The European Commission recently proposed a Multiannual Financial Framework for the seven-year period between 2028 and 2034 that would, among several other moves, absorb the E.U.’s European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) into a broader EUR 865 billion (USD 1.03 trillion) funding pool shared with projects in agriculture, regional development, and other areas.
The current EMFAF runs from 2021 to 2027 and provides subsidies “for developing innovative projects ensuring that aquatic and maritime resources are used sustainably,” according to the commission.
Under the proposed framework, EMFAF funding would amount to just EUR 2 billion (USD 2.3 billion), which is about one-third of its current total.
“This cut comes after years of quota reductions, increasing limitations on fishing days, and a lack of real support for fishing effort. It is a new blow to an essential sector that is already on the edge,” said Crespo Diaz, the chair of the E.U.’s Committee on Fisheries. “Fisheries is a common E.U. policy. It must not lose its identity. Without a specific fund, there is no specific policy.”
Aquaculture producers within the bloc are also worried about the possible cuts.
Cécile Fouquet, a Brussels representative for the European Mollusk Producers’ Association (EMPA), told SeafoodSource that the proposed framework runs directly counter to industry calls for a dedicated aquaculture policy.
“At a time of great challenges for the future of food production, important investments would be needed to develop our strategic, low-impact protein sector. We were indeed calling for a Common Aquaculture Policy, and public support will probably be more difficult now,” she said. “I don’t think that we can compare aquaculture farming with agriculture in terms of E.U. funding support, with the latter benefiting from a proper E.U. policy and the biggest E.U. share of the dedicated budget.”
To her point, the EMFAF cuts, if they go ahead, would be more severe than cuts proposed for E.U. farm subsidies. Under the proposed framework, funding for the Common Agricultural Policy Budget would drop by around 22 percent from its current level of EUR 387 billion (USD 451 billion).
Finian O’Sullivan, an Irish mussel farmer and the chair of the aquaculture wing of the Irish Farmers’ Association, agreed with Fouquet and said the proposed deep cuts would most likely send his industry into further decline, with Irish mussel farmers in particular facing pressure from the E.U. but also nationally from both the Irish government and the public.
“We see more demand in the E.U. for defense spending; the budget is probably going in a different direction from aquaculture,” O’Sullivan said.
