Strategic Guidelines for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture is a policy at EU level with a cross-sectoral approach. This policy addresses four priority areas in order to unlock the potential of EU aquaculture: administrative procedures, coordinated spatial planning, competitiveness and a level playing field. The overall objective of filling the gap between EU consumption and production of seafood will be fulfilled by aquaculture in an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable manner. To this aim, each Member State is encouraged to indicate in the multiannual national plan its own aquaculture growth objective (volume and value) in the period covered by the plan. Administrative procedures will be simplified in Member States with a special emphasis on licensing time for new aquaculture farms. In addition to that, the regulatory and administrative costs will be reduced for small and medium scale entrepreneurs compared to large companies in order to support them. In this regard, the Aquaculture Advisory Council shall perform a screening of administrative procedures and a mapping exercise of the main administrative burdens in terms of time and costs in different types of aquaculture in the Member States. EU marine aquaculture will be expanded by identifying the most suitable sites amenable for aquaculture. Due to the fact that the existence of cadastre or rating systems making information easily accessible to all relevant institutions, inland planning is usually more advanced compared to maritime planning. To this end, most suitable areas for freshwater aquaculture will be identified to help expanding production while enhancing landscapes, habitats and biodiversity protection. Spatial plans should take into account the environmental services provided by extensive pond-based aquaculture. Furthermore, environmental impacts of aquaculture will be monitored in the frame of the spatial planning processing order to reduce the administrative burden for private developers and limit uncertainty in the licencing procedures, thus making investments more attractive. A guidance will be provided to aquaculture producers with the aim of helping the increase in the sustainability, social acceptance and competitiveness of EU aquaculture. The competitiveness of EU aquaculture will be enhanced to meet the growing expectations from consumers for quality and diversity of food products. The coordination at local level between entrepreneurs, public authorities, associations, research, education and training organisations will be strengthened to help stimulating local economies and meet the growing demand for locally, sustainably produced seafood. Market organization and structuring of aquaculture producer organisations will be improved to cope with different challenges and opportunities faced by EU aquaculture enterprises. Business development and diversification will be promoted by market-driven research, innovation and knowledge transfer. To this end, the Member States should foster synergy between national research programmes and promote the participation of industry in research and innovation activities – including in particular to implement the European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform's Strategic Research Agenda and the Blue Growth strategy. High environmental, animal health and consumer protection standards will be implemented in EU aquaculture sector to ensure a high level of food safety. Organic aquaculture production will be increased to provide sustainable, high quality food. Multiannual national strategic plan covering the period 2014-2020 will be prepared by Member States for the promotion of sustainable aquaculture. The Aquaculture Advisory Council will be created to enable the Commission and Member States to benefit from the knowledge and experience of all stakeholders, and to provide recommendations to policy-makers, to help them adopt evidence-based decisions. The draft outline for multiannual national plan for the development of sustainable aquaculture is annexed to this policy.
2013-04-29