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EUROPEAN CETACEAN BYCATCH CAMPAIGN |
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Reduce the impact of waste: ways must be found to lessen the impact of waste from intensive fish farming to avoid the risk of deterioration of water quality around aquaculture sites. The Commission encourages Member States and fish farmers to implement a number of mitigating measures including recourse to FIFG support for the installation of effluent treatment equipment. |
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Tackle the risk from alien species and genetically modified organisms: to avoid the loss of bio-diversity, the Commission will propose measures to manage the introduction of non-indigenous aquatic species consistent with the code of practice developed by the international Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). It is also examining the need for specific rules on transgenic fish. |
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Pollution prevention and control and environmental impact assessment: the Commission will consider the inclusion of intensive fish farming into the scope of the Directive on integrated pollution prevention and control which monitors industrial activities with a high pollution potential. |
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Research: research is crucial to aquaculture. However, the costs of research and development preclude many aquaculture companies from investing the necessary resources into this field. It could be possible for FIFG to provide support for small-scale applied research conducted by aquaculture businesses. Additional support should be made available under the 6th Framework Research Programme. |
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Background |
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While aquaculture has a long history in Europe, the development of intense fish farming is fairly recent. |
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As such it is subject to the price instability which characterises new agro-food industries enjoying rapid growth. Its future will depend on its ability to become economically self-sufficient and its capacity to respond to environmental constraints. |
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EU aquaculture provides at least 80 000 full or part-time jobs, equivalent to |
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57 000 full-time jobs. Aquaculture is spread widely over the EU, often in rural or peripheral areas dependent on fisheries where alternative employment is chronically lacking. |
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The main aquaculture products are fish (trout, salmon, sea bass, sea bream) and molluscs (mussels, oysters and clams). |
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In 2000, production amounted to 1 315 000 tonnes in volume for a value of |
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€2 500 million representing 17% of the volume and 27% of the value of the total EU fisheries production. |
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This strategy for the sustainable development of European aquaculture is a manifestation of the importance that the Commission attaches to this sector. |
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This Commission proposal is available on the web site of DG Fisheries at the following address : |
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