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EUROPEAN AQUACULTURE: BEST BUT STAGNATING

Sunday, May 13th, 2012
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Commissioner Maria Damanaki visits a fish hatchery on the Mondsee (Austria)

Commissioner Maria Damanaki visits a fish hatchery on the Mondsee (Austria)

I was in Salzburg yesterday. There, with the Austrian Minister of Agriculture Nicolaus Berlakovich, we hosted a conference to discuss the future of European aquaculture.

The sustainable development of aquaculture is crucial for our fisheries reform package to reduce overfishing and provide an alternative source of supply for the growing demand for seafood. So, I very much welcome the participation of several European Ministers, Members of the European Parliament as well as representatives of stakeholders throughout the supply chain and civil society.

Over a third of European total seafood imports are farmed products. This is the main contradiction we have to handle: We are the best, because we respect the highest standards of environmental sustainability and offer real quality products. Though our industry is stagnating. At global level, FAO estimates that today, half of the fish the world consumes comes from aquaculture; by 2030, it will be 65%. We can not miss the opportunity for a second time. Read the full entry

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STRONGER FROM THE CRISIS

Friday, July 1st, 2011
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The Commission adopted on Wednesday its proposal for the EU budgetary framework for the 2014-2020 period.

It represents our chance to help Europe to emerge stronger from the crisis.

We will overcome present difficulties only if we stick together and we invest in our future. This is what we aim at when proposing large growth-enhancing investments to accelerate infrastructure development across Europe, through the so-called Connecting Europe Facility. Or when devising an ambitious framework for Research and Innovation.

To help EU countries boosting growth and employment –and benefit concretely to EU citizens– we need investments, not a budget of austerity. Read the full entry

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FISH, HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
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Food insecurity remains a major challenge. The FAO estimated that in 2009 the number of malnourished people exceeded 1 billion – about 1 person in 6.

Food production is only one of the factors we must take into account: access to markets, commodity prices, and the nutritional value of products are equally important. Since 2008, high food price volatility has worsened the situation, leading to a significant deterioration of food security in the world.

The latest data, published last Friday by OECD and FAO, shows that, over the next ten years, “real prices for cereals could average as much as 20% higher and those for meats as much as 30% higher, compared to 2001-10″.

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2011 - © OECD 2011 Read the full entry

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IS THERE A GREEN (OR BLUE) AQUACULTURE?

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
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Are you familiar with aquaculture?  Do you buy aquaculture products?  Whatever your opinion is, aquaculture is a key alternative to capture fisheries. It has evolved into an important economic activity, with a significant growth and job-creation potential in a number of Europe’s regions. It is a dynamic and diversified sector, with not only one, but many different types (marine finfish, freshwater finfish or shellfish). But we need more. As imports now account for more than 60% of fish in Europe, it is urgent and important that European aquaculture further develops so as to complement fisheries. Even if aquaculture didn’t exist, we would have to invent it. While the demand for fish and seafood supplies is steadily on the rise, the declining European fisheries stocks complicate the supply of fish to meet this purpose. The aquaculture production plays therefore a significant role in offsetting this ever-increasing gap, even if it has not risen so quickly enough.

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