Council approves conclusions on the new aquaculture strategic guidelines

Ministers welcomed the strategic guidelines for a more sustainable, resilient and competitive EU aquaculture for the period 2021 to 2030 proposed by the European Commission. They also underlined the importance of giving the appropriate high priority to the sector. The Council voiced its support for the development of new freshwater and marine aquaculture methods with low environmental impact and emphasized the need to ensure the provision of nutritious, healthy and safe food and to reduce the EU’s high dependence on imports of fishery and aquaculture products, therefore contributing to food security.

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In this context, ministers pointed out the need for intensive cooperation between all relevant stakeholders in order to implement aquaculture guidelines, as well as the need to always take into account the specificities of each type of aquaculture system, both marine and freshwater. Ministers further noted the necessity to dispose of the used water in accordance with applicable law and the fact that the emission of certain amounts of nutrients into the water cannot be entirely avoided. They called on the Commission to improve coherence between the objective of a growing sustainable aquaculture sector in the EU and the EU environmental legislation.
Ministers also noted with concern the growing populations of predators, in particular protected species such as cormorants and otters, which have become a considerable challenge for aquaculture operators, causing significant damages to many businesses. As such, they urged the Commission to identify effective and efficient EU-wide management measures to prevent and reduce the damage caused by these predators. They also underlined the importance of disease management, in which animal welfare and research play a key role.

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The full article can be found at consilium.europa.eu

Council Conclusions on the EU's new aquaculture strategic guidelines can be found at data.consilium.europa.eu