European Commission Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg on Thursday called on the EC to improve the aquaculture industry's competitiveness, governance and sustainability.
In a statement to the EC, Borg expressed concern over the fish-farming industry's inability to grow production in recent years, even though the EU leads the world in aquaculture research and development.
"Aquaculture has a bright future ahead of it in providing Europe's discerning consumers with high-quality, healthy fish products," said Borg. "However, today its potential is far from being fully realized. It is time for it to get its full share and to give this strategically important sector an equal voice, and, quite literally, the place it needs to develop."
Providing fish farmers with a business-friendly environment and ensuring they receive the resources and governance they require to grow in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner is key to the aquaculture industry's success, emphasized Borg.
Since 2007, the EC has worked with fish farmers and others to identify the industry's opportunities and challenges in an effort to update its 2002 Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Aquaculture.
The EU aquaculture industry produces about 1.3 million metric tons of seafood annually, representing 18 percent of the 27-nation bloc's total fisheries output. The main farmed species are blue mussels (361,000 metric tons), rainbow trout (203,000 metric tons), salmon (145,000 metric tons), oysters (127,000 metric tons) and Mediterranean mussels (109,000 metric tons).
April 8, 2009
