By initiative of Hungary, 10 EU Member States issued a common statement for keeping the future support of freshwater aquaculture.
Keeping in mind the interests of the sector, the countries most involved in freshwater aquaculture production decided to draw the attention of the European Commission to the possibilities of the sector. The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is expected to be transformed after 2020. While the Commission has not yet come up with a concrete proposal, support to coastal areas is expected to become more pronounced. The signatories would like if the freshwater aquaculture, which provides over 20% of the European aquaculture production, remained an eligible activity.
Considering the good results of the previous support programme, as well as the increased budget of the current one, there seems to be a consensus that the funds required for the sector’s development need to be provided without changing the current directions. Aquaculture is one of the most regulated sectors in the European Union, which has the capacity to counteract the increasing import dependence. Freshwater aquaculture, providing predictable and reliable jobs, safe food and environmentally sustainable production away from the seas, can be an important contributor to this objective.
The joint declaration is in accordance with the objective of the Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrad Group to strengthen cooperation in the field of aquaculture.
