. 

78  See also Chapter 3.2.3 and footnote 59. The ACFA has not been convened by the Commission since 
2010-2011, when it was finalising is CFP reform proposals. In 2013, – while the European Parliament 
and the Council were still examining the CFP reform package – the Commission was already setting the 
objective  for  the  ACA  ‘to  perform  by  April  2014,  a  screening  of  administrative  procedures  and  a 
mapping exercise of the main administrative burdens in terms of time and costs in different types of 
aquaculture in the Member States’ (see COM(2013) 229, Chapter 3.1). However, it was not until 2016 
that a new Advisory Council for Agriculture could be put in place at EU level. Underestimating the time 
it would take for such an ACA to become truly operational, the European Commission does not seem 
to have, at the very least, anticipated the delays and difficulties that there  would be for interested 
parties to pick up where the previous initiative had left off, even though the methods and the level of 
organisation and representation of the different aquaculture sectors (e.g. fish vs shellfish, or salmon vs 
carp for example) are all very different and that the parties had to come together to put a structure in 
place that was compliant with the rules only laid down by the Commission in 2015 (e.g. strict 60/40 
proportional representation between professional associations involved and any other interest group). 
The same difficulties were experienced in setting up the Advisory Committee on Contracts, which was 
also newly instituted by the CFP reform. 

 
 
 
                                                      
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to other areas, is often called into question by analysts due to its voluntary nature79. In 
this  respect  also,  the  Commission  is  trying  to  encourage  the  simplification  of 
administrative  procedures  and  facilitate  the  granting  of  licenses  to  fish  farming 
companies in a context of equity for operators wishing to develop their businesses. To 
this end, the Commission promotes guidance documents to assist Member States and 
the  industry  in  implementing  the  requirements  of  EU  legislation,  in  particular  with 
respect  to  environmental  protection.  The  effectiveness  of  this  support  policy  will, 
however, depend on the actual quality of these forms of guidance and the coherence of 
European Commission communication in this respect80. 

In  the  same  way,  the  question  of  proportionality  of  measures  and  the  administrative 
burden applicable to the different aquaculture sectors will be based on the progressive 
implementation of the new law on animal health in the months and years to come and 
the development of its applicable law81. 

Finally, in 2013, the Commission also encouraged Member States to carry out mid-term 
assessments of their multi-annual plans, for the end of 2017. This invitation was repeated 
to Member State representatives by the Commission departments during a coordination 
meeting in April 201782 and the Commission intends to take the opportunity to revise 

79  See in particular The open method of coordination, EPRS, European Parliament, October 2014. 
80 

In  its  2013  Communication,  the  Commission  says  that  it  ‘intends  to  help  national  and  regional 
administrations to implement EU environmental legislation without imposing unnecessary burdens on 
producers’. At this stage however, certain explanations or the provision of existing guidance notes may 
raise questions with respect to their impacts in terms of simplification and proportionality and even in 
terms of the scope of EU law. As an illustration, the Directive on environmental impact assessments 
includes intensive fish farming in the list of activities for which Member States must decide whether an 
impact  assessment  is  required  or  not.  There  are  great  differences  between  Member  States  in  the 
implementation of this Directive, as the Commission recalls on a web page devoted to  exchanges of 
best practice in aquaculture on the Directorate General of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries website. 
However,  in  line  with  their  guidance  note  on  interpreting  the  definitions  in  this  Directive,  the 
Commission  departments  also  indicate  therein  that  they  consider  that  ‘intensive  fish  farming’  is 
equivalent to a ‘sub-set of aquaculture activities and as part of which the biomass produced is superior 
to  that  which  may  be  produced  naturally  without  the  benefits  of  supplementary  food’.  The 
Commission’s  indifferent  use  of  the  terms  ‘fish  farming’  and  ‘aquaculture’  in  this  context  would 
therefore seem to be debatable to say the least. Similarly, making a judgement on the intensive nature 
of an animal rearing practice on the sole criteria of the use of food supplements in the rearing process, 
independently  of  any  other  criteria  (volume  of  production,  density,  type  of  farming,  share  of  food 
supplements vs natural food, etc.) would seem to equate to a maximalist rather than a proportional 
and facilitatory approach to EU aquaculture development. 

81  See Chapter 2.2.2. As the  Directorate General for Health and Food Safety recalls in its presentation 
during  a  technical  seminar,  this  legislation  will,  after  April  2021,  have  to  replace  that  of  Directive 
2006/88 on animal health in aquaculture (see footnote 27). The results of missions regularly carried 
out by Member State departments should also serve to provide useful information in this context. As 
an example, the Commission report on research missions carried out in 2014-2015 illustrates the high 
quality  levels  of  official  checks  regarding  EU  legislation  applicable  to  fish  farming.  Certain 
recommendations for the ideal implementation of the aquatic animal health policy, which involves the 
need for specialists in the field and sufficient networking between territories, are not easily reconciled 
with  realities  on  the  ground  in  certain  Member  States  where  activities  for  farming  aquatic  species 
remain very limited. This report also highlights certain more general difficulties observed in the field, 
which restrict the development of the aquaculture sector (these difficulties are also picked up on in the 
multi-lingual summaries of the report). 

82  During the last technical meeting for implementing the Open Method of Coordination in April 2017, 
the Commission departments recalled the invitation made in 2013 (COM(2013) 229) for the mid-term 
review of the national plans for aquaculture. They presented a guidance note for this purpose, at the 

 
 
 
                                                      
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the Strategic Guidelines on the basis of such reports. This should, therefore, come about 
at the beginning of 2018 at the earliest. 

5. Main references 

Regulation  (EU)  No  1380/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  Common 
Fisheries Policy of 11 December 2013. 
Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on 
the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). 
'Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: A strategy 
for the sustainable development of European aquaculture (COM(2002) 511). 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: Building a 
sustainable  future  for  aquaculture  —  A  new  impetus  for  the  Strategy  for  the  Sustainable 
Development of European Aquaculture (COM(2009) 162). 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Strategic Guidelines for the 
sustainable development of EU aquaculture (COM(2013) 229). 
FAO,  The  State of World Fisheries  and Aquaculture 2016  –  Contributing to Food Security and 
Nutrition For All. 
Scientific,  Technical  and  Economic  Committee  for  Fisheries  (STECF)  –  Economic  Report  of  EU 
aquaculture  sector  (STECF-16-19),  European Commission, Publications  Office  of the  European 
Union, 2016. 
Policy  Department:  Structural  and  cohesion  policies,  European  Parliament,  The  long-term 
economic  and  ecologic  impact  of  larger  sustainable  aquaculture,  European  Parliament, 
Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, 2014. 
Policy  Department:  Structural  and  cohesion  policies,  European  aquaculture  competitiveness: 
limitations  and  possible  strategies,  European  Parliament,  Directorate-General  for  Internal 
Policies of the Union, 2009. 
Policy  Department:  Structural  and  cohesion  policies,  Regulatory  and  Legal  Constraints  for 
European  Aquaculture,  European  Parliament,  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Policies  of  the 
Union, 2009. 
Policy Department: Structural and cohesion policies, Evaluation of the Impact of ‘A strategy for 
the  Sustainable  Development  of  European  Aquaculture’  COM(2002)  511  final,  European 
Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, 2009. 
Web pages on aquaculture on the European Commission Directorate General Maritime 
Affairs and Fisheries website. 

same time as acknowledging on this occasion the delay in starting, and therefore a delay to the final 
assessment of projects supported under the EMFF, while recalling that this exercise was voluntary.