Fisheries facts and figures

This section describes the fisheries and aquaculture sector in figures (2016). 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 2020 at the latest, all fish stocks should be exploited at sustainable levels. In practice this means taking the highest possible amount of catches from the sea without affecting the long-term productivity of the stocks. This is known as the maximum sustainable yield (MSY).

In the North-East Atlantic and adjacent waters (North Sea, Baltic Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, West of Scotland Sea, Irish Sea and Celtic Sea), EU fisheries ministers set overall catch limits based on scientific advice. These total allowable catches (TACs) are then divided into national quotas, which set limits on the amount of fish that can be caught.

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, scientists assessed 60 stocks in 2017. Only seven stocks were assessed as being above MSY (1).

In some cases, fishing may have unintended effects on the marine environment and ecosystems. 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.

(1) Preliminary results pending endorsement of the reports: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), Mediterranean Stock Assessments 2017 part I (STECF-17-15), Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2017, and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) working groups on stock assessments.

Source: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), Monitoring the performance of the common fisheries policy (STECF-17-04), Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2017 (EUR 28359 EN, JRC 106498, doi:10.2760/491411).

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations

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

Within these bodies, countries collectively set science-based binding measures such as catch and/or fishing effort limits, technical measures and control obligations to ensure conservation, as well as fair and sustainable management of the shared marine resources.

Today, the majority of the world’s seas are covered by RFMOs. They can broadly be divided in RFMOs that only manage highly migratory fish stocks, mainly tuna, and RFMOs that manage other fish stocks.

In the case of tuna, the collective efforts and work of RFMOs means that the stocks have improved significantly over the past few years. Out of the 18 tuna stocks of main interest for the EU, 16 were fished sustainably in 2017. Roughly 10 years ago, less than half of these stocks were fished at sustainable levels.

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 Commission, the European Union plays an active role in five tuna RFMOs, in the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Programme (sister organisation to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and in nine non-tuna RFMOs.

The EU is also a member of two regional fisheries bodies which have a purely advisory role: the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission and the Fisheries Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic.

Sustainable fisheries partnership agreements and northern agreements

The sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs) that the EU signs with non-EU countries allow EU vessels to fish in a partner country's 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 are only allowed to target surplus resources that the partner country is not willing to fish or not capable of fishing. In exchange, the EU pays a fee for the right to access the partner country’s EEZ, as well as sectorial support tailored to the partner country's needs. This support aims to reinforce fisheries governance, strengthen administrative and scientific capacities, foster monitoring and control activities, and support small-scale fisheries, thereby leading to improved sustainability. 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 bearing a greater 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 partner 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.

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

The agreement with Norway covers the joint management of shared fish stocks (notably through total allowable catches and quotas) in the North Sea and Skagerrak areas, within the framework of long-term management strategies that ensure sustainable fisheries. It also includes an annual exchange of fishing possibilities, guaranteeing a continuation of traditional fishing patterns.

The agreements with the Faroe Islands and Iceland are based solely on the annual 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 the 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 EU 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 IUU 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

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

The IUU regulation has helped to improve EU control standards. It allows Member States to better verify and, if appropriate, refuse imports into the EU. This is reinforced by a mutual assistance system for sharing intelligence.

All EU fishing vessels are regulated by a comprehensive legal framework and an elaborate control system that applies anywhere they fish. In addition, under the IUU Regulation the EU has contributed to investigations concerning more than 200 cases of alleged IUU fishing activities involving vessels from 27 countries. 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

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Managing fleet capacity is an essential part of ensuring sustainable fishing, 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. Any decommissioning of vessels or reductions in fleet capacity achieved with public financial support must be permanent.

**EU fishing fleet capacity by length category (2017)**
	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	70 709	176 329	2 516 081	24.7
/fisheries/file/facts2boat2jpg_enfacts2_boat2.jpg	12-24	9 673	386 499	1 770 575	22.5
/fisheries/file/facts2boat3jpg_enfacts2_boat3.jpg	> 24	2 735	1 013 600	1 979 313	17.1
TOTAL		83 117	1 576 429	6 265 969	21.4

NB: Length refers to total length.
Source: EU Fishing Fleet Register. Situation as in September 2017.

For the past 22 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 2017 was 83 117 – 20 717 fewer than in 1996.

Healthier stocks contribute to a more sustainable industry. Overall, the EU fleet was profitable in 2015. This consolidates the gradual recovery of recent years, during which both gross profit and net profit margin of the fleet have shown an upward trend.

**The fishing fleet of the Member States (2017)**
	Number of vessels	%	Gross tonnage	%	Engine power in kW	%
BE	72	0.1%	13 814	0.9%	45 051	0.7%
BG	1 894	2.3%	6 111	0.4%	54 981	0.9%
DK	2 222	2.7%	68 625	4.4%	209 689	3.3%
DE	1 392	1.7%	62 116	3.9%	135 630	2.2%
EE	1 590	1.9%	14 217	0.9%	45 452	0.7%
IE	2 061	2.5%	62 373	4.0%	187 629	3.0%
EL	15 057	18.1%	71 313	4.5%	427 912	6.8%
ES	9 231	11.1%	335 179	21.3%	788 292	12.6%
FR	6 567	7.9%	174 067	11.0%	974 297	15.5%
HR	7 553	9.1%	46 839	3.0%	360 636	5.8%
IT	12 275	14.8%	157 274	10.0%	982 597	15.7%
CY	804	1.0%	3 465	0.2%	37 114	0.6%
LV	678	0.8%	30 120	1.9%	50 200	0.8%
LT	144	0.2%	40 877	2.6%	48 136	0.8%
MT	927	1.1%	6 384	0.4%	69 157	1.1%
NL	849	1.0%	131 936	8.4%	312 665	5.0%
PL	839	1.0%	25 322	1.6%	73 950	1.2%
PT	7 952	9.6%	92 794	5.9%	353 874	5.6%
RO	155	0.2%	1 371	0.1%	6 065	0.1%
SI	185	0.2%	725	0.05%	10 394	0.2%
FI	3 197	3.8%	16 426	1.0%	174 117	2.8%
SE	1 266	1.5%	25 595	1.6%	149 886	2.4%
UK	6 207	7.5%	189 485	12.0%	768 247	12.3%
EU-28	83 117	100%	1 576 429	100%	6 265 969	100%

Source: EU Fishing Fleet Register. Situation as in September 2017.

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Source: EU fishing fleet register

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3. Employment

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Fishing plays a crucial role for employment and economic activity in several EU regions – in some European coastal communities the fishing sector accounts for as many as half the local jobs.

Employment in the fishing sector tends to be concentrated in a handful of countries. Spain alone accounts for a fourth of total employment, and the four countries with the highest levels of employment – Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal – make up around 73%.

Aquaculture employs roughly 80 000 people, including part-time and full-time jobs in both marine and freshwater aquaculture.

The processing industry counts approximately 3 700 companies. The mainstay of EU production is conserves and ready meals of fish, crustaceans and molluscs.

Fisheries (2015)
BE	413
BG	692
CZ	762
DK	1 570
DE	1 180
EE	412
IE	2 036
EL ⁽²⁾	24 759
ES	29 322
FR	5 951
HR	2 071
IT	21 077
CY	762
LV	291
LT	407
^HU	-
MT	811
NL	1 732
AT	-
PL	2 364
PT	8 323
RO	45
SI	75
SK	-
FI	342
SE	793
UK	8 034

Aquaculture (2014) (1)
BE	-
BG	679
CZ	-
DK	336
DE	60
EE	30
IE	941
EL	4 640
ES	5 946
FR	9 114
HR	1 117
IT	1 695
CY	341
LV	-
LT	-
HU	-
MT	153
NL	212
AT	-
PL	-
PT	799
RO	2 001
SI	19
SK	-
FI	329
SE	278
UK	2 761

Processing (2016)
BE	905
BG	1 482
CZ	742
DK	3 018
DE	7 160
EE	1 844
IE	2 147
EL	1 235
ES	17 693
FR	11 218
HR	1 149
IT	4 002
CY	-
LV	3 588
LT	5 240
HU	6
MT	-
NL	2 181
AT	116
PL	16 569
PT	6 913
RO	1 279
SI ⁽²⁾	97
SK	651
FI	748
SE	1 662
UK	13 637

(1) Data cover only marine aquaculture.
(2) Persons employed.

Source: for fisheries: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), The 2017 annual economic report on the EU fishing fleet (STECF 17-12), Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2017 (Report EUR 28359 EN, JRC 107883, doi:10.2760/36154);
for aquaculture: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), Economic report of the EU aquaculture sector (STECF-16-12), Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2016 (Report EUR 28356 EN, JRC 104210, doi:10.2788/67732);
for processing: Eurostat.

4. Fisheries and aquaculture production

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The EU is the fourth largest producer worldwide, accounting for about 3.1% of global fisheries and aquaculture production. 80% of production comes from fisheries and 20% from aquaculture.

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

Main world producers (2015)
(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	17 853	61 536	79 389	37.69%
Indonesia	6 565	15 649	22 214	10.55%
India	4 862	5 238	10 100	4.79%
EU-28	5 160	1 307	6 467	3.07%
Vietnam	2 757	3 450	6 207	2.95%
United States	5 045	425	5 471	2.60%
Peru	4 838	90	4 929	2.34%
Japan	3 553	1 103	4 656	2.21%
Russia	4 463	153	4 617	2.19%
Philippines	2 154	2 348	4 503	2.14%
Norway	2 441	1 380	3 821	1.81%
Bangladesh	1 623	2 060	3 684	1.75%
South Korea	1 656	1 676	3 333	1.58%
Chile	2 132	1 057	3 190	1.51%
Myanmar/Burma (*)	1 953	999	2 953	1.40%
Thailand	1 693	897	2 590	1.23%
Malaysia	1 496	506	2 003	0.95%
Others (*)	34 399	6 127	40 527	19.24%
Total	104 650	106 009	210 660	100%

(*) FAO estimate.
Source: For EU-28 catches: Eurostat for all MS except CZ, HU, AT and SK. (These data do not include inland water catches.)
For inland water catches for CZ, HU, AT and SK only: FAO.
For EU-28 aquaculture: Eurostat and Eumofa.
For other countries: FAO.

4.1 Catches

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

Although the European fleet operates worldwide, EU catches are taken primarily in the North-East Atlantic. The most fished species are pelagic fish, especially Atlantic herring, Atlantic mackerel and European sprat, accounting for more than one third of EU catches.

The leading fishing countries in terms of volume are Spain, Denmark, the United Kingdom and France, which combined, account for more than 57% of EU catches.

**Total EU catches in fishing areas (2015)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Atlantic, North-East	3 959 232	76.7%
Mediterranean	418 191	8.1%
Atlantic, Eastern Central	259 284	5.0%
Indian Ocean, West	194 128	3.8%
Atlantic, South-West	135 162	2.6%
Atlantic, South-East	116 605	2.3%
Atlantic, North-West	48 028	0.9%
Inland waters	16 099	0.3%
Black Sea	13 589	0.3%
Total fishing areas	5 160 318	100%

Source: Eurostat for all MS except CZ, HU, AT and SK. (These data do not include inland water catches.)
For inland water catches for CZ, HU, AT and SK only: FAO.

**Total catches of world’s main producers (2015)**
(volume in 1000 tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	Catches	% over the total
China	17 853	17.06%
Indonesia	6 565	6.27%
India (*)	4 862	4.65%
EU-28	5 160	4.93%
Vietnam	2 757	2.63%
United States	5 045	4.82%
Peru	4 838	4.62%
Japan	3 553	3.40%
Russia	4 463	4.27%
Philippines	2 154	2.06%
Norway	2 441	2.33%
Bangladesh	1 623	1.55%
South Korea	1 656	1.58%
Chile	2 132	2.04%
Myanmar/Burma (*)	1 953	1.87%
Thailand	1 693	1.62%
Malaysia	1 496	1.43%
Others (*)	34 399	32.87%
Total	104 650	100%

(*) FAO estimate.
Source: For EU-28: Eurostat for all MS except CZ, HU, AT and SK. (These data do not include inland water catches.)
For inland water catches for CZ, HU, AT and SK only: FAO.
For other countries: FAO.

**Total catches per Member State (2015)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	Catches	% over the total
ES	901 512	17.47%
DK	868 890	16.84%
UK	701 769	13.60%
FR	497 435	9.64%
NL	364 990	7.07%
DE	251 268	4.87%
IE	234 772	4.55%
SE	202 946	3.93%
IT	191 634	3.71%
PL	187 051	3.62%
PT	185 217	3.59%
FI	153 394	2.97%
LV	81 305	1.58%
LT	72 432	1.40%
HR	72 264	1.40%
EE	70 753	1.37%
EL	64 431	1.25%
BE	24 463	0.47%
HU	9 937	0.19%
BG	8 747	0.17%
RO	4 843	0.09%
CZ	3 841	0.07%
MT	2 437	0.05%
SK	1 971	0.04%
CY	1 475	0.03%
AT	350	0.01%
SL	191	0.004%
Total EU-28	5 160 318	100%

Source: Eurostat.

**The 15 species caught by the European Union (2015)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Atlantic herring	769 376	15%
Atlantic mackerel	545 256	10.6%
European sprat	530 414	10.3%
Blue whiting	235 182	4.6%
Sandeels	218 956	4.3%
Sardine	197 618	3.8%
Atlantic horse mackerel	183 154	3.6%
Atlantic cod	147 151	2.9%
Yellowfin tuna	144 782	2.8%
Skipjack tuna	132 632	2.6%
European anchovy	129 760	2.5%
European hake	117 693	2.3%
Atlantic chub mackerel	109 415	2.1%
European plaice	92 402	1.8%
Blue mussel	61 545	1.2%

Source: Eurostat.

**Main species caught per Member State (2015)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
BE
European plaice	7 770	31.8%
Common sole	3 077	12.6%
Atlantic cod	1 434	5.9%
Anglerfishes	1 104	4.5%

BG
Sea snails	4 101	46.9%
European sprat	3 297	37.7%
Red mullet	633	7.2%

CZ
Common carp	3 014	78.5%

DK
European sprat	302 821	34.9%
Sandeels	169 250	19.5%
Atlantic herring	134 811	15.5%
Atlantic mackerel	46 907	5.4%
Blue mussel	45 300	5.2%
Blue whiting	45 099	5.2%

DE
Atlantic herring	67 123	26.7%
Atlantic mackerel	28 262	11.2%
Blue whiting	24 107	9.6%
Sardine	17 866	7.1%
Atlantic cod	15 573	6.2%
European sprat	13 996	5.6%
Common shrimp	13 931	5.5%

EE
Atlantic herring	32 317	45.7%
European sprat	23 954	33.9%
Northern prawn	6 740	9.5%

IE
Atlantic mackerel	88 851	37.8%
Blue whiting	24 785	10.6%
Atlantic horse mackerel	21 655	9.2%
Atlantic herring	19 251	8.2%
Boarfishes	16 325	7.0%

EL
European anchovy	13 515	21.0%
Sardine	7 953	12.3%
European hake	3 255	5.1%
Bogue	2 914	4.5%

ES
Yellowfin tuna	90 922	10.1%
Skipjack tuna	90 765	10.1%
European anchovy	49 982	5.5%
Blue shark	47 156	5.2%
Argentine hake	46 514	5.2%
Atlantic chub mackerel	40 818	4.5%

FR
Yellowfin tuna	52 240	10.5%
European hake	43 723	8.8%
Skipjack tuna	40 017	8.0%
Atlantic herring	30 284	6.1%
Atlantic mackerel	26 209	5.3%
Monkfishes	23 139	4.7%

HR
Sardine	50 108	69.3%
European anchovy	12 340	17.1%

IT
European anchovy	37 511	19.6%
Sardine	28 865	15.1%
Striped venus	14 660	7.6%
Deep-water rose shrimp	9 090	4.7%
European hake	8 994	4.7%

CY
Albacore tuna	511	34.7%
Bogue	120	8.1%
Comber	75	5.1%
Picarel	74	5.0%

LV
European sprat	30 501	37.5%
Atlantic herring	25 266	31.1%
Atlantic horse mackerel	6 879	8.5%
Atlantic mackerel	6 657	8.2%
Queen crab	3 830	4.7%

LT
Atlantic horse mackerel	24 195	33.4%
Atlantic chub mackerel	11 819	16.3%
European sprat	11 004	15.2%
Jack and horse mackerels	6 210	8.6%
Sardine	4 579	6.3%

HU
Common carp	7 307	73.5%
Cyprinids	1 245	12.5%

MT
Atlantic chub mackerel	543	22.3%
Swordfish	489	20.1%
Common dolphinfish	334	13.7%
Atlantic bluefin tuna	180	7.4%

NL
Atlantic herring	93 394	25,6%
Blue whiting	68 238	18,7%
Atlantic mackerel	48 782	13,4%
Atlantic horse mackerel	38 711	10,6%
European plaice	32 273	8,8%

PL
European sprat	64 173	34,3%
Atlantic herring	39 715	21,2%
Atlantic horse mackerel	39 701	21,2%
Atlantic cod	18 475	9,9%
European flounder	9 441	5,0%

PT
Atlantic chub mackerel	46 101	24,9%
Atlantic horse mackerel	22 748	12,3%
Sardine	13 936	7,5%
Blue shark	8 881	4,8%
Atlantic redfishes	8 830	4,8%
Atlantic mackerel	8 460	4,6%

RO
Thomas' rapa whelk	4 460	92,1%

SI
Sardine	44	23,0%
Gilt-head seabream	29	15,1%
European anchovy	15	7,7%
Common sole	13	6,9%
Whiting	12	6,2%
European squid	11	5,5%

SK
Common carp	1 466	74,4%

FI
Atlantic herring	131 715	85,9%
European sprat	11 875	7,7%

SE
Atlantic herring	97 012	47,8%
European sprat	50 980	25,1%
Sandeels	33 439	16,5%

UK
Atlantic mackerel	247 987	35,3%
Atlantic herring	93 744	13,4%
Haddock	33 264	4,7%
Blue whiting	31 778	4,5%

NB: Not relevant for LU. Data by main species is not available for AT.
Source: Eurostat except FAO for CZ, HU and SK.

4.2 Aquaculture

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Aquaculture is a significant activity in many European countries, producing around 1.3 million tonnes and more than EUR 4 billion in value. In the total world aquaculture production, EU aquaculture occupies a share of 1.23 % in terms of volume and 2.82 % in terms of value. Mediterranean mussels make up around one fourth of the total volume farmed in the EU, while Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout together represent more than a third of the total value.

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

**Total aquaculture production per Member State (2015)**
(value in thousands of EUR, volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	Value	% Value	Volume	% volume
UK	995 335	24.03%	211 568	16.19%
FR	736 400	17.78%	206 800	15.82%
ES	513 397	12.40%	293 510	22.46%
EL	464 053	11.21%	106 038	8.11%
IT	366 309	8.84%	148 763	11.38%
IE	136 482	3.30%	37 581	2.88%
MT	127 925	3.09%	10 800	0.83%
DK	110 154	2.66%	36 010	2.76%
HR	102 662	2.48%	16 875	1.29%
NL	94 682	2.29%	62 204	4.76%
PL	86 603	2.09%	33 560	2.57%
DE	77 164	1.86%	30 167	2.31%
PT	53 160	1.28%	9 320	0.71%
FI	49 399	1.19%	14 879	1.14%
SE	43 112	1.04%	12 277	0.94%
CZ	35 049	0.85%	20 200	1.55%
CY	32 295	0.78%	5 459	0.42%
HU	30 634	0.74%	17 337	1.33%
BG	22 766	0.55%	10 652	0.82%
RO	21 773	0.53%	11 016	0.84%
AT	19 570	0.47%	3 495	0.27%
LT	9 330	0.23%	4 083	0.31%
SK	3 575	0.09%	1 248	0.10%
EE	3 390	0.08%	799	0.06%
SI	3 327	0.08%	1 434	0.11%
LV	2 376	0.06%	863	0.07%
BE	540	0.01%	82	0.01%
EU-28	4 141 461	100%	1 307 020	100%

NB. Not relevant for LU.

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Total aquaculture production by other major producers (2015)**
(value in thousands of EUR, volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Country	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
China	71 403 569	48.58%	61 536 375	58.05%
India (*)	9 424 824	6.41%	5 238 019	4.94%
Indonesia	7 907 522	5.38%	15 649 311	14.76%
Vietnam (*)	7 671 914	5.22%	3 450 200	3.25%
Chile	6 186 032	4.21%	1 057 742	1.00%
Norway	5 248 429	3.57%	1 380 890	1.30%
Bangladesh	4 641 751	3.16%	2 060 408	1.94%
EU-28	4 141 461	2.82%	1 307 020	1.23%
Japan	3 944 492	2.68%	1 103 235	1.04%
Thailand	2 117 810	1.44%	897 096	0.85%
Ecuador	2 075 893	1.41%	426 410	0.40%
South Korea	1 947 613	1.32%	1 676 489	1.58%
Philippines	1 850 159	1.26%	2 348 159	2.22%
Egypt (*)	1 650 324	1.12%	1 174 831	1.11%
Myanmar/Burma	1 482 574	1.01%	999 630	0.94%
Others (*)	15 298 980	10.41%	5 703 902	5.38%
Total	146 993 350	100%	118 662	100%

(*) FAO estimate.
Source: Eumofa for EU and FAO for other countries.

**Top 10 species in aquaculture in the European Union (2015)**
(value in thousands of EUR and percentage of total)
Main Commercial Species	Value	% VALUE
Atlantic salmon	974 033	23.52%
Rainbow trout	584 852	14.12%
Gilt-head seabream	448 692	10.83%
Pacific cupped oyster	415 945	10.04%
European seabass	409 236	9.88%
Atlantic bluefin tuna	221 084	5.34%
Blue mussel	199 795	4.82%
Mediterranean mussel	198 500	4.79%
Common carp	131 944	3.19%
Japanese carpet shell	105 676	2.55%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Top 10 species in aquaculture in the European Union (2015)**
(volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total)
Main Commercial Species	Volume	% VOLUME
Mediterranean mussel	326 204	24.96%
Rainbow trout	186 916	14.30%
Atlantic salmon	185 994	14.23%
Blue mussel	145 415	11.13%
Pacific cupped oyster	85 395	6.53%
Gilt-head seabream	82 527	6.31%
European seabass	68 780	5.26%
Common carp	68 730	5.26%
Japanese carpet shell	35 173	2.69%
Sea mussels	19 254	1.47%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Main species in aquaculture per Member State (2015)**
(value in thousands of EUR and percentage of total value - volume in tonnes live weight and percentage of total volume)
BE	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	220	40.7	50	61.0%

BG	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	8 999	39.5%	2 322	21.8%
Common carp	4 223	18.5%	2 142	20.1%
Mediterranean mussel	2 770	12.2%	3 114	29.2%
North African catfish	1 793	7.9%	286	2.7%

CZ	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Common carp	29 464	84.1%	17 860	88.4%

DK	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	95 327	86.5%	32 164	89.3%
European eel	9 649	8.8%	1 183	3.3%

DE	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	29 336	38.0%	8 527	28.3%
Blue mussel	11 855	15.4%	10 875	36.0%
Common carp	11 406	14.8%	4 916	16.3%
European eel	10 182	13.2%	1 147	3.8%

EE	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	2 001	59.0%	559	70.0%
Sturgeons	223	6.6%	57	7.1%

IE	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Atlantic salmon	89 830	65.8%	13 116	35%
Pacific cupped oyster	28 157	20.6%	7 004	19%
Blue mussel	12 692	9.3%	16 015	43%

EL	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Gilt-head seabream	241 647	52.1%	47 008	44.3%
European seabass	191 086	41.2%	35 382	33.4%
Mediterranean mussel	6 849	1.5%	18 628	17.6%

ES	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Mediterranean mussel	115 175	22.4%	225 307	76.8%
European seabass	113 235	22.1%	18 600	6.3%
Gilt-head seabream	85 337	16.6%	16 005	5.5%
Atlantic bluefin tuna	71 210	13.9%	4 691	1.6%
Turbot	48 663	9.5%	7 464	2.5%
Rainbow trout	46 095	9.0%	16 154	5.5%

FR	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Pacific cupped oyster	377 442	51.3%	75 100	36.3%
Rainbow trout	116 813	15.9%	36 500	17.6%
Blue mussel	115 613	15.7%	61 000	29.5%
Mediterranean mussel	22 743	3.1%	14 100	6.8%

HR	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Atlantic bluefin tuna	29 514	36.9%	2 603	15.4%
Gilt-head seabream	19 553	28.0%	4 488	26.6%
European seabass	19 488	25.1%	4 075	24.1%
Common carp	5 356	5.2%	3 401	20.2%
Mussel	2 012	2.5%	1 950	14.2%

IT	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Japanese carpet shell	94 112	25.7%	33 500	22.5%
Rainbow trout	86 805	23.7%	31 300	21.0%
Mediterranean mussel	49 756	13.6%	63 700	42.8%
Gilt-head seabream	48 992	13.4%	6 800	4.6%
European seabass	44 247	12.1%	5 800	3.9%

CY	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	19 746	61.1%	3 656	67.0%
European seabass	11 896	36.8%	1 726	31.6%

LV	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Common carp	1 092	46.0%	549	63.6%
Rainbow trout	562	23.7%	134	15.5%
Sturgeons	481	20.3%	91	10.5%

LT	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Common carp	7 036	75.4%	3 401	83.6%
Rainbow trout	842	9.0%	244	6.0%

HU	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Common carp	18 959	61.9%	10 725	61.9%
North African catfish	5 359	17.5%	2 840	16.4%
Silver carp	1 707	5.6%	2 169	12.5%

MT	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Atlantic bluefin tuna	111 089	86.8%	8 051	74.5%
Gilt-head seabream	11 864	9.3%	2 337	21.6%

NL	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Blue mussel	57 370	60.6%	54 211	87.1%
European eel	17 000	18.0%	2 000	3.2%
Cupped oysters	9 456	10.0%	2 299	3.7%

AT	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	7 260	37.1%	1 185	33.9%
Brook trout	2 659	13.6%	426	12.2%
Common carp	2 220	11.3%	618	17.7%

PL	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	36 349	42.0%	12 727	37.9%
Common carp	36 098	41.7%	16 223	48.3%

PT	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Grooved carpet shell	26 057	49.0%	2 295	24.6%
Turbot	11 998	22.6%	2 302	24.7%
Gilt-head seabream	5 758	10.8%	1 045	11.2%
Rainbow trout	1 899	3.6%	777	8.3%

RO	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Common carp	9 959	45.7%	4 349	39.5%
Rainbow trout	4 777	21.9%	1 345	12.2%
Bighead carp	2 148	9.9%	1 840	16.7%
Silver carp	2 073	9.5%	1 843	16.7%
Prussian carp	820	3.8%	873	7.9%

SI	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	2 303	69.2%	656	45.7%
European seabass	434	13.1%	70	4.9%
Mediterranean mussel	287	8.6%	573	40.0%
Common carp	286	8.6%	127	8.9%

SK	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	2 870	80.3%	926	74.2%
Common carp	552	15.4%	258	20.6%

FI	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	41 309	83.6%	13 862	93.2%
European whitefish	6 961	14.1%	818	5.5%

SE	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Rainbow trout	31 078	72.1%	8 967	73.0%
Arctic char	10 154	23.6%	1 675	13.6%

UK	Value	% Value	Volume	% Volume
Atlantic salmon	880 897	88.5%	172 146	81.4%
Rainbow trout	58 275	5.9%	14 839	7.0%

NB: Not relevant for LU.

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

4.3 Processing sector

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Despite the increase in production costs, the EU fish processing industry is generally profitable, with an overall turnover of nearly EUR 28 billion. The main countries in terms of output are Spain, France, United Kingdom, Poland and Denmark.

**Turnover (2016)**
(in millions of EUR)
ES	5 180
FR	3 789
UK	3 282
PL	2 612
DK	2 566
IT	2 388
DE	2 067
PT	1 215
NL	963
IE	646
BE	592
SE	565
LT	464
FI	311
EL	222
LV	153
EE	127
RO	105
HR	97
CZ	86
SK	82
BG	63
AT	50
MT (1)	23
SI (2)	12
CY (1)	3
HU	1
Total	27 662

(1) 2015 data

(2) 2014 data

NB: Not relevant for LU.
Source: Eurostat for all Member States except MT and CY whose data come from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), The 2017 economic performance of the EU fish processing industry.

4.4 Organisation of the sector

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Producer organisations (2017)

Fishermen and fish farmers may join forces through producer organisations to make their production sustainable and efficiently market their products. They do so by developing production and marketing plans. These organisations are key actors in fisheries and aquaculture. In 2017, there were 218 producer organisations across 18 EU Member States.

/fisheries/file/2018-facts-aquaculture-popng_en2018-facts-aquaculture-po.png

NB: In AT, BG, CY, CZ, FI, HU, LU, MT, SI and SK, there are no producer organisations.

Source: Member States, data retrieved on 16 January 2018.

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 (i.e. imports and exports) has increased over the past few years, reaching EUR 29.1 billion in 2014. Norway, China, Morocco and Iceland 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 fresh and chilled. Sweden, Spain, Denmark and the United Kingdom are the leading importing Member States.

In 2016 EU exports to third countries increased to EUR 4.7 billion. Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are the leading exporting Member States.

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 into the EU, i.e. EUR 23.6 billion in 2016. The main exporters to other EU Member States are Sweden, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands. The main importers are France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.

**Trade of fisheries and aquaculture products between the European Union and non-EU countries (2016)**
(volume in tonnes and value in thousands of EUR)
	IMPORTS		EXPORTS
	VOLUME	VALUE	VOLUME	VALUE
Pelagic fish	1 124 505	3 408 570	885 354	1 319 384
Salmonids	880 018	5 753 590	107 431	753 163
Other fish	1 906 508	6 883 792	419 173	1 382 956
Crustaceans	628 078	4 717 244	66 991	406 790
Molluscs	634 206	2 718 821	48 308	306 873
Non-food use products	843 478	911 084	338 406	552 435
Total EU-28	6 016 791	24 393 100	1 865 662	4 721 601

**Extra- and intra-EU trade (2016)**
(value in billions of EUR)
Extra-EU imports 24.4	/fisheries/file/facts5extraeuexportjpg_enfacts5_extra_eu_export.jpg Alt Text : extra eu export
Intra-EU trade 23.6	/fisheries/file/facts5extraeuimportjpg_enfacts5_extra_eu_import.jpg Alt Text : extra eu import
Extra-EU exports 4.7	/fisheries/file/facts5intraeutradejpg_enfacts5_intra_eu_trade.jpg Alt Text : intra eu trade

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

/fisheries/file/2018-supplierspng_en2018-suppliers.png

Copyrights :

Main Suppliers	Value	%
Norway	6 328 931	25.9%
China	1 672 847	6.9%
Morocco	1 234 255	5.1%
Iceland	1 161 108	4.8%
Ecuador	1 127 892	4.6%
United States	1 085 185	4.4%
Vietnam	1 030 417	4.2%
India	943 481	3.9%
Argentina	663 724	2.7%
Faroe Islands	634 340	2.6%
Russia	557 179	2.3%
Other non-EU countries	7 953 740	32.6%
Total	23 393 100	100%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

/fisheries/file/2018-customerspng_en2018-customers.png

Copyrights :

Main Customers	Value	%
United States	559 180	11.8%
Norway	496 224	10.5%
Switzerland	435 396	9.2%
China	362 516	7.7%
Japan	336 484	7.1%
Vietnam	224 280	4.8%
Nigeria	214 974	4.6%
South Korea	123 441	2.6%
Egypt	122 895	2.6%
Morocco	112 547	2.4%
Hong-Kong	106 072	2.2%
Other non-EU countries	1 627 591	34.5%
Total	4 721 601	100%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

Main Member States importing from NON-EU countries
Sweden	4 233 959	17.4%
Spain	4 128 268	16.9%
Denmark	2 586 096	10.6%
United Kingdom	2 566 627	10.5%
Netherlands	2 181 111	8.9%
Italy	2 176 573	8.9%
France	1 911 812	7.8%
Germany	1 909 710	7.8%
Other Member States	2 698 943	11.1%
Total EU-28	24 393 100	100%

Main Member States exporting to NON-EU countries
Spain	831 137	17.6%
Denmark	799 909	16.9%
Netherlands	680 886	14.4%
United Kingdom	628 760	13.3%
France	382 125	8.1%
Germany	295 054	6.2%
Portugal	165 191	3.5%
Ireland	151 581	3.2%
Other Member States	786 955	16.7%
Total EU-28	4 721 601	100%

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Imports and exports of fisheries and aquaculture products - Extra-EU trade (2016)**
(volume in tonnes and value in thousands of EUR)
Member State	IMPORTS		EXPORTS
Member State	VOLUME	VALUE	VOLUME	VALUE
BE	114 881	755 670	7 205	25 901
BG	10 520	19 322	2 734	18 006
CZ	16 343	42 898	2 226	7 658
DK	919 285	2 586 096	297 502	799 909
DE	556 197	1 909 710	123 589	295 054
EE	5 803	19 831	57 066	55 321
IE	55 853	33 900	103 033	151 581
EL	79 741	217 337	11 306	59 718
ES	1 083 351	4 128 268	386 902	831 137
FR	414 167	1 911 812	101 695	382 125
HR	9 875	25 744	16 476	73 833
IT	458 342	2 176 573	21 044	133 199
CY	8 016	34 982	4 780	27 057
LV	14 161	30 772	25 196	25 980
LT	58 761	143 323	14 606	21 793
LU	18	1 009	55	880
HU	2 915	6 486	1 451	4 014
MT	18 206	31 138	8 933	117 479
NL	525 001	2 181 111	440 476	680 886
AT	7 983	47 765	1 990	14 428
PL	200 996	487 105	31 729	108 695
PT	159 886	549 697	33 082	165 191
RO	14 953	35 891	1 414	5 290
SI	5 055	13 117	2 329	9 682
SK	6 263	12 719	404	1 053
FI	46 965	190 237	10 512	18 280
SE	706 846	4 233 959	10 166	58 689
UK	516 410	2 566 627	147 762	628 760
Total EU-28	6 016 791	24 393 100	1 865 662	4 721 601

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

/fisheries/file/facts5pelagicfishjpg_enfacts5_pelagicfish.jpg Alt Text : Pelagic fish	Pelagic fish
ES	839 692
IT	588 990
FR	434 361
UK	409 714
NL	267 155
DE	251 664
PL	134 771
PT	98 696
Other Member States	383 527
Total EU-28	3 408 570

/fisheries/file/facts5salmonidsjpg_enfacts5_salmonids.jpg Alt Text : Salmonids	Salmonids
SE	3 513 893
DK	1 033 125
UK	340 220
DE	339 922
FI	138 929
FR	106 720
NL	58 761
PL	42 606
Other Member States	179 415
Total EU-28	5 753 590

/fisheries/file/facts5otherfishjpg_enfacts5_otherfish.jpg Alt Text : Other fish	Other fish
NL	1 156 336
UK	928 276
ES	853 378
DE	834 084
DK	705 550
SE	511 006
FR	487 495
IT	389 835
Other Member States	1 017 832
Total EU-28	6 883 792

/fisheries/file/facts5crustaceansjpg_enfacts5_crustaceans.jpg Alt Text : Crustaceans	Crustaceans
ES	1 047 561
UK	711 221
FR	668 640
NL	524 846
IT	432 697
DK	428 525
BE	362 708
DE	244 659
Other Member States	296 387
Total EU-28	4 717 244

/fisheries/file/facts5molluscsjpg_enfacts5_molluscs.jpg Alt Text : Molluscs	Molluscs
ES	1 277 416
IT	720 854
FR	146 624
NL	122 618
PT	122 421
UK	92 341
EL	86 213
BE	53 315
Other Member States	97 019
Total EU-28	2 718 821

Non-food use products
DK	303 210
DE	203 213
UK	84 855
ES	68 579
FR	67 972
NL	51 396
EL	33 418
BE	29 768
Other Member States	68 672
Total EU-28	911 084

Source: Eurostat and Eumofa.

/fisheries/file/facts5pelagicfishjpg_enfacts5_pelagicfish.jpg Alt Text : Pelagic fish	Pelagic fish
ES	425 747
NL	278 043
MT	117 079
FR	88 435
IE	79 640
IT	70 842
HR	52 419
UK	44 997
Other Member States	162 183
Total EU-28	1 319 384

/fisheries/file/facts5salmonidsjpg_enfacts5_salmonids.jpg Alt Text : Salmonids	Salmonids
UK	395 734
DK	66 413
NL	65 044
DE	56 176
PL	40 102
FR	39 423
SE	23 465
EE	10 745
Other Member States	56 062
Total EU-28	753 163

/fisheries/file/facts5otherfishjpg_enfacts5_otherfish.jpg Alt Text : Other fish	Other fish
ES	268 393
DK	239 909
NL	191 827
FR	160 820
DE	107 677
PT	97 849
UK	56 275
EL	49 570
Other Member States	2 487 825
Total EU-28	1 382 956

/fisheries/file/facts5crustaceansjpg_enfacts5_crustaceans.jpg Alt Text : Crustaceans	Crustaceans
DK	141 011
NL	125 015
UK	41 728
FR	23 654
ES	19 212
EE	12 642
DE	11 836
PT	10 878
Other Member States	20 814
Total EU-28	406 790

/fisheries/file/facts5molluscsjpg_enfacts5_molluscs.jpg Alt Text : Molluscs	Molluscs
ES	99 783
FR	45 719
UK	44 769
IE	41 566
PT	22 521
BG	14 267
IT	13 518
NL	8 423
Other Member States	16 307
Total EU-28	306 873

Non-food use products
DK	330 835
DE	90 259
UK	45 257
FR	24 075
NL	12 535
IE	12 026
ES	10 434
BE	8 918
Other Member States	18 095
Total EU-28	552 435

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 25.1 kg of fish or seafood per year (almost 4 kg more than in the rest of the world).

Consumption, however, varies greatly across the EU: from 4.8 kg per person in Hungary to 55.9 kg in Portugal.

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

**Consumption of fisheries and aquaculture products (2015)**
(quantity in live weight (kg/inhabitant/year))
PT	55.9
ES	45.2
FR	33.9
LU	32.0
MT	31.5
IT	28.4
SE	26.9
LV	26.3
EU-28	25.1
UK	24.3
BE	23.7
FI	23.3
DK	22.9
CY	22.7
NL	22.2
IE	22.1
HR	18.4
EL	17.3
ET	17.2
LT	14.9
PL	13.6
AT	13.4
DE	13.4
SI	10.7
SK	8.2
CZ	7.8
RO	6.2
BG	6.2
HU	4.8

Source: FAO, Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Consumption of fisheries and aquaculture products in the major world economies (2013)**
(quantity in live weight (kg/inhabitant/year))
Iceland	91.97
Norway	52.08
Japan	49.79
China	44.58
Russia	22.94
Canada	22.61
EU-28	24.69
United States	21.55
WORLD AVERAGE	21.20
Brazil	10.88
India	5.04

Source: FAO, Eurostat and Eumofa.

**Main species consumed in the European Union (2015)**
(quantity in live weight (kg/inhabitant/year))
Main commercial species	Per capita (Kg)	% wild	% farmed
Tuna (mostly canned)	2.77	99%	1%
Cod	2.32	99%	1%
Salmon	2.17	0%	100%
Alaska pollock	1.55	100%	0%
Herring	1.38	100%	0%
Mussel	1.33	11%	89%
Mackerel	1.07	100%	0%
Hake	1.00	100%	0%
Squid	0.71	100%	0%
Tropical shrimps	0.67	24%	76%

Source: Eumofa, The EU fish market, 2017 edition.

Consumption of proteins

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In the EU, the 2013 average consumption of protein from fish and seafood remained stable at 6.61 g per day per person, which corresponds to around 6% of total protein intake and 11% of animal protein intake.

Animal proteins make up 58% of individual protein intake (60.38 g per day), while vegetal proteins cover the remaining 42% (43.47 g per day).

**Consumption of proteins per Member State (2013)**
(grams per capita 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 other animal proteins (*)	/fisheries/file/facts6vegetablesjpg_enfacts6_vegetables.jpg Alt Text : other vegetables
LT	16.74	59.75	47.99
PT	13.57	53.71	43.59
ES	12.71	52.44	39.73
FI	10.32	62.71	44.69
FR	9.05	60.30	41.18
MT	8.62	53.12	48.61
DK	8.60	61.22	39.07
LU	8.41	63.71	41.76
SE	8.32	62.51	36.89
LV	7.33	43.64	40.42
NL	6.95	68.82	35.96
IT	6.94	51.30	50.26
EU-28 average	6.61	53.77	43.47
BE	6.46	51.66	41.48
CY	6.06	38.99	32.56
HR	5.86	42.12	36.37
UK	5.51	52.77	44.93
PL	5.48	47.79	48.20
EL	5.21	54.03	49.56
IE	5.17	59.65	45.19
DE	4.23	57.25	40.11
AT	4.14	58.72	43.35
EE	3.96	49.28	50.66
SI	2.93	48.88	44.38
CZ	2.57	47.91	36.99
SK	2.33	32.62	37.56
BG	2.11	39.19	42.22
RO	1.75	45.46	55.82
HU	1.48	40.62	36.74

* (meat, milk, cheese, egg, etc)
Source: FAO.

Supply balance

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The supply of fisheries and seafood products to the EU market is ensured by the EU’s own production and by imports, leading to a total of 14.56 million tonnes available for human consumption in 2015. In the same year, the "apparent consumption", obtained by subtracting exports from this figure, was 12.77 million tonnes.

**Supply balance (2015)**
(volume in million tonnes live weight equivalent)

/fisheries/file/2018-facts6suppybalancejpg_en2018-facts6_suppy_balance.jpg

Source: Eumofa.

Self-sufficiency

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Self-sufficiency can be expressed as the ratio between own production (catches plus aquaculture) and total apparent consumption. In 2015, the EU's self-sufficiency rate stood at 46%, i.e. Europeans consumed roughly twice as much as they produced.

The EU’s production covers more than two thirds of its consumption of pelagic fish and more than half of its consumption of molluscs. It is more dependent on external sourcing for salmonids, crustaceans and other fish.

/fisheries/file/2018-selfsufficiencypng_en2018-selfsufficiency.png

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Source: Eumofa.

7. European Union support

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Five European Structural and Investment Funds^[1] support the economic development 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 is managed by the Member States - focuses on underpinning the common fisheries policy (CFP) and making fisheries and aquaculture more sustainable and profitable. But the EMFF also invests in diversifying local economies for thriving maritime regions and inland fisheries and aquaculture areas.

In doing so, the EMFF does not prescribe how every cent should be spent. Instead the European Union allocates a share of the total budget to each country, and leaves it to national authorities - and local communities - to choose the projectes and solutions that work best for them.

[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 six main priorities**
Sustainable fisheries (27%): 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 (9.1%): 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 (17.5%): 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% consists of technical assistance to help Member States to implement the above priorities.

In this way, the EMFF supports local initiatives aiming at rebuilding fish stocks, phasing out discards, collecting fisheries data and reducing human impact on the marine environment. It helps Member States check that fishermen, fish farmers and maritime communities correctly apply the relevant EU rules. The EMFF also envourages cross-border cooperation in maritime domains such as spatial planning and surveillance.

**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	42 645	63 582	59 695	20 910	22 281	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	1 161 621	20.20
FR	150 941	88 790	122 279	22 581	163 236	5 335	34 818	587 980	10.23
HR	80 961	55 261	34 824	24 821	40 618	1 000	15 159	252 643	4.39
IT	180 516	100 965	102 429	42 426	74 235	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	35 700	34 700	11 148	12 750	35 536	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	1 554 089	1 199 879	1 100 000	524 816	1 007 897	71 056	291 595	5 749 332	100

NB: Not relevant for LU.
Source: Member States' operational programmes. Situation as in January 2018.

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