European fish farmers need clear rules, a level playing field and political determination, European Parliament members were told at a recent public hearing.
Speaking at a meeting aimed at guiding Europe to build a sustainable future for aquaculture, Spanish turbot producer Fernando Otero Lourido said a trustworthy labeling system would help the industry.
Europe consumes more than 5 million metric tons of farmed fish annually but produces less than 1 metric million tons, said Guido Milana, Parliament’s rapporteur, who is compiling a report on this issue. But concerns over environmental sustainability and aquaculture’s “often-justified negative image” pose real obstacles to growth.
Milana remained “optimistic” about aquaculture's potential, claiming at the meeting that even though the EU faces an “aggressive” international market, high quality products could woo reluctant consumers.
Director of the Galician Turbot Producers Association, Lourido argued that fish farms can be fully sustainable. He claims this is the case in Galicia, where one of the world’s largest aquaculture sites is located right next to the Lira marine reserve.
A clear obstacle to the sustainability of fish farming is the need to catch wild fish in order to nourish carnivorous farmed fish. About five kilos of anchovies are required to produce one kilo of farmed salmon. MEPs at the meeting raised questions over the sustainability of the sheer quantity of fish harvested to feed farmed fish, exploring whether the switch to vegetarian fish could relieve stress on wild fish stocks.
Replying to Green MEP Isabella Lövin about the possibility of using vegetarian fish, such as carp or tilapia, Dawn Purchase of the Marine Conservation Society highlighted that retailers apparently “find it hard to convince consumers to eat that fish,” at least in the United Kingdom. She suggested that inciting celebrity chefs to prepare these fish species could help stimulate demand.
Attendees at the meeting also approached the thorny issue of labeling and underlined the need to separate organic from sustainable.
“There seems to be a proliferation of different marks” on labeling, said Marco Greco of the Italian Association for Organic Agriculture. “Sustainable” and “eco-compatible” production has to be distinguished from “organic” products, as is done in agriculture, he said.
Politicians were also told that Norway exports 97 percent of its aquaculture production, with Norwegian fish farmers enjoying strong political support and an excellent geographical situation, said Petter Arnesen of salmon farming giant Marine Harvest.
He explained that Norway has strict rules to ensure sustainability and does its utmost to'prevent infections, fish parasites and escapes and, consequently, contamination of wild fish by farmed salmon.
“Use of antibiotics has been reduced almost to zero, although they remain useful to fight parasites,” he added.
Green MEP Lövin asked Arnesen whether aquaculture could be associated with sustainability if high-quality fish such as mackerel or overfished species like blue whiting are turned into fishmeal for salmon.
“Icelandic mackerel has indeed been turned into fish feed, but it proved inadequate for salmon and ended up in chicken feed instead,” responded Arnesen.
While French MEP Alain Cadec raised the question of sustainability in terms of salmon farming’s carbon footprint, whereby Norwegian salmon is exported to China only to be re-imported into Europe as processed fish.
Arnesen replied that if the fish were frozen and transported in large quantities the CO2 impact of this practice “was not very great.”
In terms of a timeline, Milana’s report, which is intended to inform European aquaculture activities, will be put to a Fisheries Committee vote on 3 or 4 April and a plenary vote at the June session.
At the public hearing on 23 February, Milana suggested that an umbrella regulation would ensure clarity and consistency, and he also called for a single, specific aquaculture fund to support the sector.
“We are not yet at the point where we can draw up regulations,” said Milana.
