The European Commission has begun work on its Vision 2040 policy as it works toward establishing a long-term framework for the bloc’s fisheries and aquaculture operations.
The Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) has welcomed the new policy, hoping it can spur production growth, especially as E.U. aquaculture production has stagnated by volume since 2000.
FEAP Secretary General Javier Ojeda told SeafoodSource the root cause for the bloc’s languishing aquaculture output has been the E.U.’s legal framework, especially its environmental regulations, which he said has made the sector uncompetitive and effectively squeezed producers out of E.U. waters.
Against this backdrop, FEAP is pushing for a “single concrete outcome” from the E.U.’s Vision 2040 in the form of a binding finfish production target, broken down into intermediate milestones for years along the timeline such as 2028 and 2035.
To ensure those milestones are hit, the group is also calling for near-term performance indicators, including sharply reducing permit authorization timelines, which can currently stretch from three to seven years. FEAP is calling for these processes to take less than 12 months for renewals and under 24 months for new sites. Additionally, Ojeda said FEAP wants to see a measurable increase in the number of new farming sites authorized.
FEAP views these production targets as essential to holding the bloc accountable.
“The 2040 target is not a wish list; it is a driver of accountability,” Ojeda said. “Setting a binding target forces the European Commission and member states to confront their own contradictions and finally align regulatory frameworks with both environmental objectives and the urgent need for food security. Without a target, there is no real pressure to unlock space; with it, the E.U. can no longer hide behind procedural excuses or claim that expansion is impossible while doing nothing to make it possible.”
While both near- and long-term quantifiable targets would be important, Ojeda also said the E.U. needs to much more clearly define and, in some cases, consolidate its regulations. Under the current system, he said the cumulative impact of fragmented and overlapping environmental legislation has imposed contradictory requirements.
Therefore, the organization is advocating for a suite of structural reforms designed to reset the E.U.’s operating environment.
The first of these is a Common E.U. Aquaculture Policy with its own legal basis, budget, and governance structure – all separate from fisheries and agriculture. Second is allowing sustainable aquaculture to take place in protected areas, requiring environmental assessments be science-based and proportionate. Third is a dedicated structural fund with financing for aquaculture innovation, site remediation, and market development. Fourth is an early warning mechanism within the E.U. Commission to flag new legislative proposals that would undermine aquaculture competitiveness.
Though it may seem like these calls would add complexity to an already fragmented regulatory landscape, FEAP asserted that a Common Aquaculture Policy would not create new bureaucracy; instead, it would establish a single legal framework to replace scattered references across 20 or more existing regulations, Ojeda said.
“At the member state level, it would require one competent authority per country for licensing, enforcement, and reporting, not the current patchwork of regional, basin, and municipal bodies,” he said. “Complexity would be reduced, not increased, because operators would face a single rulebook, a single licensing window, and a single reporting system.”
Ojeda suggested the E.U.’s newly launched Ocean Board could serve as the high-level political oversight body for such a policy but maintained that, regardless, operational governance must be streamlined.
“Finding balance does not mean choosing between environmental protection and production growth but, rather, moving from blanket restrictions to risk-based and place-based approaches,” Ojeda said, arguing for a “net environmental benefit” principle under which farms that reduce the bloc’s dependence on imports and meet high environmental standards should be permitted – even in protected areas – unless scientific evidence dictates otherwise.
In this regard, Ojeda said he believes that freshwater operations deserve particular attention, as eel, carp, and trout farming can actively enhance biodiversity when managed properly.
“The E.U.’s Nature Restoration Regulation must explicitly recognize aquaculture as a compatible activity that can help meet restoration goals, rather than treating it as a threat to them,” Ojeda said. “[Freshwater aquaculture] currently produces species with high cultural and economic value … and can be located inland, reducing pressure on coastal zones.”
FEAP has estimated that with supportive policies, freshwater production could grow by 40 to 60 percent by 2040 – helping to close up to 15 percent of the E.U.’s seafood import gap.
All of these calls come as E.U. aquaculture is actively “losing the investment race,” according to Ojeda, while operations in Norway, Turkey, and Chile are attracting capital.
“Without structural reform, capital will continue to flow outside the E.U,” he said. “Europe is not unattractive by nature; it has been made unattractive by its own rulebook. Worse still, the European Commission is setting aquaculture policies based on political aims rather than market drivers, for instance by pretending to prioritize seaweed or low-trophic aquaculture while quietly sidelining finfish farming. The predictable result will be a further increase in finfish imports into the E.U. market, undermining both food security and strategic autonomy.”
Ojeda warned that under current policies, the “most realistic trajectory” for E.U. aquaculture is continued stagnation or even marginal decline, with annual growth hovering between zero and 0.5 percent.
Under a reformed framework, though, FEAP projects markedly different potential, including 3 to 4 percent annual growth in finfish production by 2030.
“True success is not about producing everything domestically; it is about reversing decades of decline, regaining strategic autonomy, and proving that environmental responsibility and production growth can go hand in hand,” Ojeda said. “That is the turning point FEAP is fighting for. Europe should have become the Silicon Valley of global aquaculture, but we clearly missed that target. The opportunity is not yet lost, but Vision 2040 truly represents our last real chance to get there.”
