Dear Members of the Aquaculture Advisory Council,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to be with you today at the General Assembly of the Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC).
Your work, as representatives of both the aquaculture sector and various interest groups, is incredibly important. You are the bridge between policy and practice. With a range of challenges and opportunities facing the EU aquaculture sector, your contributions help shape our policies.
Today, I would like to reflect my vision on the main priorities shaping EU aquaculture now and in the future.
Coming from a country with a developed aquaculture sector, I know very well that EU aquaculture is filled with opportunity, resilience, and sustainability. It provides nutritious, high-quality food with a lower environmental footprint than many other protein sources. It also supports rural and coastal communities, contributing to our strategic food autonomy.
However, I know too that public awareness of this fundamental role is still too low. We must make aquaculture not only a strategic, but visible and valued, as well.
That is why we launched an EU-wide communication campaign to highlight the benefits of aquaculture in the EU. Several Member States are already building on this campaign. Although changes in visibility and perception take time, we hope this campaign will gradually shift views.
Nonetheless, we know that increasing awareness alone wont solve structural challenges. EU aquaculture is stagnant. According to the latest STECF report, production in 2022 stayed steady at 1.2 million tonnes, despite a 13% rise in turnover to €4.8 billion.
At an EU level, we still depend on imports for 70% of our aquatic food consumption. Meanwhile, EU aquaculture accounts for less than 1% of global aquaculture production and only 10% of EU aquatic food consumption.
This stagnation must be addressed. The Strategic Guidelines, along with Member States Multiannual National Strategic Plans, aim to overcome it through sustainable growth, resilience, profitability, diversification, and innovation. Support for this transition is available through the European Maritimes, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), Horizon Europe and Mission Ocean—focusing on areas like animal health and welfare, selective breeding, low-trophic aquaculture, alternative feed ingredients, and circularity.
But we also need to tackle longstanding obstacles that hinder investment and growth, such as the limited access to space and water, and complex and long licensing procedures. At the same time, aquaculture must adapt to challenges such as climate change and the fight against pollution and environmental degradation.
As you know, we have already made some progress in these areas. Let me now tell you more about our plans for the future.
Aquaculture is embedded in the Common Fisheries Policy. Since 2013, the sustainable development of aquaculture has been one of the core objectives of the CFP Regulation.
The ongoing evaluation of the CFP—due next year— is an opportunity to see if the policy is still fit for purpose. This review is evidence-based and draws on key inputs, including the mid-term assessment of the Strategic Guidelines.
We are grateful for the Aquaculture Advisory Councils contribution to the public consultation. Your insight will help ensure that any future decision on EU aquaculture policy remains both realistic and ambitious.
Another key pillar of the CFP is the Common Market Organisation (CMO), helping ensure market stability and transparency.
The 2023 implementation report confirmed its effectiveness in ensuring viable market conditions for the aquatic food supply chain, market transparency for operators and consumers, and market stability in times of crisis. Yet there are still areas that need improvement - for example, labelling.
Current rules do not cover all aquatic products, and enforcement varies. But to make informed choices, consumers need clear and reliable information about their purchases, including product origin. This promotes fair market conditions and builds consumer trust—whether they are shopping in Lisbon, Kraków, or Brussels.
We also need more Aquaculture Producer Organisations to coordinate supply and assist producers in negotiations with other sectors. Our goal is to strengthen the regulatory framework to better support competitiveness, transparency, and sustainability.
A recent study on consumer information and producer organisations will feed into the CFP evaluation. I again thank AAC members for their contributions to the consultation. 2025 is also an apt moment to the progress we have made since adopting the Strategic Guidelines on EU aquaculture.
As you know, we are currently assessing the progress of implementation both at the EU level and through national strategic plans. The results will be published this autumn and will include recommendations for areas where more needs to be done. Preliminary findings indicate progress, but not enough, especially in simplifying regulatory and administrative frameworks.
This assessment should be a start of a conversation about where we want to go and how we plan to get there – extending our visions well beyond 2030. This mid-term assessment will also help to shape our next key milestone: Vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture.
As outlined in my mission letter, this vision will be our long-term roadmap for competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience for these sectors. It is one of the key deliverables of the European Ocean Pact, offering a long-term outlook tailored to the specific needs and opportunities of the fisheries, aquaculture, and processing sectors.
Internal reflections have already started, focused on four key areas: demand, supply, labour, and tools. The Vision will build on existing work, such as the energy transition roadmap, the CFP evaluation, and the aquaculture mid-term review.
But most importantly, it will be co-created with your help — the sector, the stakeholders, the communities. Your insights will be crucial in shaping a future that is grounded in reality and opportunity.
Finally, lets turn to the Ocean Pact, the EUs framework for integrated and consistent action on the Ocean, using a source-to-sea approach.
Aquaculture plays a key role in the Pact, ensuring food security, economic resilience, and the green transition. The Pact introduces a dedicated EU Initiative on Sustainable Aquaculture, bringing together national authorities, the Aquaculture Advisory Council and the broader ecosystem supporting sector development, including researchers, investors, civil society, and local actors. We will launch a new partnership to define targets and drive tangible action.
The Pact also supports growth in the EU algae sector, based on the EU Algae Initiative, with the launch of the Blue Bioeconomy Innovation Initiative set for 2027. These actions will help valorise algae, fisheries and aquaculture by-products, create new income streams, and increase circularity.
Let me be clear: The Ocean Pact is not just a vision. It is a concrete plan of action, placing aquaculture—in all its forms, as a sector in its own right— at its heart. The Ocean Act will ensure the implementation of the Pact.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Indeed, the road ahead is not without challenges. But it is also rich with potential.
The future of EU aquaculture is ours to shape. And it must be bold, inclusive, and grounded in reality.
With your continued engagement, we are building a sector that is innovative, sustainable, resilient, competitive and proudly European.
The Commission relies on you. We count on your voice, your expertise, and your leadership to move forward.
So lets continue working together!
