The Europe Union urgently needs to introduce eco-labeling guidelines for seafood products to stop “the uncontrolled proliferation of private certification,” French MEP Alain Cadec told European Parliament members this week.
In the context of reform of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), Cadec this week presented a draft report to the Parliament’s fisheries committee. Mapped out in the report were his conclusions on how Europe could effectively secure a fishing future.
Among the conclusions, Cadec said any reform to the CFP should tackle the question of consumer information. He suggested that “stringent and transparent criteria for certifying the quality and traceability” of European seafood products may involve consumer labeling.
But central to the report is the importance of imported seafood and the recognition that EU production is not enough to feed Europe’s ever voracious appetite for seafood.
EU seafood production has dropped by about 30 percent over the last 10 years, a result of both declining fish stocks in EU waters and much-needed measures to limit fishing and ensure sustainable management of fish stocks under the CFP.
According to Cadec’s report, at 12 million metric tons in 2007 worth EUR 55 billion, the EU is now the world’s largest seafood market, ahead of Japan and the United States. But the EU depends very heavily on imports from non-EU countries — more than 60 per cent of demand is met by imports.
Demand is expected to continue to grow, with consumption forecasts indicating that demand could rise another 1.5 million metric tons by 2030 — “an increase that will have to be met virtually entirely from additional imports,” warned the report.
Further, the fisheries committee heard that any discussion on CFP reform should also tackle the question of whether imported seafood meets the same standards required of EU-produced seafood, including environmental, social, health and quality standards.
After the vote in the committee, the full Parliament is expected to vote on the draft report at the July plenary session in Strasbourg, France.
