Recommendation on Aquaculture Values.

Abstract

In 2018, the EU-28 ranked 6th in the top 15 fisheries-producing countries in the world, with a total production of 6.6 million tonnes1. This position is mainly based on the catches of the commercial fishing sector, where the EU-28 has the same ranking, with a total of 5.3 million tonnes, which represented 5.48% of the global capture. Regarding aquaculture production, the EU-28 reported a total of 1.3 million tonnes, which represented 1.15% of the global aquaculture production2. The EU-28 imported 9.4 tonnes of fisheries and aquaculture products from third countries in 2018 and exported 2.2 million tonnes, reaching an apparent consumption of 12.5 million tonnes/year, out of which 3.2 million tonnes came from aquaculture. The data for 2018 show that the EU-28 imported 2.1 million tonnes of aquaculture products and exported 0.21 million tonnes. These figures reveal that only 1.1 million tonnes of EU-28 aquaculture production are consumed by EU consumers, which represents 34.25% of the apparent consumption of aquaculture products. In the last 25 years, the volume of aquaculture production (live weight) increased globally at an average growth rate of 5.9% per year, while in the EU-28, the growth rate was a discrete 0.61% per year3. The causes of this modest growth were addressed several times in EU official documents, such as Strategic Guidelines for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture (2013), which was revised recently with a structured and consistent set of recommendations in Strategic guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture for the period 2021 to 2030 (2021). Sustainable aquaculture has also been identified as an important contributor to facilitating the transition to a sustainable food system with a low environmental footprint and short supply chains. The recently published Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a new approach for a sustainable blue economy in the EU, Transforming the EU's Blue Economy for a Sustainable Future (2021)6 acknowledges that: “EU aquaculture meets high standards in terms of product quality and animal health, but there is still margin for improvement in terms of diversification, competitiveness and environmental performance. Low-impact aquaculture (such as low-trophic, multi-trophic and organic aquaculture), and environmental services from aquaculture can, if further developed, greatly contribute to the European Green Deal, to the farm-to-fork strategy and to a sustainable blue economy.” It is worth mentioning that aquaculture is extremely diverse in terms of species, environment requirements, technologies, specific infrastructure and location. In contrast to other animal husbandry branches, which are focused on only one species each, global aquaculture relies on 466 individual species and other 156 species groups at the genus, family or higher taxonomic level, including interspecific finfish hybrids. This complexity must be addressed more often when debates and statements linked to aquaculture are involved, either positively or negatively. It is also noteworthy that some of the values of aquaculture changed during the long history of the sector, others resisted or were confirmed by scientific research and new values are explored and debated. This recommendation does not intend to offer an exhaustive list of values associated with EU aquaculture, but rather reflects the engagement of aquaculture farmers and other groups from society concerning several issues related to aquaculture activity.