Debate: Striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward
Date: MONDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2022
Speaker: Adina-Ioana Vălean
Language: EN

Following the Council conclusions of July this year and the opinions of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of last year, your report rounds up the broad support of the major EU institutions and bodies for the Commission’s strategic guidelines for a sustainable and competitive EU Aquaculture of May 2021. The Commission fully agrees with your report. Aquaculture needs to have the prominent place it deserves as it is a crucial part of the sustainable blue economy, and it contributes to the objectives of the European Green Deal. We have also carefully taken note of the concerns expressed in your report when it comes to the current state of play of aquaculture in Europe. In fact, most of these concerns are actually already addressed in the Commission’s strategic guidelines. I would like to focus on two points that were highlighted in your report, namely access to space for marine aquaculture and administrative procedures. The Commission is now working to establish guiding documents, as both the question of appropriate access and efficient procedures are key enablers for our aquaculture to grow. We agree that further efforts are necessary in both areas, which is why we have prioritised these actions. The Commission is also managing and planning actions in areas you highlighted in your report, such as sustainable feed, animal welfare, and environmental performance, and we propose to use Horizon Europe funding to promote research and innovation for aquaculture. On the topic of funding, I can confirm that the Commission regularly monitors strategic guidelines for sustainable and competitive aquaculture. These are duly considered in national programmes under the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund. Similarly, we insist that these guidelines are taken into account for the multiannual national strategies for aquaculture. Member States seem to have taken this strategy on board, for both the funding and strategy programmes, which we very much welcome, as it demonstrates our common vision when it comes to aquaculture. We also know that the challenge for fisheries and aquaculture coming from increasing cormorant numbers in some areas of the EU is an important concern highlighted in your report. Let me recall that Member States can implement preventive measures to avoid or limit the damage caused by cormorants, including by using the derogations under the Birds Directive, and actions to address conflicts with cormorants can also be funded by the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and this includes prevention and compensation measures. Taking into account the existing instruments and tools, and that we already allow Member States to take preventive measures, the Commission is currently not planning to change the legal protection regime for cormorants. However, we are certainly ready to further support Member States and stakeholders with the existing EU cormorant platform. Furthermore, the mapping of good practices on the management of predators is part of the future guidance document on environmental performance, which the Commission will develop as part of the implementation of our strategic guidelines. Regarding organic aquaculture, to which you paid special attention in your report, we have encouraged Member States to include an increase in organic aquaculture production in the revision of their national aquaculture strategies and in their programmes under the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund. This increased support for organic aquaculture by Member States will contribute to meeting the farm to fork strategy targets and, together with the Member States, we are working on identifying specific obstacles to growth of EU organic agriculture, which would also be a response to one of the calls in your report. Finally, I’m confident that our combined efforts and support for sustainable and competitive aquaculture in the EU will help this important economic sector to realise its potential in the years to come, to the benefit of us all.