Fisheries facts and figures

This section describes the fisheries and aquaculture sector in figures. It is bases mainly on data compiled by Eurostat, the European Union Statistics Office, but also on figures collected by the European Commission and the FAO. It reviews the latest developments in the fisheries sector in the 28 EU countries.

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Responsible and sustainable fishing

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Fishing fleet

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Employment

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Fisheries and aquaculture production

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External trade

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Consumption

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European Union support

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1. Responsible and sustainable fishing

State of stocks

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The European Union has agreed that by 2015 where possible and by 2020 at the latest all fish stocks should be exploited at a level that will let them produce the maximum sustainable yield for the long term (MSY). This means taking the highest catches possible without affecting future productivity of the stocks.In the North East Atlantic and adjacent waters (North Sea, Baltic Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, West of Scotland Sea, Irish Sea and Celtic Sea), catches are limited to levels based on scientific advice – the means for doing this is by setting total allowable catches (TACs) which are subdivided into national quotas. These set limits on the amount of fish that can be caught and landed.

The chart on the right shows the numbers of stocks that were fished according to the MSY objective (in green) and the numbers of stocks that were overfished compared to that objective (in red).In the Mediterranean Sea, 93% of assessed fish stocks were overfished in 2015.

The unintended effects of fishing on the marine environment and on ecosystems also have to be mitigated. Where necessary, the EU adopts measures to protect vulnerable habitats such as deep-sea corals, and to reduce unintended harm to seabirds, seals and dolphins.

Source: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), Monitoring the performance of the Common Fisheries Policy (STECF-16-03)

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (or RFMOs) are international bodies formed by countries with fishing interests in a same area or a same species or group of species.

Within these bodies, countries collectively set catch and/or fishing effort limits, technical measures and control obligations to encourage fair and sustainable management of the shared marine resources.Today, the majority of the world’s waters are covered by RFMOs that deal with a specific region or species.

There are RFMOs that only manage highly migratory fish stocks, like tuna, and RFMOs that manage other fish stocks. In the case of tuna, stocks have improved significantly over the past few years and this is mainly thanks to the dedication and hard work of RFMOs.

Out of the 16 main tuna stocks for the EU, 13 were fished sustainably in 2014. Six years before, in 2008, the figure was 6.RFMOs are open to both the coastal states of the region and the countries which fish or have other fisheries-related interests in the region.

Represented by the European Commission, the European Union plays an active role in six tuna RFMOs (including the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program, sister organisation to the IATTC) and in 9 non-tuna RFMOs.

The EU is also a member of two Regional Fisheries Management Organisations that have a purely advisory role: the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission and the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic.

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs)

The sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs) that the EU signs with third countries allow EU vessels to fish in the third countries’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Tuna agreements allow EU vessels to target and catch highly migratory fish stocks; mixed agreements give them access to a wide range of fish stocks, especially ground fish species (mainly shrimps and cephalopods) and/or pelagic species.

To ensure sustainable fishing, EU vessels have access only to surplus resources that the partner country is not willing or capable of fishing. In exchange, the EU pays a financial contribution: an access fee for the right of access into the partner country’s EEZ, and a sectorial support. The sectorial support is tailored to the needs of the partner country, with the main view of reinforcing fisheries governance, strengthening administrative and scientific capacities, fostering monitoring and control activities and supporting small-scale fisheries. In addition, EU vessel operators pay a licence fee for access. The burden of payment is shared between the EU and the industry, with the latter sustaining a higher share.

Today, SFPAs set the standard for international fishing policy. They are all centred on resource conservation and environmental sustainability, with EU vessels subject to strict supervision and transparency rules. All protocols contain a clause concerning the respect for human rights in the hosting country.

The agreements are negotiated and concluded between the European Commission on behalf of the European Union and the partner country; transparency and accountability are the driving principles of the negotiation process. The texts of the agreements are public and open to the scrutiny of other public institutions and civil society.

Since the late 1970s the EU has had fisheries agreements with Norway and the Faroe Islands, and since the early 1990s with Iceland.

The agreement with Norway provides importantly for the joint management of shared stocks (notably, total allowable catches and quotas) in the North Sea and Skagerrak areas, which is framed within long-term management strategies ensuring sustainable fisheries. It includes an annual reciprocal exchange of fishing possibilities guaranteeing continuation of traditional fishing patterns.

The agreements with the Faroe Islands and Iceland are based solely on the annual reciprocal exchange of fishing possibilities in each other’s waters, although no exchange of quotas has taken place with Iceland since the 2008 fishing season.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing

Illegal fishing is a major threat to global marine resources. It depletes fish stocks, destroys marine habitats, distorts competition, puts honest fishers at an unfair disadvantage, and destroys the livelihoods of coastal communities, particularly in developing countries.

It is estimated that between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally a year, corresponding to at least 15 % of he world's catches.

As the world’s largest importer of fisheries products, the EU has adopted an innovative policy to fight against illegal fishing worldwide, by not allowing fisheries products to access the EU unless they are certified as legal.

The IUU Regulation entered into force on 1 January 2010. It concerns EU Member States and non-EU countries alike and applies to all vessels that commercially exploit fisheries resources destined for the EU market.

Under the Regulation, the EU enters into a structured process of dialogue and cooperation with the third countries that have problems meeting international IUU rules, with the aim of helping them undertake the necessary reforms (see illustration).

The IUU process explained

PRE-IDENTIFICATION

The European Commission opens a formal dialogue during a minimum of 6 months.

If the country improves its situation, the 6-month period can be prolonged and ultimately the pre-identification can be removed.

IDENTIFICATION

If the country does not address the problems, it will be identified by the European Commission as non-cooperating.

A ban of all products for which the catch certificate is validated after the Decision enters into force.

DELISTING

Continued dialogue can lead to restoring the import of legally caught fisheries products.

LISTING BY THE EU

Fisheries products caught by fishing vessels flying the flag of these countries cannot be imported into the EU while the countries remain listed.

The Decision triggers further measures, including a fishing ban for EU vessels in these countries' waters.

In this context, the EU is currently in dialogue with 50 third countries. Thanks to this cooperation, more than 30 third countries have improved their systems to join the EU in fighting IUU fishing.

The IUU Regulation has also helped to improve EU control standards. It has allowed Member States to better verify and, if appropriate, refuse imports into the EU, for instance by sharing intelligence.

The EU fleet is tightly controlled thanks to a comprehensive legal framework and elaborate control system that applies anywhere and under any flag.

The EU also regularly publishes a list of IUU vessels. More than 200 cases of alleged IUU fishing activities involving vessels from 27 countries have been investigated. As a direct consequence, sanctions against more than 50 vessels have been imposed, amounting to roughly EUR 8 million.

To find out more: http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/illegal_fishing/info/index_en.htm

2. Fishing fleet

Download fleet capacity and fishing fleet statistics

Download fleet economic performance statistics

Fleet capacity management is an essential tool for the sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources, which is one of the main objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy. The EU fishing fleet is very diverse, with vessels ranging from under six metres to over 75. Under EU law the total capacity of the fishing fleet may not be increased and any decommissioning of vessels or reduction of fleet capacity obtained through public support must be permanent.

**EU fishing fleet capacity by length category (2015)**
	Length	/fisheries/file/facts2boat4jpg_enfacts2_boat4.jpg Number of vessels	/fisheries/file/facts2boat5jpg_enfacts2_boat5.jpg Gross tonnage	/fisheries/file/facts2propeljpg_enfacts2_propel.jpg Engine power in kW	Average age
/fisheries/file/facts2boat1jpg_enfacts2_boat1.jpg	< 12	72 301	182 989	2 603 689	25
/fisheries/file/facts2boat2jpg_enfacts2_boat2.jpg	12-24	9 998	399 193	1 830 772	24
/fisheries/file/facts2boat3jpg_enfacts2_boat3.jpg	> 24	2 855	1 041 399	2 035 719	19
TOTAL		85 154	1 623 581	6 470 180	22,6

NB: Length refers to total length.
Source: EU Fishing Fleet Register

For the last 20 years, the EU fishing fleet capacity has declined in terms of both tonnage and engine power. Despite enlargements to the EU, the number of EU vessels in 2015 was 85 154 – 18 693 fewer than in 1996.

Healthier stocks contribute to a more sustainable industry. Overall, the EU fleet was profitable in 2013, consolidating the gradual recovery of recent years, when both gross profit and net profit margin of the fleet have shown an upward trend.

**The fishing fleet of the Member States (2015)**
	Number of vessels	%	Gross tonnage	%	Engine power in kW	%
BE	78	0,1%	14 535	0,9%	46 289	0,7%
BG	1 989	2,3%	6 541	0,4%	58 043	0,9%
DK	2 396	2,8%	69 607	4,3%	224 769	3,5%
DE	1 465	1,7%	64 221	4,0%	141 679	2,2%
EE	1 534	1,8%	13 225	0,8%	43 714	0,7%
IE	2 156	2,5%	62 331	3,8%	189 442	2,9%
EL	15 638	18,4%	76 573	4,7%	449 534	6,9%
ES	9 572	11,2%	354 186	21,8%	815 872	12,6%
FR	6 964	8,2%	171 544	10,6%	1 001 603	15,5%
HR	7 540	8,9%	52 341	3,2%	414 618	6,4%
IT	12 414	14,6%	162 749	10,0%	1 003 301	15,5%
CY	893	1,0%	3 502	0,2%	40 209	0,6%
LV	688	0,8%	24 671	1,5%	43 114	0,7%
LT	144	0,2%	41 403	2,6%	46 484	0,7%
MT	1 005	1,2%	7 106	0,4%	73 106	1,1%
NL	832	1,0%	133 995	8,3%	312 548	4,8%
PL	874	1,0%	26 293	1,6%	76 256	1,2%
PT	8 136	9,6%	96 596	5,9%	359 633	5,6%
RO	152	0,2%	870	0,1%	6 146	0,1%
SI	169	0,2%	597	0,0%	8 540	0,1%
FI	2 839	3,3%	15 613	1,0%	160 475	2,5%
SE	1 357	1,6%	30 398	1,9%	167 214	2,6%
UK	6 319	7,4%	194 683	12,0%	787 592	12,2%
EU-28	85 154	100,00%	1 623 581	100,00%	6 470 180	100,00%

Source: EU Fishing Fleet Register. Situation as in September 2015.

Source: EU Fishing Fleet Register.

Source: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), The 2015 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (STECF 15-07)

3. Employment

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In several EU regions the fishing sector plays a crucial role for employment and economic activity – in some European coastal communities as many as half the local jobs are in the fishing sector (as shown in the map on the right-hand side).

Employment in the fishing sector tends to be concentrated in a handful of countries. Spain alone accounts for a quarter of total employment, and the four countries with the highest levels of employment (Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal) make up around 70%.

Source: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), The 2015 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (STECF 15-07)

The aquaculture sector is also significant in socio-economic terms, with roughly 80 000 staff (including part-time and full-time jobs in both marine and freshwater aquaculture).

The processing industry counts approximately 3 500 enterprises centered on fish processing (5% less than in previous years). The mainstay of EU production is conserves and ready meals of fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Employment too has decreased by 5% to around 123 000 people across the EU between 2008 and 2012. Of these, 55% are women, and 86% are employed in firms with less than 50 staff.

Fisheries (2013) ⁽¹⁾
ES	33 129
IT	26 758
EL	24 486
PT	17 875
UK	12 022
FR	10 26
HR	4 872
IE	3 169
PL	2 430
NL	2 123
EE	2 046
FI	1 817
DE	1 647
SE	1 577
DK	1 489
CY ⁽²⁾	1 290
BG	895
LT	763
LV	680
MT	389
BE	355
RO	304
SI	107

Aquaculture (2012) ⁽³⁾
ES	19 892
FR	18 640
PL	5 583
IT	5 164
EL	4 900
UK	3 231
RO	2 968
PT	2 572
HR	1 892
IE	1 708
NL ⁽⁴⁾	467
BG	454
DK	432
FI	402
SE	370
CY	259
MT	167
EE	22

Processing (2012) ⁽⁵⁾
UK	19 070
ES	18 324
FR	16 184
PL	15 972
DE	7 010
PT	6 823
IT	6 197
LV	5 781
LT	4 451
NL	3 567
DK	3 409
IE	3 342
BE	2 492
EL	2 330
SE	2 135
EE	1 861
HR	1 365
FI	930
RO	780
SI	354
BG	252
CY	56
MT	56

(1) Data not available for AT, CZ, HU, LU and SK.
(2) 2012 data.
(3) Data cover only marine aquaculture. Data not available for AT, BE, CZ, DE, HU, LT, LU, LV, SI and SK.
(4) 2011 data.
(5) Data not available for AT, CZ, HU, LU and SK.

Source: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), The Economic Performance Report on the EU Fish Processing (STECF-14-21)

4. Fisheries and aquaculture production

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The EU is the fifth largest producer worldwide, accounting for about 3.2% of global fisheries and aquaculture production. 80% of production comes from fisheries and 20% from aquaculture.

Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Denmark are the largest producers in terms of volume in the EU.

Main world producers (2013)
(catches and aquaculture)
(volume in 1000 tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	/fisheries/file/facts4catchesjpg_enfacts4_catches.jpg Alt Text : catches Fishery	/fisheries/file/facts4aquaculturejpg_enfacts4_aquaculture.jpg Alt Text : aquaculture Aquaculture	Total production	% total
China	16.558	57.113	73.671	38,63%
Indonesia	6.120	13.147	19.267	10,10%
India	4.645	4.554	9.199	4,82%
EU-28	4.842	1.211	6.053	3,17%
Viet Nam	2.804	3.294	6.098	3,20%
Peru	5.876	126	6.002	3,15%
United States of America	5.242	441	5.683	2,98%
Japan	3.742	1.027	4.769	2,50%
Myanmar	3.787	931	4.718	2,47%
Philippines	2.335	2.373	4.709	2,47%
Russian Federation	4.351	156	4.507	2,36%
Norway	2.229	1.248	3.476	1,82%
Bangladesh	1.550	1.860	3.410	1,79%
Chile	2.289	1.046	3.335	1,75%
Others (*)	27.193	8.606	35.799	18,77%
Total	93.563	97.134	190.697	100,00%

(*) FAO estimate.
Source: Eurostat for fishery EU-28 and FAO for other countries and EU aquaculture and catched of AT, CZ, HU, SK.

4.1 Catches

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Much like in previous years, the EU accounts for just over 5% of total fisheries production worldwide.

Catches add up to around 80% of the total volume of the EU production. Although the European fleet operates worldwide, EU catches are taken primarily in the North-East Atlantic, in the Mediterranean and in the Eastern Central Atlantic, and the species most fished are herring and mackerel.

The leading fishing countries in terms of volume are Spain, Denmark, the United Kingdom and France, which combined, account for more than half of EU catches.

**Total EU catches in major fishing areas (2013)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Atlantic, Northeast	3.600.950	74,4%
Mediterranean	413.841	8,5%
Atlantic, Eastern Central	379.677	7,8%
Indian Ocean, Western	187.815	3,9%
Atlantic, Southwest	125.491	2,6%
Atlantic, Northwest	65.196	1,3%
Atlantic, Southeast	44.869	0,9%
Inland	12.569	0,3%
Black Sea	11.152	0,2%
Total fishing areas	4.841.560	100,0%

Source: Eurostat and FAO.

**Total catches of world’s main producers (2013)**
(volume in 1000 tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	Catches	% over the total
China	16.558	17,7%
Indonesia	6.120	6,5%
Peru	5.876	6,3%
United States of America	5.242	5,6%
EU-28	4.842	5,2%
India	4.645	5,0%
Russian Federation	4.351	4,7%
Myanmar	3.787	4,0%
Japan	3.742	4,0%
Viet Nam	2.804	3,0%
Philippines	2.335	2,5%
Chile	2.289	2,4%
Norway	2.229	2,4%
Thailand	1.844	2,0%
Others (*)	26.899	28,7%
Total	93.563	100,0%

(*) FAO estimate.
Source: Eurostat for fishery EU-28 and FAO for other countries.

**Total catches per Member State (2013)**
(volume in 1000 tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	Catches	% over the total
Austria	0,35	0,0%
Belgium	25,38	0,5%
Bulgaria	9,54	0,2%
Denmark	668,34	13,8%
Czech Republic	3,76	0,1%
Germany (until 1990 former territory of the FRG)	219,00	4,5%
Estonia	66,76	1,4%
Ireland	246,24	5,1%
Greece	63,64	1,3%
Spain	904,13	18,7%
France	528,73	10,9%
Croatia	75,27	1,6%
Hungary	6,47	0,1%
Italy	172,91	3,6%
Cyprus	1,17	0,0%
Latvia	115,76	2,4%
Lithuania	74,80	1,5%
Malta	2,36	0,0%
Netherlands	324,37	6,7%
Poland	195,48	4,0%
Portugal	194,61	4,0%
Romania	1,62	0,0%
Slovenia	0,23	0,0%
Slovakia	1,99	0,0%
Finland	144,30	3,0%
Sweden	176,79	3,7%
United Kingdom	617,59	12,8%
European Union (28 countries)	4841,56	100,0%

Source: Eurostat.

**The 15 main species caught by the European Union (2013)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Herring	716043	14,8%
Mackerel	450246	9,3%
Other marine fish	413219	8,5%
Sprat	337676	7,0%
Sardine	243376	5,0%
Horse mackerel	190193	3,9%
Skipjack tuna	163134	3,4%
Hake	154703	3,2%
Cod	142229	2,9%
Miscellaneous small pelagics	132144	2,7%
Yellowfin tuna	128127	2,6%
Blue whiting	122378	2,5%
Other sharks	112350	2,3%
Plaice	95231	2,0%
Anchovy	90567	1,9%

Source: Eurostat.

**Main species caught per Member State (2013)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
AT
Freshwater fishes	350	100,0%
Total	350	100,0%

BE
Plaice	8228	32,4%
Sole	4005	15,8%
Monk	1633	6,4%
Ray	1413	5,6%
Cod	1343	5,3%
Total	25377	100,0%

BG
Sea snails	4834	50,7%
Sprat (=Brisling)	3794	39,8%
Red mullet	273	2,9%
Total	9535	100,0%

CY
Albacore tuna	359	30,8%
Other marine fish	211	18,1%
Other seabreams	170	14,6%
Picarel	88	7,5%
Red mullet	74	6,3%
Octopus	53	4,5%
Total	1166	100,0%

CZ
Common carp	2917	77,6%
Freshwater bream	170	4,5%
Northern pike	129	3,4%
Pike-perch	110	2,9%
Wels(=Som) catfish	97	2,6%
Grass carp(=White amur)	93	2,5%
Total	3761	100,0%

DE
Herring	71841	32,8%
Miscellaneous small pelagics	28685	13,1%
Mackerel	20935	9,6%
Shrimp Crangon spp	16165	7,4%
Cod	14537	6,6%
Sprat (=Brisling)	11899	5,4%
Blue whiting	11418	5,2%
Saithe (=Coalfish)	10903	5,0%
Total	219001	100,0%

DK
Other marine fish	225566	33,8%
Herring	141028	21,1%
Sprat (=Brisling)	96386	14,4%
Pouting (=Bib)	38364	5,7%
Mussel Mytilus spp	37491	5,6%
Mackerel	33260	5,0%
Total	668338	100,0%

EE
Sprat (=Brisling)	29805	44,6%
Herring	21941	32,9%
Other coldwater shrimps	6653	10,0%
Redfish	1573	2,4%
Total	66763	100,0%

EL
Other marine fish	9579	15,1%
Anchovy	8752	13,8%
Sardine	6865	10,8%
Other seabreams	5242	8,2%
Hake	4694	7,4%
Red mullet	2955	4,6%
Octopus	2380	3,7%
Total	63638	100,0%

ES
Skipjack tuna	128027	14,2%
Other sharks	92452	10,2%
Hake	88801	9,8%
Yellowfin tuna	85794	9,5%
Sardine	49024	5,4%
Mackerel	47010	5,2%
Squid	44667	4,9%
Total	904126	100,0%

FI
Herring	122318	84,8%
Sprat (=Brisling)	11086	7,7%
Other freshwater fish	5209	3,6%
Total	144297	100,0%

FR
Seaweed and other algae	69126	13,1%
Yellowfin tuna	41809	7,9%
Hake	32348	6,1%
Scallop	30977	5,9%
Herring	30142	5,7%
Skipjack tuna	29432	5,6%
Sardine	27519	5,2%
Monk	23400	4,4%
Total	528732	100,0%

HR
Sardine	53159	70,6%
Anchovy	8904	11,8%
Miscellaneous small pelagics	5128	6,8%
Hake	1138	1,5%
Total	75267	100,0%

HU
Common carp	3390	52,4%
Cyprinids nei	1337	20,7%
Freshwater fishes nei	446	6,9%
Silver carp	370	5,7%
Grass carp(=White amur)	280	4,3%
Pike-perch	188	2,9%
Wels(=Som)catfish	180	2,8%
Northern pike	138	2,1%
Total	6472	100,0%

IE
Mackerel	56603	23,0%
Other marine fish	52746	21,4%
Miscellaneous small pelagics	35441	14,4%
Herring	23192	9,4%
Blue whiting	13205	5,4%
Norway lobster	8435	3,4%
Total	246240	100,0%

IT
Anchovy	29664	17,2%
Sardine	22986	13,3%
Clam	16898	9,8%
Other marine fish	13827	8,0%
Hake	9767	5,6%
Tropical shrimp	8949	5,2%
Octopus	7214	4,2%
Total	172907	100,0%

LT
Horse mackerel	33919	45,3%
Mackerel	11786	15,8%
Sardine	10955	14,6%
Sprat (=Brisling)	5775	7,7%
Other marine fish	4423	5,9%
Herring	2475	3,3%
Total	74803	100,0%

LV
Sprat (=Brisling)	33310	28,8%
Miscellaneous small pelagics	27066	23,4%
Herring	20720	17,9%
Mackerel	12112	10,5%
Sardine	9947	8,6%
Other marine fish	2752	2,4%
Total	115759	100,0%

MT
Other marine fish	501	21,3%
Swordfish	460	19,5%
Mackerel	308	13,1%
Sardine	219	9,3%
Bluefin tuna	155	6,6%
Scabbardfish	123	5,2%
Miscellaneous tunas	99	4,2%
Total	2355	100,0%

NL
Herring	88010	27,1%
Horse mackerel	63027	19,4%
Blue whiting	51584	15,9%
Plaice	33748	10,4%
Mackerel	22873	7,1%
Shrimp Crangon spp	20280	6,3%
Sardine	13001	4,0%
Total	324370	100,0%

PL
Sprat (=Brisling)	80988	41,4%
Horse mackerel	27758	14,2%
Herring	23560	12,1%
Cod	19104	9,8%
Sardine	17348	8,9%
European flounder	11861	6,1%
Mackerel	7597	3,9%
Total	195477	100,0%

PT
Mackerel	45442	23,4%
Sardine	27854	14,3%
Horse mackerel	23043	11,8%
Octopus	11750	6,0%
Redfish	10660	5,5%
Cod	9485	4,9%
Other sharks	8174	4,2%
Total	194610	100,0%

RO
Other molluscs and aquatic invertebrates	1314	81,3%
Anchovy	111	6,9%
Sprat (=Brisling)	60	3,7%
Total	1617	100,0%

SE
Herring	77225	43,7%
Sprat (=Brisling)	52909	29,9%
Other marine fish	26878	15,2%
Cod	7895	4,5%
Total	176789	100,0%

SI
Whiting	57	24,6%
Other marine fish	31	13,4%
Sardine	29	12,5%
Anchovy	21	9,1%
Octopus	19	8,2%
Sole	15	6,5%
Other seabreams	11	4,7%
Squid	11	4,7%
Gilthead seabream	10	4,3%
Total	232	100,0%

SK
Common carp	1463	73,7%
Freshwater breams nei	81	4,1%
Grass carp(=White amur)	67	3,4%
Goldfish	58	2,9%
Pike-perch	58	2,9%
Total	1986	100,0%

UK
Mackerel	163801	26,5%
Herring	93569	15,2%
Scallop	45038	7,3%
Haddock	39742	6,4%
Crab	30936	5,0%
Cod	29467	4,8%
Other molluscs and aquatic invertebrates	29092	4,7%
Norway lobster	28481	4,6%
Plaice	21228	3,4%
Total	617592	100,0%

Source: Eurostat and FAO for Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic).

4.2 Aquaculture

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Aquaculture is a significant activity in many European regions. It covers over 20% of the total EU fish production, producing around 1.2 million tonnes and EUR 4 billion in value. In the total world aquaculture production, EU aquaculture occupies a share of 1.25% in terms of volume and 3.4% in terms of value.

The main aquaculture-producing countries in terms of volume are Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Greece and Italy.

**Total aquaculture production per Member State (2013)**
(value in million EUR, volume in 1000 tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	Value (million EUR)	% over the total	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total
United Kingdom	896,70	22,34%	203,26	16,78%
France	693,09	17,26%	200,33	16,54%
Greece	639,96	15,94%	145,37	12,00%
Spain	429,44	10,70%	226,22	18,68%
Italy	392,88	9,79%	140,88	11,63%
Ireland	114,18	2,84%	34,20	2,82%
Netherlands	110,15	2,74%	46,61	3,85%
Malta	105,86	2,64%	9,08	0,75%
Denmark	98,58	2,46%	31,79	2,62%
Croatia	78,95	1,97%	13,72	1,13%
Poland	75,07	1,87%	31,26	2,58%
Germany	70,53	1,76%	23,29	1,92%
Portugal	49,27	1,23%	7,87	0,65%
Finland	47,92	1,19%	13,29	1,10%
Sweden	43,59	1,09%	13,37	1,10%
Czech Republic	35,27	0,88%	19,36	1,60%
Cyprus	29,21	0,73%	5,34	0,44%
Hungary	25,58	0,64%	14,38	1,19%
Bulgaria	23,03	0,57%	11,24	0,93%
Romania	20,65	0,51%	10,15	0,84%
Austria	16,53	0,41%	2,95	0,24%
Lithuania	8,29	0,21%	3,81	0,31%
Slovakia	3,16	0,08%	1,09	0,09%
Slovenia	2,85	0,07%	1,08	0,09%
Latvia	1,62	0,04%	0,64	0,05%
Estonia	1,52	0,04%	0,51	0,04%
Belgium	0,75	0,02%	0,17	0,01%
Totals	4014,63	100,00%	1211,26	100,00%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Total aquaculture production by other major producers (2013)**
(value in million of EUR, volume in 1000 tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	Volume (1000 tonnes)	Value (million EUR)	% on total (value)
China	57.113	55.032	46,38%
Indonesia	13.147	7.935	6,69%
India	4.554	7.798	6,57%
Viet Nam	3.294	4.700	3,96%
Philippines	2.373	1.664	1,40%
Bangladesh	1.860	3.324	2,80%
Korea, Republic of	1.533	1.405	1,18%
EU-28	1.211	4.015	3,38%
Norway	1.248	5.193	4,38%
Egypt	1.098	1.573	1,33%
Thailand	1.057	2.384	2,01%
Chile	1.046	5.687	4,79%
Japan	1.027	3.400	2,87%
Myanmar	931	1.291	1,09%
Others (*)	5.641	13.261	11,18%
Total	97.134	118.662	100,00%

(*) FAO estimate.
Source: FAO for extra-EU countries and Eurostat and Eumofa for EU-28.

**Top 10 species in aquaculture in the European Union (2013)**
(value in million EUR and percentage of total)
Main Commercial Species	Value (million EUR)	% over the total
Salmon	855,94	21,32%
Trout	561,38	13,98%
Gilt-head seabream	541,72	13,49%
Oyster	446,09	11,11%
European seabass	438,78	10,93%
Mussel	411,80	10,26%
Bluefin tuna	183,47	4,57%
Clam	174,46	4,35%
Carp	148,44	3,70%
Turbot	66,98	1,67%
Total	4014,63	100,00%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Top 10 species in aquaculture in the European Union (2013)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Main Commercial Species	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total
Mussel	405,65	33,49%
Trout	183,44	15,14%
Salmon	172,68	14,26%
Gilt-head seabream	110,15	9,09%
Oyster	92,61	7,65%
Carp	79,47	6,56%
European seabass	77,47	6,40%
Clam	30,00	2,48%
Bluefin tuna	11,64	0,96%
Turbot	9,36	0,77%
Total	1211,26	100,00%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Main species in aquaculture per Member State (2013)**
(value in million of EUR and percentage of total) value - volume in 1000 tonnes live weight and percentage of total volume)
Spain	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Mussel	80,0	162,0	18,62%	71,62%
Gilt-head seabream	76,9	18,9	17,91%	8,35%
Trout	42,2	15,8	9,82%	6,98%
European seabass	92,6	14,9	21,55%	6,61%
Totals	429,4	226,2

France	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Oyster	389,1	77,5	56,14%	38,69%
Mussel	132,2	74,1	19,07%	37,01%
Trout	103,2	31,8	14,89%	15,86%
Totals	693,1	200,3

United Kingdom	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Salmon	799,8	163,5	89,19%	80,45%
Mussel	44,1	22,5	4,91%	11,06%
Trout	35,3	12,8	3,94%	6,31%
Totals	896,7	203,3

Italy	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Mussel	44,4	64,2	11,29%	45,60%
Trout	108,0	36,9	27,48%	26,16%
Clam	127,6	24,6	32,49%	17,47%
Totals	392,9	140,9

Greece	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Gilt-head seabream	362,0	73,3	56,57%	50,42%
European seabass	248,6	48,6	38,85%	33,43%
Mussel	7,0	18,6	1,09%	12,82%
Totals	640,0	145,4

Netherlands	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Mussel	72,8	37,1	66,12%	79,63%
Freshwater catfish	4,7	3,1	4,22%	6,65%
Oyster	3,7	3,0	0,03%	6,35%
Eel	24,5	2,9	0,23%	6,19%
Totals	110,2	46,6

Ireland	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Mussel	14,9	15,4	13,05%	44,92%
Salmon	55,7	9,1	48,76%	26,68%
Oyster	39,9	8,6	34,95%	25,26%
Totals	114,2	34,2

Denmark	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	87,5	29,9	88,73%	93,92%
Totals	98,6	31,8

Poland	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Carp	36,0	17,4	47,95%	55,55%
Trout	31,1	11,4	41,36%	36,53%
Totals	75,1	31,3

Germany	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	36,5	10,7	51,70%	45,76%
Carp	13,8	5,8	19,57%	25,06%
Mussel	10,9	5,0	15,42%	21,63%
Totals	70,5	23,3

Czech Republic	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Carp	30,2	17,7	85,74%	91,43%
Totals	35,3	19,4

Hungary	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Carp	19,6	11,9	76,69%	82,60%
Freshwater catfish	4,6	2,3	18,16%	15,73%
Totals	25,6	14,4

Croatia	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Gilt-head seabream	15,4	3,0	19,50%	22%
European seabass	16,0	2,8	20,24%	21%
Carp	5,1	2,7	6,46%	20%
Bluefin tuna	37,9	2,6	48,06%	19%
Mussel	2,0	2,0	2,55%	14%
Totals	78,9	13,7

Sweden	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	30,5	9,8	70,06%	73,04%
Other salmonids	11,0	1,8	25,31%	13,53%
Mussel	1,2	1,7	2,71%	12,73%
Totals	43,6	13,4

Finland	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	39,6	12,0	82,69%	90,52%
Other salmonids	7,6	1,2	0,16%	8,69%
Totals	47,9	13,3

Portugal	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Turbot	12,7	2,5	25,83%	31,15%
Clam	24,7	2,4	50,19%	30,10%
Oyster	2,5	1,0	5,03%	12,45%
Gilt-head seabream	4,4	0,8	8,92%	10,29%
European seabass	3,1	0,5	6,23%	6,21%
Totals	49,3	7,9

Romania	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Carp	15,6	8,7	75,76%	86,03%
Trout	4,3	1,1	20,65%	10,90%
Totals	20,6	10,1

Malta	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Bluefin tuna	92,8	6,1	87,66%	67,46%
Gilt-head seabream	10,9	2,6	10,32%	28,09%
Totals	105,9	9,1

Bulgaria	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Carp	8,6	5,5	37,35%	49,29%
Trout	9,9	2,9	42,84%	25,72%
Mussel	1,5	1,8	6,64%	15,89%
Other freshwater fish	1,8	0,6	7,77%	5,33%
Totals	23,0	11,2

Cyprus	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Gilt-head seabream	18,9	3,8	64,63%	71,05%
European seabass	9,3	1,4	31,74%	26,62%
Totals	29,2	5,3

Lithuania	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Carp	7,0	3,5	84,73%	92,65%
Totals	8,3	3,8

Austria	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	12,2	2,1	73,58%	70,13%
Carp	2,3	0,7	14,15%	22,40%
Other salmonids	1,6	0,2	9,67%	6,18%
Totals	16,5	2,9

Slovakia	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	2,3	0,7	72,02%	68,02%
Carp	0,5	0,2	16,30%	21,38%
Other freshwater fish	0,4	0,1	11,68%	10,60%
Totals	3,2	1,1	100%	100%

Slovenia	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	2,0	0,6	70,69%	53,69%
Mussel	0,2	0,3	5,74%	30,17%
Carp	0,3	0,1	10,36%	11,35%
European seabass	0,4	0,1	0,13%	4,61%
Totals	2,8	1,1

Estonia	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	1,4	0,5	89,91%	91,36%
Carp	0,1	0,0	8,96%	8,64%
Totals	1,5	0,5

Latvia	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Carp	1,1	0,5	66,07%	82,14%
Other freshwater fish	0,4	0,1	22,70%	11,49%
Trout	0,2	0,0	0,09%	4,66%
Totals	1,6	0,6

Belgium	Value (million EUR)	Volume (1.000 tonnes)	% over the total (value)	% over the total (volume)
Trout	0,7	0,2	100,00%	100,00%
Totals	0,7	0,2	100%	100%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

4.3 Processing sector

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Despite the increase in production costs, and the low profit margins, the fish processing industry is still viable, with an overall turnover of nearly EUR 28 billion. The main countries in terms of output are the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

In several of the countries with a strong processing sector, the industry outsources activities both inside and outside the EU. In most EU Member States, however, net investments are declining, even in countries such as Denmark and Poland, which still record positive net profits. Only Germany and Spain remain net investors.

**Turnover (2012)**
(in thousands of EUR)
UK	5 009 468
FR	4 861 618
ES	4 533 205
IT	2 557 006
DE	2 040 378
DK	2 009 993
PL	1 934 753
PT	1 077 971
BE	825 897
NL	775 383
IE	656 463
SE	613 214
LT	290 812
FI	264 749
EL	232 861
LV	226 708
EE	143 152
HR	48 009
SI	32 262
RO	30 353
MT	29 566
CY	7 424
BG	7 188
Total	28 208 434

NB: Data are not available for AT, CZ, HU, LU and SK.
Source: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), The Economic Performance Report on the EU Fish Processing (STECF-14-21)

4.4 Organisation of the sector

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Producer organisations (2015)

Fishermen and fish farmers may join forces through producer organisations to make their production sustainable and efficiently market their products. They do so through the establishment of production and marketing plans. These organisations are key actors in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. In 2015, there were 219 producer organisations across 17 EU Member States.

/fisheries/file/facts4producerorganisationsjpg_enfacts4_producer_organisations.jpg

Alt Text :

Producer Organisations

NB: In AT, BG, CY, CZ, FI, HR, HU, LU, MT, SI and SK, there are no producer organisations.
Source: Member States. For Romania: Official Journal of the European Union, C 68, 8/3/2013

Advisory Councils

Advisory Councils are stakeholders' organisations composed of representatives from the industry and from other interest groups (with a 60% - 40% allocation of seats in the general assembly and the executive committee). Their purpose is to submit to the European Commission and Member States recommendations on issues related to fisheries and aquaculture. Advisory Councils may also provide information for the development of conservation measures, while Member States are to consult them in the context of regionalisation.

As they pursue an aim of general interest for Europe, Advisory Councils receive EU financial assistance from the European Commission to cover part of their operational costs.

In addition to the seven existing Advisory Councils (Baltic Sea, Long Distance Fleet, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, North-Western waters, Pelagic stocks, South-Western waters), the new CFP has established four new Advisory Councils for the Black Sea, Aquaculture, Markets and Outermost regions. The first three are already operational.

5. External trade

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The EU is the leading trader of fisheries and aquaculture products in the world in terms of value. EU trade (imports and exports) has increased over the past few years, reaching EUR 45.9 billion in 2014. Norway, China, Ecuador and Morocco are the EU’s main suppliers, while the United States, Norway, Switzerland and China are the EU’s main customers.

The EU is a net importer of fisheries and aquaculture products, mostly frozen and prepared. Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark are the leading importing Member States.

If EU aquaculture products stay within the European market, EU exports will be almost entirely composed of products from captured fisheries. Between 2012 and 2014 EU exports to third countries increased to EUR 4.3 billion. Spain, the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands are the leading exporting Member States to third countries.

Trade between EU countries is very significant and plays an essential role in the EU’s fisheries trade. Its value is comparable to that of imports coming from outside the EU, i.e. EUR 20.6 billion in 2014. The main exporters to other EU Member States are Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain. The main importers are France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

**Trade of fishery and aquaculture products between the European Union and third countries (2014)**
(volume in 1000 tonnes and value in millions of EUR)
Extra-EU trade	Value - million euro		Volume - 1.000 tonnes
Extra-EU trade	Export	Import	Export	Import
Crustaceans	311,2	4.474,7	66,8	621,2
Molluscs	225,5	1.998,0	46,3	614,2
Non-food use products	518,3	914,0	390,2	936,1
Other fish	1.191,7	5.917,6	405,8	1.881,3
Pelagic fish	1.372,1	3.226,3	1.118,4	1.057,6
Salmonids	702,6	4.429,9	117,7	837,3

**Extra- and intra-EU trade (2014)**
(value in millions of EUR)
Extra-EU Export 4.321,4	/fisheries/file/facts5extraeuexportjpg_enfacts5_extra_eu_export.jpg Alt Text : extra eu export
Extra-EU Import 20.960,5	/fisheries/file/facts5extraeuimportjpg_enfacts5_extra_eu_import.jpg Alt Text : extra eu import
Intra-EU trade 20.633,1	/fisheries/file/facts5intraeutradejpg_enfacts5_intra_eu_trade.jpg Alt Text : intra eu trade

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

Main Suppliers	Value	%
Norway	4.836.790	23%
China	1.463.159	7%
Ecuador	1.067.347	5%
Morocco	941.417	4%
Iceland	935.539	4%
Viet Nam	929.766	4%
United States	892.392	4%
India	875.452	4%
Thailand	652.419	3%
Argentina	570.419	3%
Peru	551.168	3%
Other third countries	7.244.617	35%
Total	20.960.485	100%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

Main Customers	Value	%
United States	516.216	12%
Norway	477.119	11%
Switzerland	352.433	8%
China	316.844	7%
Nigeria	277.397	6%
Japan	218.420	5%
Russian Federation	173.548	4%
Viet Nam	165.132	4%
Egypt	130.397	3%
Morocco	99.961	2%
Brazil	81.549	2%
Other third countries	1.512.368	35%
Total	4.321.384	100%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

Main Member States importing from third countries
Spain	3.395.282	16%
Sweden	3.174.285	15%
United Kingdom	2.388.140	11%
Denmark	2.072.802	10%
Germany	1.963.153	9%
France	1.902.438	9%
Netherlands	1.892.037	9%
Italy	1.883.901	9%
Other Member States	2.288.447	11%
Total EU-28	20.960.485	100%

Main Member States exporting to third countries
Spain	765.957	18%
United Kingdom	706.941	16%
Denmark	630.015	15%
Netherlands	591.627	14%
Germany	299.755	7%
France	288.839	7%
Ireland	180.225	4%
Portugal	179.715	4%
Other Member States	678.309	16%
Total EU-28	4.321.384	100%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Imports and exports of fishery and aquaculture products - Extra-EU trade (2014)**
(volume in tonnes and value in thousands of EUR)
Member State	Export		Import
Member State	Value 1000 EUR	Volume - tonnes	Value 1000 EUR	Volume - tonnes
Austria	12.308	1.877	48.859	9.521
Belgium	22.554	4.633	741.933	123.495
Bulgaria	11.460	3.270	13.853	9.186
Croatia	46.217	14.104	22.279	8.564
Cyprus	19.264	3.021	29.044	7.828
Czech Republic	8.686	2.718	42.655	15.394
Denmark	630.015	275.564	2.072.802	881.085
Estonia	59.223	76.451	22.471	9.707
Finland	10.529	14.268	176.880	64.319
France	288.839	75.955	1.902.438	438.136
Germany	299.755	143.050	1.963.153	674.650
Greece	49.071	8.444	181.400	71.161
Hungary	2.838	1.002	5.757	3.022
Ireland	180.225	158.976	28.566	48.647
Italy	127.018	29.410	1.883.901	442.689
Latvia	59.187	66.378	29.981	16.178
Lithuania	32.955	22.749	109.351	53.105
Luxembourg	3.498	323	1.212	14
Malta	49.977	4.166	12.519	9.138
Netherlands	591.627	514.189	1.892.037	509.313
Poland	93.495	26.817	369.908	174.389
Portugal	179.715	39.376	400.539	129.318
Romania	3.196	795	33.241	16.617
Slovakia	893	341	9.991	5.968
Slovenia	8.578	2.012	8.008	3.815
Spain	765.957	445.728	3.395.282	1.040.637
Sweden	57.362	17.205	3.174.285	661.651
United Kingdom	706.941	192.346	2.388.140	520.164
Total EU-28	4.321.384	2.145.169	20.960.485	5.947.708

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

/fisheries/file/facts5pelagicfishjpg_enfacts5_pelagicfish.jpg Alt Text : Pelagic fish	Pelagic fish
Spain	737.990
Italy	560.316
France	484.830
United Kingdom	409.141
Germany	270.493
Netherlands	265.523
Poland	87.623
Belgium	76.447
Other Member States	333.935
Total EU-28	3.226.300

/fisheries/file/facts5salmonidsjpg_enfacts5_salmonids.jpg Alt Text : Salmonids	Salmonids
Sweden	2.586.277
Denmark	752.518
Germany	337.452
United Kingdom	322.836
Finland	116.731
France	92.535
Netherlands	49.081
Poland	36.874
Other Member States	135.624
Total EU-28	4.429.927

/fisheries/file/facts5otherfishjpg_enfacts5_otherfish.jpg Alt Text : Other fish	Other fish
Netherlands	996.136
United Kingdom	833.523
Spain	791.218
Germany	786.056
Denmark	557.392
France	443.585
Sweden	392.852
Italy	310.325
Other Member States	806.486
Total EU-28	5.917.574

/fisheries/file/facts5crustaceansjpg_enfacts5_crustaceans.jpg Alt Text : Crustaceans	Crustaceans
Spain	907.247
United Kingdom	682.220
France	648.371
Netherlands	460.263
Belgium	411.175
Italy	405.967
Denmark	399.566
Germany	285.575
Other Member States	274.327
Total EU-28	4.474.711

/fisheries/file/facts5molluscsjpg_enfacts5_molluscs.jpg Alt Text : Molluscs	Molluscs
Spain	855.305
Italy	558.300
France	175.299
Portugal	87.537
Netherlands	78.437
Greece	64.175
United Kingdom	56.091
Belgium	44.166
Other Member States	78.648
Total EU-28	1.997.959

Non-food use products
Denmark	279.176
Germany	249.784
United Kingdom	84.328
Spain	74.618
France	57.817
Netherlands	42.598
Greece	34.174
Italy	28.407
Other Member States	63.111
Total EU-28	914.014

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

/fisheries/file/facts5pelagicfishjpg_enfacts5_pelagicfish.jpg Alt Text : Pelagic fish	Pelagic fish
Spain	426.727
Netherlands	333.525
Ireland	121.540
United Kingdom	97.914
France	66.458
Italy	60.435
Latvia	52.195
Malta	47.330
Other Member States	165.974
Total EU-28	1.372.097

/fisheries/file/facts5salmonidsjpg_enfacts5_salmonids.jpg Alt Text : Salmonids	Salmonids
United Kingdom	464.979
Denmark	46.280
Poland	39.108
Germany	35.598
Netherlands	30.848
France	21.711
Sweden	20.741
Lithuania	7.351
Other Member States	36.026
Total EU-28	702.642

/fisheries/file/facts5otherfishjpg_enfacts5_otherfish.jpg Alt Text : Other fish	Other fish
Spain	238.076
Denmark	181.166
France	137.462
Netherlands	123.718
Portugal	109.269
Germany	93.475
Italy	44.408
United Kingdom	42.900
Other Member States	221.181
Total EU-28	1.191.656

/fisheries/file/facts5crustaceansjpg_enfacts5_crustaceans.jpg Alt Text : Crustaceans	Crustaceans
Denmark	105.061
Netherlands	87.235
United Kingdom	32.976
France	17.025
Germany	15.330
Spain	13.837
Estonia	10.069
Belgium	8.357
Other Member States	21.310
Total EU-28	311.198

/fisheries/file/facts5molluscsjpg_enfacts5_molluscs.jpg Alt Text : Molluscs	Molluscs
Spain	73.631
United Kingdom	33.157
France	32.299
Ireland	24.585
Portugal	22.638
Italy	10.424
Bulgaria	8.065
Netherlands	5.520
Other Member States	15.157
Total EU-28	225.477

Non-food use products
Denmark	289.952
Germany	128.187
United Kingdom	35.015
France	13.884
Netherlands	10.782
Spain	10.052
Ireland	9.942
Portugal	4.086
Other Member States	16.414
Total EU-28	518.314

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

6. Consumption

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Fisheries and aquaculture products are an important source of protein and a crucial component of a healthy diet. This is particularly true for the average European, who consumes 24.9 kg of fish or seafood per year (6 kg more than in the rest of the world).

Consumption, however, varies greatly across the EU, from 5.3 kg per person in Hungary to 56.8 kg in Portugal.

Three quarters of the fish or seafood consumed in the EU comes from wild fisheries, while the remaining quarter comes from aquaculture. The most popular species are tuna, salmon and cod.

**Consumption of fishery and aquaculture products (2011)**
(quantity in live weight (kg/inhabitant/year))
Austria	13,28
Bulgaria	6,55
Denmark	22,96
Estonia	14,68
Finland	35,63
France	34,59
Germany	14,17
Greece	19,61
Hungary	5,30
Croatia	19,66
Ireland	22,33
Italy	25,38
Latvia	27,50
Lithuania	43,36
Malta	30,52
Netherlands	23,58
Czech Republic	9,52
Poland	12,01
Portugal	56,80
Romania	6,10
Slovenia	11,15
Slovakia	8,09
Spain	42,37
Sweden	31,01
United Kingdom	18,96
Belgium	25,07
Luxembourg	29,07
Cyprus	23,28
EU - 28	24,87

Source: FAO, Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Consumption of fishery and aquaculture products in the major world economy (2011)**
(quantity in live weight (kg/inhabitant/year))
Iceland	90,06
Japan	53,68
Norway	53,4
China {mainland}	32,86
EU-28	24,86
Canada	22,27
Russian Federation	22,27
United States of America	21,65
Brazil	10,57
India	5,17
WORLD AVERAGE	18,93

Source: FAO, Eurostat and Eumofa.

**The main species consumed in the European Union (2012)**
(quantity in live weight (kg/inhabitant/year))
Main commercial species	Per capita (Kg)	% wild	% farmed
Tuna (canned)	2,02	100%	0%
Salmon	1,97	7%	93%
Cod	1,96	98%	2%
Pollack	1,6	100%	0%
Herring	1,52	100%	0%
Mussel	1,27	12%	88%
Hake	0,86	100%	0%
Pangasius	0,82	0%	100%
Mackerel	0,78	100%	0%
Squid	0,76	100%	0%
Tropical shrimp	0,68	42%	58%
Sardine	0,54	100%	0%
Scallop	0,48	81%	19%
Other	9,41	77%	23%
Total	23,87	76%	24%

Source: Eumofa, The EU fish market, 2015 edition.

Consumption of proteins

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In the EU, the 2011 average consumption of protein from fish and seafood remained stable at 6.64 grammes per day per person, which corresponds to around 7% of total protein intake and 11% of animal protein intake.

All animal proteins make up 58% of individual protein intake (58.87 grammes per day), while vegetal proteins cover the remaining 42% (42.50 grammes per day).

**Consumption of proteins per Member State (2011)**
(grammes per day)
	/fisheries/file/facts6fishjpg_enfacts6_fish.jpg Alt Text : fish and seafood Fish and seafood	/fisheries/file/facts6meatjpg_enfacts6_meat.jpg Alt Text : meat Meat	/fisheries/file/facts6vegetablesjpg_enfacts6_vegetables.jpg Alt Text : other Other *
Hungary	1,50	22,50	55,00
Romania	1,70	17,70	85,40
Bulgaria	2,00	18,90	63,20
Slovakia	2,30	18,10	53,80
Czech Republic	2,90	24,50	63,30
Slovenia	2,90	26,60	69,50
Austria	3,70	34,60	68,30
Estonia	3,90	18,30	74,30
Germany	4,50	28,40	70,20
Greece	5,30	26,10	80,00
Ireland	5,30	28,00	71,80
United Kingdom	5,40	29,50	67,80
Poland	5,80	27,60	68,60
Croatia	6,00	17,50	58,90
Cyprus	6,20	25,00	47,70
Belgium	6,30	23,60	71,20
EU-28 average	6,61	25,65	68,58
Italy	7,00	29,70	73,20
Netherlands	7,00	28,90	70,30
Malta	8,20	29,20	71,90
Sweden	8,40	29,70	68,90
Latvia	8,70	20,30	68,10
Denmark	9,20	26,90	71,60
France	9,50	30,30	72,80
Finland	10,20	25,60	76,80
Spain	12,90	30,80	59,60
Portugal	15,20	31,20	64,80
Lithuania	16,60	23,00	84,70

* (vegetable protein, other animal protein: egg, cheese)
Source: FAO.

Supply balance

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The supply to the EU market is ensured by the EU’s own production and by imports, for a total of 13.84 million tonnes available for human consumption in 2012. In the same year, the apparent consumption, obtained by subtracting exports from this figure, was 11.97 million tonnes.

**Supply balance (2012)**
(volume in million tonnes live weight equivalent)
/fisheries/file/facts6suppybalancejpg_enfacts6_suppy_balance.jpg Alt Text : Supply balance

Source: Eumofa.

Self-sufficiency

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The EU’s self-sufficiency rate, which is the ratio between own production (catches plus aquaculture) and total apparent consumption, was stable at around 45% between 2008 and 2012.

The EU’s production covers two thirds of consumption for pelagics and half that of molluscs, but is more dependent on external sourcing for crustaceans and salmonids.

Source: Eumofa.

7. European Union support

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Five European Structural and Investment Funds^[1] support the economic recovery of the EU until 2020. One of them, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is specifically tailored to Europe's seas and coasts. Its EUR 6.4 billion budget (5.7 billion of which are allocated to and managed by the Member States under shared management) is focused not only on underpinning the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and making fisheries and aquaculture more sustainable and profitable but also on diversifying local economies for the sustainable development of maritime regions and inland fisheries and aquaculture areas.

The EMFF supports initiatives ailing at rebuilding fish stocks, phasing-out of discards, collecting fisheries data and reducing man-made impacts on the marine environment. Control and enforcement actions are equally covered, to ensure proper compliance with the rules. The Fund also favours international cooperation and integration in maritime domains such as spatial planning and surveillance.

[1] The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

**The EMFF has the following six main priorities**
Sustainable fisheries (26.9%): to strike a balance between human fishing capacity and available natural resources, to fish more selectively and to reduce unintended catches. Sustainable aquaculture (21%): to make the sector more successful and competitive by focusing on quality, health and safety, as well as eco-friendly production; and to provide consumers with high-quality, highly nutritional and trustworthy products. Implementing the CFP (19.1 %): to improve data collection, scientific knowledge, control and enforcement of fisheries legislation. Employment and territorial cohesion (9%): to help coastal and inland fisheries and aquaculture communities gain more value for their products and diversify their economies into other maritime fields such as tourism or direct sales. Marketing and processing (17.6%): to improve market organisation, market intelligence and consumer information in the world's largest seafood market. Implementing the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) (1.2%): to improve marine knowledge, better plan activities at sea, promote cooperation in maritime surveillance and manage sea basins according to their individual needs. The remaining 5.1% concerns technical assistance to help Member States to implement the above priorities.

Above and beyond these priorities, the EMFF does not prescribe how every cent should be spent, but rather allocates a share of the total budget to each country, and leaves it to each national authority – and each local community – to choose the projects and solutions that work best for their own economy.

**EMFF contribution – 2014-2020 programming period – Per priority**
(in thousands of EUR and percentage of total)
	Sustainable fisheries	Sustainable aquaculture	Implementation of the CFP	Employment and territorial cohesion	Marketing and processing	Implementation of the IMP	Technical assistance	Total per MS	% per MS
BE	14 375	6 725	14 245	0	4 101	1 000	1 300	41 746	0.73%
BG	18 921	27 161	10 477	15 180	9 703	2 500	4 125	88 067	1.53%
CZ	0	20 772	2 653	0	5 976	0	1 707	31 108	0.54%
DK	74 150	25 750	70 546	7 518	19 868	2 500	8 022	208 355	3.62%
DE	41 195	64 232	59 695	20 910	23 081	2 500	7 983	219 596	3.82%
EE	19 325	13 402	11 655	23 600	24 664	2 500	5 824	100 970	1.76%
IE	33 500	14 900	69 791	6 000	17 282	5 335	795	147 602	2.57%
EL	128 025	67 319	70 433	46 000	59 777	4 446	12 778	388 778	6.76%
ES	352 491	205 906	155 955	107 674	274 410	5 335	59 851	1161 621	20.20%
FR	150 941	88 790	122 279	22 581	163 236	5 335	34 818	587 980	10.23%
HR	86 827	55 261	34 824	18 954	40 618	1 000	15 159	252 643	4.39%
IT	173 056	110 567	102 429	42 430	72 088	4 446	32 247	537 263	9.34%
CY	12 928	9 450	8 692	5 250	1 246	1 400	750	39 715	0.69%
LV	30 450	34 700	11 148	12 750	40 786	2 500	7 500	139 834	2.43%
LT	10 404	21 219	7 440	10 396	9 302	1 000	3 672	63 432	1.10%
HU	2 541	25 768	2 451	0	7 984	0	352	39 096	0.68%
MT	8 548	2 480	8 692	0	407	1 200	1 300	22 627	0.39%
NL	36 240	4 920	49 460	0	3 424	2 500	4 980	101 523	1.77%
AT	45	3 604	1 400	0	1 690	0	227	6 965	0.12%
PL	130 176	201 740	23 627	79 700	61 603	2 500	31 873	531 219	9.24%
PT	103 625	59 000	55 447	35 000	111 229	5 335	22 850	392 485	6.83%
RO	13 204	84 258	12 943	33 684	11 766	2 500	10 067	168 421	2.93%
SI	3 000	6 000	4 266	5 000	3 558	1 000	1 985	24 809	0.43%
SK	0	9 407	1 400	0	4 041	0	937	15 785	0.27%
FI	12 300	15 600	30 018	4 400	5 530	4 446	2 100	74 393	1.29%
SE	22 042	11 871	60 401	8 343	7 189	4 446	5 864	120 156	2.09%
UK	67 487	19 327	97 634	13 584	27 244	5 335	12 528	243 139	4.23%
Total per priority	1 545 795	1 210 131	1 100 000	518 954	1 011 801	71 056	291 595	5 749 332	100.00%

NB: Not relevant for LU.
Source: Member States' operational programmes.

BE Belgium	LT Lithuania
BG Bulgaria	LU Luxembourg
CZ Czech Republic	HU Hungary
DK Denmark	MT Malta
EE Estonia	NL The Netherlands
IE Ireland	AT Austria
EL Greece	PL Poland
ES Spain	PT Portugal
FR France	RO Romania
HR Croatia	Sl Slovenia
IT Italy	SK Slovakia
CY Cyprus	SE Sweden
LV Latvia	UK United Kingdom

Fisheries facts and figures

Fisheries facts and figures