According to the FAO, aquaculture production worldwide has increased significantly, representing in 2008 37% of the fishery products produced. Europe is the top global market for seafood products, but depends on imports at 65% of its needs. EU aquaculture is in stagnation, with an increase of only 0.5% since 2001.

Commissioner Maria Damanaki has promised support to boost the development of aquaculture in the EU. With three EP legislative reports - the basic regulation, the Common Organization of the Market and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund - impacting on aquaculture, this conference was held at the right time so as to discuss key issues such as competitiveness, level playing field, labeling, communication, provision of benchmarking and socio-economic information, the carbon footprint and the future European Advisory Council for Aquaculture.

The conference gave the opportunity to the Members of the European Parliament to hear the views of the aquaculture sector and discuss ways forward.

Organised by EBCD (European Bureau for conservation and development) for the European Parliament Intergroup on “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development”, the conference was held on 7th March 2012 in Brussels.

The individual presentations can be found by following the associate links:
1. Arnault Chaperon (FEAP President and EATIP Board Member) on "What does the profession expect from the CFP? "

2. Professor Sachi Kaushik (INRA and Thematic Area on Sustainable Feeds) on "FIFO and Carbon Footprint of aquaculture"

3. Gustavo Larrazábal (EATIP President & FEAP Vice-President) on "A level playing field for the  profession"

4. Courtney Hough (General Secretary of EATIP and FEAP) on "Aquaculture in 2030"

The final report on the meeting can be downloaded below.