WP 4: Socio-economic trends and EU policy in offshore economymaribe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/d4-1-3-socio-economic-trend… · This project has received funding from the European

WP 4: Socio-economic trends and EU policy in offshore

economy

D4.1-3

Chapter 1 – Aquaculture

Status: Final

20/02/2016

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme

under grant agreement No 652629

About MARIBE MARIBE is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to unlock the potential of multi-use of space in the

offshore economy (also referred to as Blue Economy). This forms part of the long-term Blue Growth

(BG) strategy to support sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole;

something which is at the heart of the Integrated Maritime Policy, the EU Innovation Union, and the

Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable growth.

Within the Blue Economy, there are new and emerging sectors comprising technologies that are

early stage and novel. These are referred to as Blue Growth sectors and they have developed

independently for the most part without pursuing cooperation opportunities with other sectors.

MARIBE investigates cooperation opportunities (partnerships, joint ventures etc.) for companies

within the four key BG sectors in order to develop these companies and their sectors and to

promote the multi-use of space in the offshore economy. The sectors are Marine Renewable Energy,

Aquaculture, Marine Biotechnology and Seabed Mining. MARIBE links and cross-cuts with the

Transatlantic Ocean Research Alliance and the Galway Statement by reviewing the three European

basins (Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Baltic) as well as the Caribbean Basin.



Acknowledgement The work described in this publication has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020

research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 652629

Legal Disclaimer The views expressed, and responsibility for the content of this publication, lie solely with the

authors. The European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information

contained herein. This work may rely on data from sources external to the MARIBE project

Consortium. Members of the Consortium do not accept liability for loss or damage suffered by any

third party as a result of errors or inaccuracies in such data. The information in this document is

provided “as is” and no guarantee or warranty is given that the information is fit for any particular

purpose. The user thereof uses the information at its sole risk and neither the European Commission

nor any member of the MARIBE Consortium is liable for any use that may be made of the

information.

Chapter 1 – Aquaculture Tamás Bardócz, Henrice Jansen, Junning Cai, José Aguilar-Manjarrez, Sara Barrento, Shane A. Hunter

Marnix Poelman

Executive summary A recent study of the World Bank stated that aquaculture is a major and still expanding sector

receiving considerable attention as a way to fill the growing seafood supply gap, which is estimated

to be increased with 30 million tonnes by 2030 1. However, aquaculture cannot be practised

everywhere; it requires a unique set of natural, social and economic resources which must be used

wisely if development of the sector is to be sustainable. In the EU and around the globe, the

availability of areas suitable for aquaculture is becoming a major problem for the development and

expansion of the sector. Appropriate environmental characteristics, good water quality, and well-

understood consequences of social interactions and the appropriation of marine, coastal and inland

resources are essential to maintain existing aquaculture facilities when setting up new production

sites.

Aquaculture is the production of aquatic organisms using techniques designed to increase and

control the production beyond the natural production capacity of the environment. According to the

culture environment freshwater, brackish water and marine aquaculture are the main types of

aquaculture. Aquaculture in marine environment (including offshore and brackish water

aquaculture) is often mentioned as mariculture, referring to cultivation of the end product in

seawater even though earlier stages in the life cycle of the concerned aquatic organisms may be

cultured in brackish water or freshwater or captured from the wild.

1 FISH TO 2030, Prospects for Fisheries and Aquaculture, WORLD BANK REPORT NUMBER 83177-GLB



Table 1.1. The volume in thousands tons of main product groups from the various culture environments were as follows in 2013 (brackish water production is included in the marine environment.)

Product Freshwater

aquaculture

Mariculture/Marine

aquaculture

Aquaculture Total

Finfish 40,503 6,568 47,071

Crustacean 2,578 4,134 6,712

Molluscs 283 15,231 15,514

Aquatic plants 82 26,896 26,978

Other aquatic animals and products 527 400 927

Total 43,974 53,228 97,202

Data from: © FAO - Fisheries and Aquaculture Information and Statistics Service - 01/07/2015

Aquaculture production is now fully comparable to fisheries landings when measured by volume of

output on a global scale. The contribution from aquaculture to the world total fish production of

capture and aquaculture in 2012 reached 42.2 percent, up from 25.7 percent in 2000 and it is

calculated that by 2014 the aquaculture production surpassed capture fisheries for human

consumption (OECD/FAO 2015). According to the latest OECD – FAO forecasts (OECD/FAO 2015)

expanding aquaculture production will drive overall growth. Aquaculture production is projected to

reach about 96 million tonnes in 2024 expanding on all continents with variations across countries

and regions. Asian countries will remain the main producers with a share of 89% of total production

in 2024, but a major increase is expected in Latin America, especially in Brazil due to significant

investments in the sector. In Africa the capacity building activities of the last decade and local

policies promoting aquaculture also will raise the recent 1.7 million tonnes to 2.2 million tonnes. The

recent FAO-OECD estimations (OECD/FAO 2015 database) expect the total fish production from

aquaculture as 96.4 million tonnes by 2024 from which 90.6 million tonnes will come from the

aquaculture of the developing countries.

The annual growth rate of the world aquaculture in the next decade is expected to be 2.5% in the

FAO/OECD, which is significantly lower than the growth rate of 5.6% p.a. experienced in the previous

decade. This slowdown in expansion will mainly be due to restrictions caused by environmental

impacts of production and competition from other users of water and coastal spaces. For example,

aquaculture farming along coasts, lakes or rivers can conflict with urban development or tourism.

This can create problems related to water quality and scarcity and push aquaculture expansion into

less optimal production locations, encouraging the industry to seek new technologies and

partnerships to keep the production costs at least on the recent level. Lane et al. (2014) focused on

the aquaculture development of the EU-28 countries in their study and projected that total increase

in volume from 2010 to 2030 will be 772.000 tonnes (+56%), with a corresponding value increase of

2.7 billion euros and requiring an additional 395.000 tonnes of feeds.

The above listed product groups are cultured by using various technologies, influenced by the

environment and determining the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the

production. The vast majority of freshwater fish are carps produced in Asia (37.5 million tons),

mainly in pond based systems ensuring the local protein supply of the underdeveloped regions. The

farmed species produced in mariculture are mainly extractive species that is molluscs (mainly

mussels and oysters) and aquatic plants (mainly seaweeds) produced in Asian countries. Products

from marine aquaculture also have an important role in the food supply and some aquaculture



technologies in marine areas have a potential (also producing new species) to supplement the global

shortage in capture fisheries.

The impact of the aquaculture sector in the European Union is significant in socio-economic terms

with a turnover of roughly EUR 3.5 billion and some 85 000 employees (including part-time and full-

time jobs) (EU statistic 2014). This job creation value is especially important for marine rural areas,

where besides fisheries, often aquaculture and fish processing provides the main job opportunities.

Coastal boundary definitions for marine aquaculture or mariculture

Marine aquaculture technologies are basically defined by their distance from the coastline and the

FAO boundaries can be summarised as follows:

1. Coastal Aquaculture: production site is not further than 500 m from the coast in a sheltered

environment.

2. Off the coast Aquaculture: production site is further then 500 m from the coast but still

somewhat sheltered with maximum 50 m water depth.

3. Offshore Aquaculture: the distance of the production site from the coast is more than 2 km

and the water depth on the site is more than 50 m.

Coastal and off the coast Aquaculture is usually considered as Nearshore.

Mariculture is a term which embraces all marine aquaculture (production of living organisms in

marine water) activities irrespective of the location of the site.

Coastal boundaries and fishery types

1. Coastal and off the coast marine fish culture: Fish farming activities less than 3 km from the

shore using various technologies also include flow-through and recirculation systems but

mostly apply the open floating cage net technology. In Europe, Atlantic salmon, Sea bream

and Sea bass are the fish species produced in the largest quantity in marine cage

aquaculture systems.

2. Coastal and off the coast farming of molluscs and crustaceans: Crustacean production is

mostly inland or on shore pond based farming and because of the required technology,

there are only very limited opportunities to move the production to offshore farms (lobster

cultures). Mussels and oysters are produced in large volume using various techniques and

molluscs cultures are considered as the most promising candidates for aquaculture on

offshore energy platforms (Wever et al. 2015).

3. Coastal and off the coast production of aquatic plants (macro and micro): While off coast

micro algae production is still in experimental stage, the production of seaweed is a well-

known off the coast technology having a potential to be moved farther offshore and

combined with other offshore activities.

4. Coastal and off the coast Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture systems (IMTA): The basic

concept of IMTA is the farming of several species at different trophic levels, that is species

that occupy different positions in a food chain. This allows one species’ uneaten feed and

wastes, nutrients and by-products to be recaptured and converted into fertilizer, feed and

energy for the other crops (Chopin, 2012). As an example we can combine, the cultivation of



fed species (finfish or shrimp) with inorganic extractive species (seaweeds or aquatic plants)

and organic extractive species (oysters, mussels and other invertebrates).

5. Offshore mariculture or offshore marine aquaculture: Adopting the FAO definition, MARIBE

project will consider any recent or potential future mariculture activities as offshore, where

the distance of the production unit is more than 2 km from the coast within continental shelf

zones, possibly open ocean areas. The economic interest of offshore mariculture is today

primarily related to finfish (Lovatelli et al. 2013), but from a technological point of view,

seaweed and mollusc production have good opportunities for offshore farming. Offshore

finfish farming has a specific technology using submersible floating cages and an

automatized feeding system paired with remote monitoring.

1.1. Introduction - General overview of the sector

1.1.1. Definitions

1.1.1.1 Aquaculture: 1. EU definition: 'aquaculture' means the rearing or cultivation of aquatic organisms using

techniques designed to increase the production of the organisms in question beyond the natural

capacity of the environment, where the organisms remain the property of a natural or legal

person throughout the rearing and culture stage, up to and including harvesting; (REGULATION

(EU) No 1380/2013).

2. FAO definition: Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs,

crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming implies some sort of intervention in the rearing process

to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc.

Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated, the

planning, development and operation of aquaculture systems, sites, facilities and practices, and

the production and transport.2

Table 1.2. General criteria for defining coastal, off-the-coast and offshore mariculture. 1 Hs = significant wave height, a standard oceanographic term, approximately equal to the average of the highest one-third of the waves. Source: Modified from Muir (2004).

Parameters Coastal mariculture Off the coast mariculture Offshore mariculture

Location/

hydrography

· <500 m from the coast

· <10 m depth at low tide

· within sight

· usually sheltered

· 500 m to 3 km from the coast

· 10–50 m depth at low tide

· often within sight

· somewhat sheltered

· >2 km generally within continental

shelf zones, possibly open ocean

· >50 m depth

Environment · Hs1 usually <1 m

· short-period winds

· localized coastal currents

· possibly strong tidal streams

· Hs <3–4 m

· localized coastal currents

· some tidal streams

· Hs 5 m or more, regularly 2–3 m

· oceanic swells

· variable wind periods

· possibly less localized current effect

2 FAO Tech. Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries (5):40p. Rome, FAO.



Access · 100 % accessible

· landing possible at all times

· >90 % accessible on at least once

daily basis

· landing usually possible

· usually >80 % accessible

· landing may be possible, periodic,

e.g. every 3–10 days

Operation · manual involvement, feeding,

monitoring and more

· some automated operations, e.g.

feeding, monitoring and more

· remote operations, automated

feeding, distance monitoring, system

function

Exposure · sheltered · partly exposed (e.g. >90o exposed) · exposed (e.g. >180o)

1.1.1.2 Mariculture According to FAO glossary of aquaculture, mariculture is cultivation, management and harvesting of

marine organisms in the sea, in specially constructed rearing facilities e.g. cages, pens and long-lines.

For the purpose of FAO statistics, mariculture refers to cultivation of the end product in seawater

even though earlier stages in the life cycle of the concerned aquatic organisms may be cultured in

brackish water or freshwater or captured from the wild. This term is interchangeable with marine

aquaculture. Production of finfish species in marine or fresh water is referred as fish farming with

mentioning the culture environment in this document.

1.1.1.3 Coastal, off-the-coast and offshore mariculture The physical diversity of coastal waters, including their topography, hydrodynamic energy exposure

and water depths, makes it difficult to define the conditions typical of offshore aquaculture and

attempts to do this must be seen as an operational approach rather than an absolute. To facilitate

the discussion and move forward in addressing relevant offshore mariculture issues, a general

“operational criteria” for defining mariculture activities were proposed by Lovatelli, Aguilar-

Manjarrez and Soto (2013). These are grouped in three broad categories, based on the distance from

the coast and water depths, thus underlining the degree of exposure, but also according to fish-farm

operational requirements and accessibility (Table 1.2)

1.1.2 Global overview of the aquaculture sector

1.1.2.1 Aquaculture production While world freshwater aquaculture and mariculture had similar growth rates over the past decade

and each accounted for about half of the total aquaculture production, their species composition

differs significantly (see Annex 1.1). Freshwater aquaculture has been concentrated on finfish, while

aquatic plants and shellfish (including Crustaceans and molluscs) were dominant in mariculture (see

Table A1.1 in Annex 1.1, Figure 1.1). For freshwater production, highest farm-gate value (production

value calculated by using the on-farm, whole fish prices) is reported for fish production (~80%)

matching the largest production sector, while in mariculture the largest production sector (aquatic

plants) only contribute marginally to the total farm-gate values (Figure 1.1, Annex 1.1). Freshwater

carps, tilapia and catfish are globally the most important aquaculture species in terms of both

volume and value (Annex 1.1, Table A1.3). These are generally low-value fishes for domestic

consumption, providing low-cost animal protein to ordinary consumers, but tilapia and some catfish

species (e.g. Pangasius) have become increasingly popular global commodities. Marine shrimp and



salmon are major commodities in international seafood trade, and are two high-valued species.

Marine perch-like fishes (e.g. seabass, seabreams, groupers) do not belong to the top-10 of most

important species in terms of volume but are among the top-10 in terms of value.

Figure 1.1. Relative Production volume (left) and Farm-gate value (right) by species type in 2013 for the Marine culture environment at a global level (data from FAO FishSTAT, see also Annex 1.1)

1.1.2.2 Main trade pathways of aquaculture products in the world The major seafood trade pathways involve marine species (Annex 1.2 Tables A2.1-A2.3). Shrimps

and prawns are high value seafood commodities and are mostly exported from developing countries

to developed countries. Trade data indicates that most shrimp imports in the EU comprise

warmwater species which originate mostly from aquaculture. Salmonids are mainly exported from a

limited number of countries which have suitable natural environment for salmon farming, mostly to

high-income countries although China also accounted for 4.4 percent of world salmon imports in

2011 (Annex 2). International trade of molluscs (excluding cephalopods) is more dispersed among

countries although China holds a strong position in both the import and export of molluscs.

1.1.2.3 Driving forces and limitations of the aquaculture sector The majority of global aquaculture production is concentrated in developing countries, in particular

in Asia, while aquaculture development in more developed countries and especially in the European

Union is relatively stagnant. This is partly due to a range of governance challenges, regulatory

frameworks and the scarcity of suitable locations. The main constrains of aquaculture development

in the EU-28 countries are often listed as the following (Lane et al. 2014):

Fierce and often unequal competition with less developed countries that brings market price

down. Fish farmer associations in the EU say that the strict regulation often creates a sloped

playing field for less developed countries having for example less stringent environmental or

food security regulation.

High labour and capital costs and administrative burdens slow down investments in the

sector.

Lack of understanding of the spatial needs and infrastructure for the industry among the

planning authorities.

The annual growth rate of the world aquaculture in the next decade is expected to be 2.5%



(FAO/OECD), which is significantly lower than the growth rate of 5.6% p.a. experienced in the

previous decade. Driving forces of aquaculture growth on a global level include the following (Guillen

& Motova 2013, Lane et al. 2014):

Overfished and decreasing wild fish stocks, while the demand for fish is growing.

Aquaculture is more efficient in terms of freshwater use and energy than other animal

production sectors.

The availability of marine space for aquaculture is larger than availability of agricultural land.

Technology development makes aquaculture more and more profitable.

Limitations of aquaculture growth on a global level:

Dependency on and availability of sustainable fish meal sources

Direct environmental interactions: pollutions, predators, diseases, algal blooms

Poor husbandry practices: use of antibiotics, antifungal, herbicides, etc.

Consumers attitudes and trends

Deterioration of the quality of water bodies suitable for aquaculture

1.1.3 Aquaculture sub-sectors in the MARIBE project In the MARIBE project the focus is on the marine aquaculture technologies having a potential for

combination with other Blue Growth industries. Because the project focus is on the combined use of

marine space in coastal, off the coast and offshore areas the various aquaculture technologies were

grouped in the following sub-sectors:

Coastal and off the coast marine fish culture: Fish farming activities less than 3 km from the shore

using various technologies also including flow-through and recirculation systems but mostly apply

the open floating cage net technology. In Europe, Atlantic salmon, Sea bream and Sea bass are the

fish species produced in the largest quantity in marine cage aquaculture systems.

Coastal and off the coast farming of molluscs and crustaceans: Crustacean production is mostly

inland or on shore pond based farming and because of the required technology, there are only very

limited opportunities to move the production to offshore farms (lobster cultures). Mussels and

oysters are produced in large volumes using various techniques and mollusc cultures are considered

as the most promising candidates for aquaculture on offshore energy platforms (Wever et al. 2015)

Coastal and off the coast production of aquatic plants (macro and micro): While off coast micro

algae production is still in experimental stage, the production of seaweed is a well-known off the

coast technology having a potential to be moved farther offshore and combined with other offshore

activities.

Coastal and off the coast Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture systems (IMTA): The basic concept

of IMTA is the farming of several species at different trophic levels, that is species that occupy

different positions in a food chain. This allows one species’ uneaten feed and wastes, nutrients and

by-products to be recaptured and converted into fertilizer, feed and energy for the other crops

(Chopin, 2012). As an example we can combine the cultivation of fed species (finfish or shrimp) with



inorganic extractive species (seaweeds or aquatic plants) and organic extractive species (oysters,

mussels and other invertebrates).

Offshore mariculture: Adopting the FAO definition, the MARIBE project will consider any recent or

potential future mariculture activities as offshore, where the distance of the production unit is more

than 2 km from the coast within continental shelf zones, possibly open ocean areas. The economic

interest of offshore mariculture is today primarily related to finfish (Lovatelli et al. 2013), but from a

technological point of view, seaweed and mollusc production have good opportunities for offshore

farming. Offshore finfish farming has a specific technology using submersible floating cages and

automatized feeding system paired with remote monitoring.

1.2. Production and market trends of aquaculture products The different basins identified within the MARIBE project will not be addressed separately in this

document as many of the production and market trends are similar –or difficult to disentangle – for

the EU as a whole. We will, however, distinguish between the European (Mediterranean, Atlantic,

Baltic/North Sea) and the Caribbean basin, and highlight specific regional differences for the

European basins when relevant.

1.2.1 Trends in the EU

1.2.1.1 Current and projected aquaculture production Although EU-28 aquaculture is very diverse with production spread across more than 100 species

categories, a limited number of species dominate. In 2012, EU-28 reported aquaculture production

comprised (EUMOFA 2014): 36.4% mussels (384,604 tonnes), 16.5% Atlantic salmon (175,009

tonnes), 13.6% other salmonids (mainly rainbow trout, 143,646 tonnes), 12.8% seabass and

seabream (135,863 tonnes), 8.9% oysters (93,911 tonnes), 7.0% carp (74,363 tonnes), 2.5% other

marine fishes (26,929 tonnes), 1.5% other freshwater fishes (16,124 tonnes) and 0.6% clams (6,803

tonnes). Although the reported harvest from freshwater (19%) appears to be small relative to

harvest from seawater and brackish water (81%), it must be recognised that Atlantic salmon (and

other salmonids harvested from seawater) are initially reared in freshwater.

Five Member States dominate EU-28 aquaculture, accounting for 75% of production (Spain: 266,594

tonnes; United Kingdom: 205,594 tonnes; France: 205,107 tonnes; Italy: ca. 160,000 tonnes; Greece:

108,852 tonnes). The relative importance of the different aquaculture sectors varies between

Member States, e.g.:

Molluscs dominate production (>60% of national tonnage) in Spain, France, Netherlands and

Ireland;

Atlantic salmon and other salmonids (mainly rainbow trout) dominate in the UK, Denmark,

Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia;

Marine finfish (including seabass and seabream) dominate in Greece, Malta and Cyprus;

Freshwater finfish (including carp) dominate in Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary,

Romania, Lithuania and Latvia.

The aquaculture production in EU (Figure 1.2) has been stagnate for many years in terms of the total

production volume where the increases in salmonid (Atlantic salmon, large trout) and mussel



production have been cancelled out by reductions in production of eels and other freshwater fish.

Figure 1.2. Development of Aquaculture production in the world (left) and Europe (right) indicating that the EU does not follow the high growth rates as displayed in other parts of the world (from Guillen & Motova 2013)

Figure 1.3. Marine aquaculture production in the EU in 2013 specified for each Maribe basin and divided per production type (Marine finfish, Marine shellfish, Freshwater). *indicates if member state is part of the Eu-28. (Data from: FishStat FAO).

According to the latest OECD – FAO forecasts (OECD/FAO 2015) expanding aquaculture production

will drive overall growth in the world. Aquaculture production is projected to expand on all

continents, but with large variations across countries and regions. These estimates predict very

limited growth (1%) in the EU-28 member states in 2024 while it is expected that Europe will enlarge

its aquaculture production with 38%. However, a study by Lane et al. (2014), that focused on the

aquaculture development of the EU-28 countries, projected a much larger expansion of the

aquaculture in the European Union. The study estimated a total increase in volume from 2010 to

2030 of 772.000 tonnes (+56%), with a corresponding value increase of 2.7 billion euros and

requiring an additional 395.000 tonnes of feeds. Yet, another source (EATIP) has estimated that an

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additional European based aquaculture potential of 3.6Mtons is required to support 50% of the

seafood demand (the remaining 50% is imported) by 2030.

1.2.1.2 Market trends, prices and supply & demand gaps3

The European Union is a major consumption market of seafood products in the world with 12,3

million tonnes representing EUR 52,2 billion in 2011.

It is the largest importer of seafood products, absorbing 24% of total world exchanges in value.

Seafood consumption per capita in the EU seems to have reached a plateau after a decade of

dynamic growth. The consumption per capita in 2011 was 24,5 kg. This is a change in trend after a

robust growth in per capita consumption since 2000. Tuna, cod and salmon are the main species

consumed in the EU by volume. Shrimps are the main imported species in value ahead of salmon,

tuna and cod. Seafood consumption varies a lot from one Member State to another. Northern

Member States are more focused on processed fish while Southern Member States still favour fresh

products and devote a larger part of household expenditure to fish. Central and Eastern European

countries are below the EU average but register an increase in consumption. Expenditure on

seafood decreased in EU countries most affected by the economic crisis. Consumer prices for

seafood increased faster than other food products since 2010.

Consumption of farmed products, which represents 24% of total EU consumption, decreased by 5%

in 2011. This could be a consequence of reduced EU aquaculture production and diminished imports

of farmed products, in particular pangasius. (EUMOFA 2014) Norway and China are the main EU

suppliers. Norway showed significant increases in volumes of seafood products exported to the EU –

mainly salmon and cod. China confirms its leading role as a processing country for white fish. Shrimp

imports (mainly destined to Spain) increased by 20% between 2011 and 2012, after a three-year

decrease.

Atlantic salmon is the most consumed aquaculture product in the EU reaching 1.72 kg/capita/year

consumption. The main producer of this species in Europe is Norway, selling half of its yearly 1.3

million tons production (FEAP Production Report 2005-2014) to Europe. The second largest producer

is the UK with 163 thousand tons, mainly from Scotland. The main production area for this species is

the Atlantic ocean where all production countries continuously increase the production.

In the Baltic region, fish production in the marine environment is less developed and the main

produced species is the large trout (>1.2 kg). The largest producers of large trout using the marine

cage technology are Denmark (10500 t), Sweden (9436 t) and Finland (12448 t) and according to

their Operational Programs all countries want to increase its aquaculture production.

The fish production in the Mediterranean is dominated by the sea bass and sea bream production

mainly in coastal and off the coast cages. The main producer countries are Greece and Turkey

competing with each other for the leading producer position and for the markets (FEAP Production

Report 2005-2014).

EU self-sufficiency for seafood (i.e. the production relative to its internal consumption) was stable at

around 45% between 2008 and 2011. While the EU covers fully its needs for flatfish and small

pelagic (and even produces surpluses) it is increasingly and highly dependent on external sourcing

3 Information in this section is based on EUMOFA (2014)



for groundfish, salmonids and tuna. In terms of the aquaculture products the self-sufficiency is much

lower and only 10% of the total EU seafood consumption (12 million tonnes) currently comes from

EU aquaculture (1.2 million tonnes). These statistics suggests that demand is greater than supply and

there is great potential to expand aquaculture production in the EU to meet the demand, improve

food security and improve the economy.

1.2.2 Trends in the Caribbean basin 1.2.2.1 Current and projected aquaculture production The Caribbean basin covers countries or territories in the Caribbean, South America, Central America

and Northern America (Table 1.3). As indicated in Figure 1.4, aquaculture production in the

Caribbean basin4 increased from 40 thousand tonnes in 1990 to 160 thousand tonnes in 2013 in a

fluctuating path including an upward trend in the early 1990s. This was followed by a gradual decline

for the rest of the decade, then rising rapidly in early 2000s, followed by a gradual decline in the

second half and then some rebound in the early 2010s. The share of aquaculture in total aquaculture

and fisheries (AQ & FI) production in the Caribbean basin increased from 2 percent in 1990 to 10

percent in 2013.5

Table 1.3. Countries or territories in the Caribbean basin

13 Caribbean countries/territories suggested by Maribe

Caribbean countries/territories that have recorded aquaculture production in FAO database.

5 South American countries

7 Central American countries

1 Northern American country

Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Colombia Belize USA

Bahamas Bahamas French Guiana Costa Rica

Barbados Bonaire/S.Eustatius/Saba Guyana Guatemala

Cuba Cuba Suriname Honduras

Dominica Dominican Republic Venezuela (Bolivarian

Mexico

Dominican Republic Guadeloupe Nicaragua

Grenada Jamaica Panama

Haiti Martinique

Jamaica Netherlands Antilles

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico

Saint Lucia Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Vincent and the Saint Lucia

Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Is.

4 In this report, aquaculture production in the Caribbean basin is represented by aquaculture production in the Atlantic,

Western Central (according to FAO definition) by the countries in the Caribbean basin (Table 1.3) 5 We use capture fisheries production in Atlantic, Western Central to proxy capture fisheries production in the Caribbean basin.



Figure 1.4. Aquaculture production volume and share in the total fish supply (fisheries and aquaculture) in the Caribbean

basin (Source: FAO FishSTAT J)

As indicated in Figure 1.5, aquaculture production in the Caribbean basin in 2013 was dominated by

molluscs (66 percent) and crustaceans (31 percent). Molluscs aquaculture production in the

Caribbean basin was contributed mainly by the United States which produced over 100 thousand

tonnes of farmed oyster in 2013. Cuba also produced a small amount of farmed oyster (about 1.5

thousand tonnes) in 2013.

Crustacean aquaculture production in the Caribbean basin was concentrated on shrimps and

prawns. Unlike the molluscs production dominated by a single country, shrimp and prawn

aquaculture production in the Caribbean basin was more evenly distributed across the four sub-

regions. The total 50 thousand tonnes of shrimp and prawn aquaculture production in the Caribbean

basin in 2013 was contributed primarily by Venezuela (20 thousand tonnes), Mexico (7.9 thousand

tonnes), Belize (7.1 thousand tonnes), United States of America (about 5.6 thousand tonnes),

Columbia (4.5 thousand tonnes) and Cuba (4.1 thousand tonnes).

Aquaculture in the Caribbean basin produced a small amount (3.6 thousand tonnes) of marine fishes

in 2013, including 1.5 thousand tonnes and 566 tonnes of red–drum (Sciaenops ocellata) in the

United States and Mexico, respectively, 980 tonnes and 150 tonnes of cobia (Rachycentron

canadum) in Panama and Columbia, respectively, and 350 tonnes of Florida pompano in Dominican

republic.

In 2013, a small amount of Eucheuma seaweed was produced in Saint Lucia (26 tonnes wet weight)

and Belize (10 tonnes wet weight).



Figure 1.5. Composition of aquaculture production in the Caribbean basin by North American (NA), Caribbean (CB) Central

American (CA) and South American (SA) countries

1.2.2.2 Market of seafood products in the Caribbean basin. In the early 2010s most of the island countries in the Caribbean had higher seafood consumption

than the world average (19 kg/capita/year); whereas most of Caribbean basin countries in Central or

South America had lower seafood consumption than the world average. The per capita seafood

consumption in the United States (22 kg/capita/year) was slightly higher than the world average.

Marine seafood products (including marine fish and shellfish) accounted for over or nearly 90

percent of seafood consumption in most of the countries in the Caribbean Basin. Exceptions include

Cuba, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras where freshwater fishes (primarily from aquaculture)

accounted for nearly half of its seafood consumption.

Except for the United States where farmed oysters and finfishes from the Caribbean basin were

catered mainly to the domestic market, marine seafood from aquaculture in the Caribbean basin

(e.g. shrimps and prawns and cobia) were mainly for export markets. Nearly all cobia aquaculture

production in Panama was produced by a single company and exported to high-end markets in the

United States and other developed countries.

Even though seafood consumed in the Caribbean basin have been and would continue to be

primarily from oceans, because of relatively high cost of marine aquaculture, it is expected that in

the near future offshore marine aquaculture would be mainly focused on producing high-valued

species for export markets in most of the countries in the Caribbean basin.

1.3. Structure of the aquaculture sector and life stages of the different subsectors



The concept of business lifecycle (sometimes referred to as product lifecycle) is well established in

economics. Influenced by Darwinian theories, Alfred Marshal considered how industries and firms

were not in a steady state and appeared to evolve over time (Kerr and Johnson 2015.) While Maribe

is focussed on unlocking barriers to future Blue Growth there will be important lessons to be learnt

from the existing Blue Economy. Studying existing businesses provides the opportunity to see how

barriers to growth were overcome in the past and learn lessons for future Blue Growth. The lifecycle

analysis of each sector within WP4 will give an account of historical barriers to development; how

they were overcome, or how they prevented the sector from developing.

This analysis is especially useful to define the life cycle stage of different aquaculture subsectors

which helps to identify the benefits of each subsectors when they are combined with other Blue

Growth industries.

Life cycle description of the subsectors are summarised in the Table 1.4 according to the

characteristics of life stages by Kerr and Johnson (2015) and the production and economic data of

the subsectors.

Based on the description of Table 1.4 the life cycle stage of the most relevant aquaculture subsectors

are identified in Table 1.5.

Investigating these results from a business development point of view, it can be seen that

aquaculture subsectors in different life stages could benefit from combinations with other Blue

Growth sectors in various ways. Matured subsectors like salmon and sea bass, sea bream production

are considerably limited by the available marine space. Investments in the combination of fish

farming with other industries using off the coast and offshore areas could support the mature

aquaculture subsectors to get licenses and increase their production.

Subsectors in the growth stage need to increase their capacity and are in the process to reduce

production costs. Mussel production in certain areas as well as organic fish production could benefit

a lot from investments in combined coastal and off the coast platforms.

Offshore fish farming is in the development and in embryonic stage in the selected regions.

Combination with other BG industries in the mature and growth stage could facilitate the technology

transfer of offshore technologies from these industries to the aquaculture. The more mature

industries also can help to facilitate the investments in aquaculture sectors.

1.4. Working Environment

1.4.1 Economic indicators for the aquaculture sector in the EU In the EU, aquaculture production is an important economic activity in many coastal and inland

regions (COM 2012a), often providing employment in marginal and remote areas. The sustainable

development of European aquaculture has been identified as a priority under reforms of the

Common Fisheries Policies (CFP) to strengthen long term food security (EU 2013). These regulations

require actions to improve the competiveness of the sector, whilst ensuring its long term

environmental, economic and social sustainability. Aquaculture has thereby been identified as one

of five value chains that can deliver sustainable growth and jobs within the blue economy (COM



2012b).

Reliable data on key economic indicators are difficult to obtain for the aquaculture sector in all the

28 Member States, but the latest STECF report made by Nielsen & Motova (2014) provide a good

overview. Some overview figures and tables from their study are presented in Annex 1.3. While the

countries participated in the report indicated more than 12 enterprises, they estimated that the

total number of companies with aquaculture as their main activity in the EU-28 is between 14 and 15

thousand (Table A3.1). The majority (87%) of the companies are micro-enterprises (with less than 10

employees) and tend to be family owned. Micro-enterprises are usually small scale rather than large

companies using capital intensive methods. Total employment in the aquaculture sector was

estimated at more than 80,000 people (Figure A3.1). The EU aquaculture sector has an important

component of part-time work which is due to the importance of the shellfish sector that has a

significant percentage of part-time and seasonal work. Women accounted for 27% of the EU

aquaculture sector employments, but only 23% when measured in FTE. There is a lot of variability

within the salaries paid in each country and subsector, varying from 3,100 Euros per year in Bulgaria

to 70,700 Euros per year in Denmark (Figure A3.2).

Nielsen & Motova (2014) also showed that income in the EU aquaculture sector is mainly originated

in the marine and shellfish sectors, followed by the freshwater and hatcheries and nurseries. Most of

the value added (GVA) is generated in the shellfish sector.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 652629

Table 1.4. Analysis of business plan ingredients (Kerr and Johnson 2015) of aquaculture sub-sectors

Sub-sector Demand/ Products

Technology/ Manufacturing

Trade/ Competition

Key success factors Finance/ investment

Coastal and off the coast marine fish culture

Stable mass market for salmon, sea bream and sea bass, customer knowledge is high. Branding phase emerging markets for species and products

Well diffused technical knowhow, available marine space is one of the main limitations. Overcapacity in the Mediterranean. New EU regulation on organic aquaculture, innovations for new species.

Production shifts to less developed countries. Price competition; customers focus. New entries with new technologies for niche markets.

Cost efficiency achieved mainly through scale and driving down input costs. Technology innovations are still important. New production areas have to be opened.

Bank finance and institutional investments are common. R&D grants for new species and technologies

Coastal and off the coast farming of molluscs and crustaceans

Stable market for molluscs (mussels, oysters). Emerging markets for abalone. Crustaceans market is large but highly dependent on global economy (Asia)

Hatchery is still a limiting factor. Diseases and natural events. Structures need to be better prepared for storms. Production of new crustaceans species is difficult.

The market for both crustaceans and molluscs can suffer major shifts depending on extreme weather events, food safety regulations of individual countries.

New communication streams are being used to inform consumers about the advantages of eating extractive species

In Europe the main investments are made mainly by existing producers in marketing, and combination of farming and tourism. New investors from BG industries are needed.

Coastal and off the coast production of aquatic plants (macro and micro algae/seaweed)

Stable, but growing market for different species of sea weeds. Product specification is oriented to added value products (compounds).

Technology in place is usually relatively low tech., and based on manual labour. Off the coast technology for micro algae production is in the experimental phase.

Seaweed trade and market in Asia is huge, but very little in Europe. Micro algae has emerging market as raw material for food, health, chemical and biofuel products.

Technology innovations are needed to guarantee high crop quality and cost effective production and processing. Product cost price is the main current bottleneck.

R&D grants and EU or governmental funding in Europe.

Coastal and off the coast Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture systems

No specific demand, as this is a production system and not a particular product

Technology available needs to be combined and adapted to different environments and market trends.

High value markets, niche markets concerned with sustainability. Difficult to compete with low price products.

Communication channels, marketing tools and education are key factors to develop IMTA. Market diversification

Dependent on subsidies (EMFF aqua-environmental measures) and joint ventures between companies producing complementary products (e.g. fish and seaweed).

Offshore mariculture Well known products with high demand are the main target species. Mostly interested in fish production.

Technology is available, but innovations through technology transfer are needed to reduce the costs and solve some problems.

Only a few producer countries and companies. Competition with the coastal and off the coast production.

Main driving force is the easier licensing. R&D work to reduce OPEX and CAPEX costs.

Only investments in large capacities can be economically feasible. The high CAPEX costs needs investors. Bank finance, share issue. Institutional investors. Corporate partners, mergers.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 652629

Table 1.5. Life cycle stage of the sub-sectors

Sub sector Life cycle stage Justification of the development stage (including regional variations)

Coastal and off the coast marine fish culture

Growth and Mature stage Salmon, sea bass, sea bream in the MATURE stage. Organic aquaculture and new species in the GROWTH stage.

Coastal and off the coast farming of molluscs and crustaceans

Life cycle stage depends on the species and region. Embryonic to Mature stage

Production conditions in moderate climates are investigated for biomass production optimisation. R&D on the most suitable technical approaches is done. To support this action, prototypes and pilot sites have been installed at certain areas (Norway, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, etc). Coastal molluscs culture are in the Mature stage as well as the crustacean (shrimp) culture in Asia. While lobsters farming in Europe is at a development/embryonic stage. Bottom cultivation of blue mussels in the Netherlands is a sector in the growth stage, while suspended cultivation of spat collectors is embryonic stage.

Off shore production of aquatic plants (macro algae)

Embryonic to growth stage Seaweed, macro algae production in Asia, worldwide and coastal micro algae production is in a GROWTH stage. Others in Development or Embryonic stage. Production conditions in moderate climates are investigated for biomass production optimisation. R&D on the most suitable technical approaches is done. To support this action, prototypes and pilot sites have been installed at certain areas (Norway, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, etc).

Coastal production of aquatic plants (macro algae)

Embryonic to growth stage Production in moderate climates is currently in its first commercial stage. This is generally following previous wild harvesting activities. Production in Asia and tropical conditions is in its expansion stage. Development of sea weed culture areal is still increasing.

Coastal and off the coast production of aquatic plants (micro algae)

Development to Embryonic stage Microalgae cultures under offshore conditions are in R&D stage, some prototypes have been installed. The developments are currently inhibited by productivity and thus economics of the production methods. Further development required to optimise technologies.

Coastal and off the coast Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture systems

Development/Embryonic stage Mostly still in the pilot scale in Europe, only a few farms use the technology.

Offshore mariculture Development/Embryonic stage Companies in the Caribbean (for cobia) and in the Atlantic region (Atlantic salmon) use the offshore technologies. However these businesses are in the embryonic stage already, there is high need for new technical solutions. Offshore fish farming in the Mediterranean and in the Baltic region is still in the development stage focusing on the research and pilot testing.



1.6. Regulatory framework of marine aquaculture in the European Union Aquaculture is an integral part of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) (REGULATION (EU) No

1380/2013). The basic regulation define aquaculture as an important economic and food supply

industry and encourage the development of the sector. Aquaculture has thereby been identified as

one of five value chains that can deliver sustainable growth and jobs within the blue economy (COM

2012b). The Commission recently published Strategic Guidelines for the Sustainable Development of

EU aquaculture (COM 2013a) which highlighted four priority areas to unlock the potential of the

sector: i) simplification of administrative procedures, ii) co-ordinated spatial planning, iii)

competitiveness and, iv) a level playing field. Using these guidelines, Member States (MS) have

developed or are now developing multiannual national plans for the development of sustainable

aquaculture.

One of the main tool to achieve the goals of the CFP is the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

(EMFF) which is one of the five European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds which complement

each other and seek to promote a growth and job based recovery in Europe. The EMFF regulation

(REGULATION (EU) No 508/2014) lay down the principal rules how this fund is used to co-finance

projects, along with national funding. Each country is allocated a share of the total 5.7 billion Euro

Fund budget, based on the size of its fishing, aquaculture and processing industry. Member states

then draw up an operational programme (OP), stating how it intends to spend the money. Once the

Commission approves this programme, it is up to the national authorities to decide which projects

will be funded. Recently, Member States have been submitting their OPs to the commission and

preparing their national legislation and system for the distribution of the fund. Aquaculture

investments are allowed to be supported according to the basic regulation with maximum of 50%

funding rate of the productive investments.

The development of sustainable aquaculture is dependent on clean, healthy and productive marine

and fresh waters. A prerequisite for sustainable aquaculture activities is compliance with the

relevant EU Legislation. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) (Directive 2000/60/EC) and the

Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) (Directive 2008/56/EC) aim to protect and enhance

aquatic environments and ensure that the uses to which they are put are sustainable in the long

term. All mariculture activities in the Member States have to be carried out in line with the common

regulation of MSFD. The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) was developed to

provide a framework for Member States (MS) to protect the marine environment more effectively.

This is to be done by maintaining biodiversity and providing diverse and dynamic oceans, which are

clean and healthy, while allowing the sustainable use of marine resources. The MSFD is based on an

ecosystem approach and will, where necessary and appropriate, draw on existing regulation in order

to achieve coherence between policy areas (e.g. CFP, Habitats Directive etc.). It came into force in

2008, and aims to allow MS to take the necessary measures to achieve or maintain Good

Environmental Status (GES-MSFD) by 2020. European marine regions were defined for the purpose

of monitoring water status and developing actions to achieve GES-MSFD (e.g. NE Atlantic Ocean,

Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea), with sub-regions also defined in the North-East Atlantic

and Mediterranean. In order to meet the requirements of the Directive, MS are obliged to cooperate

with others in the same (sub-) region, including through the relevant Regional Sea Conventions (the



Barcelona Convention in the Mediterranean, OSPAR Convention in the North-East Atlantic, Helsinki

Convention in the Baltic Sea, and the Bucharest Convention in the Black Sea). Cooperation is also

required between MSFD regions in order to ensure consistency and coherence across the EU (CEFAS

2014).

1.7. Innovation

1.7.1 Innovation trends in coastal and off the coast marine aquaculture subsectors The Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) aims at identifying principles which would

enable the primary production sectors (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture) to cope with

a range of complex and interlinked challenges over the next 30-40 years. EFARO identified the

following topics to be of importance for future development of aquaculture as a whole: 1) Market

demand (species that can be cost effectively produced), 2) Organic aquaculture (lower the

production costs relative to conventional methods), 3) Technology development (Recirculation

facilities and multi-trophic aquaculture), 4) Species enhancement (Aquatic animal health and

welfare, and Breeding Programmes).

COFASP collected and analysed a list of projects on aquaculture, fisheries and seafood processing

funded at European/national level and active in the time period 2003-2013. In this period a total of

1022 projects were funded in the aquaculture domain. Of these, 23 focussed specifically on offshore

development (search term “offshore”, see Annex 4). Many of the projects funded focussed on

technological development, but environmental impact studies are also listed. The recent calls within

the H2020 program have a significant focus on multi-use possibilities to make better use of marine

space and resources.

1.7.2. Recent technology and expected new technologies in offshore mariculture Opportunities and challenges

Sturrock et al. (2008) identified offshore aquaculture and Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture

(IMTA) as emerging technologies supporting European aquaculture development. The current

development of mariculture of species such as salmon (Salmo salar), seabream and seabass and

experimental/pilot farming of other species such as cobia (Rachycentron canandum) and amberjacks

(Seriola spp.) provides excellent and promising technological advances for moving marine

aquaculture farther offshore. However, the economic viability of offshore mariculture is a major

challenge and better technologies still need to be developed. There are also concerns about the

availability of capital for investments in research and development (R&D) and for the development

of commercial farms. Moreover, there is no clear candidate species of finfish available that has

proved both economic and physiological feasibility for offshore production and, while species of

shellfish and aquatic plants are better identified, the economic viability of their production is still

questionable. A transition from coastal to off-the-coast and offshore mariculture will demand the

development of new or suitably adapted technologies throughout the value chain, with obvious

scientific challenges. This is what is needed if global seafood supply is to be increased in a way that

minimizes impacts on benthic and pelagic ecosystems as demanded by society. Recently the main

marine aquaculture sector where new offshore technologies are emerging is the salmon

aquaculture, where large companies like SalMar (www.salmar.no) facilitate investments in this sub-



sector. For example the Ocean Farming AS which is a subsidiary of the SalMar Group – has been

established with the objective to develop offshore fish farming.

1.8. Investment Investments in aquaculture stem from the sector itself, from private investment funds and from

public sources:

The Future Expectations Indicator (FEI) indicates whether the industry in a sector is investing

more than the depreciation of their current assets. According to Nielsen & Motova (2014)

estimated that the FEI for 18 EU countries for the whole aquaculture sector (freshwater and

marine) was 3.4% while it was 5% for the marine aquaculture and especially high (14%) in

the salmon farming sector.

While we will not recommend specific funds, some examples of funds that specifically invest

in aquaculture include: Oceanis Partners, A-Spark Good Ventures, Watershed Capital Group,

Fish 2.0.

Public investments are mostly linked to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF),

which is the EU financial instrument to support Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)

implementation. The Commission is keen to use the opportunities presented by EMFF to

boost aquaculture growth. It therefore requires Member States to produce Multiannual

National Plans (MANPs) outlining how each member state intends to foster growth in the

aquaculture industry. Each country is allocated a share of the total 5.7 billion Euro Fund

budget, based on the size of its fishing, aquaculture and processing industry. The MANPs

will provide information on how each member state will allocate the funds to stimulate

sustainable aquaculture, including a prediction of the expected growth of the sector.

Member states submitted their Operational Programs (OP) to the Commission, and all the 27

(Luxemburg does not have a share from the EMFF) OP were approved by the end of 2015. All

countries allocated various sized budgets for the Union Priority 2. to provide financial

support for aquaculture investments. Under this priority the achievement of the following

objectives can be granted:

the provision of support to strengthen technological development, innovation and

knowledge transfer;

the enhancement of the competitiveness and viability of aquaculture enterprises,

including the improvement of safety and working conditions, in particular of SMEs;

the protection and restoration of aquatic biodiversity and the enhancement of

ecosystems related to aquaculture and the promotion of resource-efficient aquaculture;

the promotion of aquaculture having a high level of environmental protection, and the

promotion of animal health and welfare and of public health and safety;

the development of professional training, new professional skills and lifelong learning.

Productive investments in aquaculture can be encouraged with a maximum grant

contribution up to 50%:of the total investment costs.

The sum of funding budgets consisting national and EU contributions for promoting environmentally

sustainable, resource efficient, innovative, competitive and knowledge based aquaculture is

€1.7billion allowing at least €3.4 billion supported investments in European Aquaculture

(http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/emff/index_en.htm).

http://www.oceanispartners.com/

http://www.a-spark.nl/

http://www.watershedcapital.com/

http://www.fish20.org/



Good access to information on the economics of offshore mariculture can help would-be investors

and coastal States in developing economically feasible technologies for offshore mariculture, and

FAO can help to provide this. FAO can also help Members by funding demonstration and pre-

commercial projects including a variety of species. Member government actions are also needed to

create conditions for increased investment in mariculture and to allocate funds for R&D.

Governments should also encourage international cooperation and technology transfer among

stakeholders.

1.9. Concluding remarks Marine aquaculture is a well developed industry in Atlantic and Mediterranean region while it is

under development in Baltic, North Sea and Caribbean region. The sector is dominated by the fish

production sector in terms of the value, but this subsector also can be described with higher

investment and operating costs. In terms of environmental interactions, seaweed and mollusc

aquaculture is considered having a positive impact on the marine environment.

Basin Summary Opportunities and justification

Atlantic The Salmon industry in Norway and Scotland (UK) is in expansion looking for marine space for new production sites.

The companies are motivated to find partners and share the marine space with other industries. Salmon aquaculture is in the mature stage and ready for feasible combinations.

Baltic/North Sea Mussel and crustacean culture is relatively more important and considerable amount of national research was done to combine their production with offshore wind energy.

More than 1 billion € investment in aquaculture is planned in the region (according to the adopted OPs). There is also a high need for Blue Energy investments providing good base for combinations.

Mediterranean and Black sea

Sea bass and sea bream industry is very well developed and production of new species is also emerging. Mussel production in the Black sea region has a growing interest.

High interest to invest in combined offshore platforms in the region. To reduce the environmental impact of fish production there is opportunity to establish IMTA systems.

Caribbean Marine aquaculture production is very small recently, but new projects show the opportunities for development.

New species and new technologies can be introduced for aquaculture. Because of the very early stage of marine aquaculture sector, combinations are too early here.



1.10. References Lovatelli, A., Aguilar-Manjarrez, J., Soto, D., (Eds.) (2013). Expanding mariculture farther offshore –

Technical, environmental, spatial and governance challenges. FAO Technical Workshop. 22–25 March 2010. Orbetello, Italy. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings No. 24. Rome, FAO. 73 pp. Includes a CD–ROM containing the full document (314 pp.). (also available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3092e/i3092e00.htm).

Kapetsky, J.M., Aguilar-Manjarrez, J., Jenness, J., (2013). A global assessment of potential for offshore mariculture development from a spatial perspective. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 549. Rome, FAO. 181 pp. (also available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/i3100e/i3100e00.htm).

Soto, D., (2009). Integrated mariculture: a global review. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 529. Rome, FAO. 2009. 183 pp. (also available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i1092e/i1092e00.htm).

Aquaculture glossary: http://www.fao.org/faoterm/collection/aquaculture/en/ Wever, L., Krause, G., Buck, B. H., (2015) Lessons from stakeholder dialogues on marine aquaculture

in offshore windfarms: perceived potentials, constraints and research gaps. Marine Policy 51:251–259.

Chopin, T., Cooper, J. A., Reid, G., Cross, S., Moore, C., (2012) Open-water integrated multi-trophic aquaculture: environmental biomitigation and economic diversification of fed aquaculture by extractive aquaculture. Reviews in Aquaculture, 4(4), 209–220. doi:10.1111/j.1753-5131.2012.01074.x

FISH TO 2030, Prospects for Fisheries and Aquaculture, WORLD BANK REPORT NUMBER 83177-GLB OECD/FAO (2015). “Fish”, in OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2015, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/agr_outlook-2015-12-en FAO Tech. Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries (5):40p. Rome, FAO Lane, A., Hough, C., Bostock, J., (2014). The long-term economic and ecologic impact of larger

sustainable aquaculture, Study for the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries, European Union, 2014.

EUMOFA (2014). The EU Fish Market, 2014 edition, European Commission 2014. CEFAS (2014). Background information for sustainable aquaculture development, addressing

environmental protection in particular: SUSAQ (Part 1), Cefas contract report < C6078> European Commission (2014). Facts and figures on the Common Fisheries Policy – Basic statistical

data – 2014 Edition, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union 2014 — 44 p. — 14.8 × 21 cm ISBN 978-92-79-34192-2

Guillen, J., Motova, A., (Eds.) (2014). Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries 2013 Economic Performance of the Aquaculture (STECF-13-29) ISBN 978-92-79-34809-9

Nielsen, R., Motova, A., (Eds.) (2014) Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries 2014 Economic Performance of the Aquaculture (STECF-14-18).

Kerr, S., Johnson, K., (2015) Identifying and Describing Business Lifecycle Stages, MARIBE Internal publication Version 1.1, Briefing paper prepared by ICIT Heriot-Watt University

Helen Sturrock, Richard Newton, Susan Paffrath, John Bostock, James Muir, James Young, Anton Immink & Malcolm Dickson. Ilias Papatryfon (editor) (2008) Prospective Analysis of the Aquaculture Sector in the EU. PART 2: Characterisation of Emerging Aquaculture, Systems European Commission, Joint Research Centre, EUR Number: 23409 EN/2



Annex 1.1 - Aquaculture statistics Table A1.1. World aquaculture production volume by farming environment (Source: FAO FishSTAT J)

Year

Freshwater aquaculture production Marine (including brackish water) aquaculture

Total production

(thousand

tonnes)

Species composition (%) Total production

(thousand tonnes)

Species composition (%)

Finfish Shellfish Aquatic

plants

Aquatic

animals Finfish Shellfish

Aquatic

plants

Aquatic

animals

2000 18,476 97.1 2.4 0.0 0.5 23,248 12.3 47.4 40.0 0.3

2001 19,567 96.7 2.7 0.0 0.6 24,763 13.1 47.4 39.2 0.3

2002 20,816 96.6 2.8 - 0.5 26,569 12.8 47.0 39.9 0.3

2003 22,093 93.3 5.5 0.2 0.9 28,226 12.8 46.5 40.2 0.4

2004 24,180 93.1 5.8 0.2 0.9 30,408 12.5 45.5 41.5 0.6

2005 25,671 93.1 5.7 0.2 1.0 32,164 12.7 44.8 41.9 0.6

2006 27,548 92.4 6.3 0.3 1.1 34,076 12.8 44.8 41.9 0.6

2007 29,444 91.6 7.0 0.3 1.1 35,525 13.0 44.4 42.0 0.6

2008 31,900 91.9 6.8 0.2 1.1 36,957 13.6 42.9 42.8 0.8

2009 33,792 91.6 7.0 0.2 1.2 39,305 13.2 41.9 44.0 0.9

2010 36,120 91.4 7.2 0.3 1.2 41,993 12.7 41.2 45.0 1.1

2011 37,759 91.7 6.9 0.2 1.2 45,097 13.0 39.8 46.4 0.8

2012 41,160 91.7 6.8 0.2 1.2 49,120 13.2 37.9 48.2 0.7

2013 43,974 92.1 6.5 0.2 1.2 53,228 12.3 36.4 50.5 0.8



Table A1.2. World aquaculture production value (farm-gate) by farming environment (Source: FAO FishSTAT J)

Year

Freshwater aquaculture production Marine (including brackish water) aquaculture

Total production

value (million

USD)

Species composition (%) Total production

value (million

USD)

Species composition (%)

Finfish Shellfish Aquatic

plants

Aquatic

animals Finfish Shellfish

Aquatic

plants

Aquatic

animals

2000 22,117 90.4 8.0 0.0 1.6 28,963 31.4 56.5 10.1 2.0

2001 22,708 88.8 9.4 0.0 1.8 29,220 30.3 57.6 10.4 1.7

2002 23,478 88.0 10.2 - 1.8 29,816 28.0 59.7 10.5 1.8

2003 26,918 82.1 14.9 0.1 2.9 40,099 47.8 42.6 8.2 1.4

2004 30,808 81.0 16.2 0.1 2.7 33,335 34.1 52.2 11.4 2.3

2005 32,623 80.8 16.2 0.1 2.9 37,549 34.3 52.8 10.3 2.6

2006 36,898 79.7 17.3 0.1 2.9 42,713 36.7 51.7 9.3 2.2

2007 49,387 77.8 19.1 0.1 3.0 45,330 38.2 50.9 9.2 1.8

2008 56,902 78.2 18.7 0.1 3.0 48,508 37.1 52.0 8.8 2.1

2009 61,154 77.8 19.0 0.1 3.1 50,586 36.9 51.3 9.7 2.1

2010 67,770 78.0 18.9 0.1 3.0 56,737 37.3 50.6 9.9 2.2

2011 72,651 78.9 18.1 0.1 3.0 63,757 39.2 50.6 8.5 1.7

2012 79,301 79.0 17.9 0.1 3.1 65,714 38.8 49.6 9.7 1.8

2013 83,499 79.6 17.3 0.1 3.1 73,770 37.4 51.8 9.0 1.8

Table A1.3. Major aquaculture species in 2012 (Source: FAO FishSTAT J)

Top-10 species in terms of

production volume

Culture

Production

(Ton)

Share in

total

aquatic

products

(%)

Top-10 species in terms of

production value

Culture

Production

Value

(million

USD)

Share in

total

aquatic

products

(%)

1. Carps and minnows

(Cyprinidae)

25.1 27.8

1. Carps and minnows

(Cyprinidae)

36,374

25.2

2. Marine bivalves (Bivalvia,

marine)

13.2 14.6

2. Marine shrimps and

prawns

19,429

13.5

3. Red seaweeds

(Rhodophyta)

12.9 14.3

3. Salmonids and smells

(Samoniformes and

Osmeriformes)

15,276

10.6

4. Brown seaweeds (

(Heterokontophyta)

8.0 8.8

4. Marine bivalves (Bivalvia,

marine)

13,753

9.5

5. Tilapias and other cichlids

(Cichlidae)

4.5 5.0

5. Tilapias and other

cichlids (Cichlidae)

7,656

5.3

6. Marine shrimps and 4.8 6. Catfishes (Siluriformes)



prawns 4.3 6,151 4.3

7. Catfishes (Siluriformes)

3.9 4.3

7. Marine perch-like fishes

(Percoidea , marine)

6,082

4.2

8. Salmonids and smells

(Samoniformes and

Osmeriformes)

3.2 3.6

8. Freshwater crabs

(Brachyura, freshwater)

4,972

3.4

9. Aquatic plants nei

2.8 3.1

9. Red seaweeds

(Rhodophyta)

3,798

2.6

10. Freshwater fishes nei

1.6 1.7

10. Freshwater perch-like

fishes (Percoidea ,

freshwater)

3,096

2.1

Other species

10.9 12.0 Other species

27,736

19.2

Aquatic products

90.4 100.0 Aquatic products

144,324

100.0

Annex 1.2 - Trade data Table A2.1. Top-10 species groups with largest export value in global seafood trade in 2011 (Source: FAO FishSTAT). The numbers represent the trading of seafood in general; and based on the available data it is not possible to separate them into aquaculture or capture fisheries products. A large proportion of, if not most of “shrimp, prawns”, “salmons, trouts, smelts”, “miscellaneous freshwater fishes” and “Miscellaneous marine molluscs” come from aquaculture.

Species Export value (million USD) Share in total export (%)

Marine fishes not identified 24,229 18.6

Shrimps, prawns 19,505 15.0

Salmons, trouts, smelts 17,860 13.7

Cods, hakes, haddocks 11,418 8.8

Tunas, bonitos, billfishes 11,310 8.7

Squids, cuttlefishes, octopuses 6,655 5.1

Herrings, sardines, anchovies 4,954 3.8

Miscellaneous pelagic fishes 4,947 3.8

Miscellaneous freshwater fishes 3,707 2.8

Miscellaneous marine molluscs 3,707 2.8

Other species 22,160 17.0

All species 130,453 100.0

Table A2.2. Top-10 import and export countries of salmons, trouts, smelts in 2011

Top-10 importing countries Top-10 exporting countries



Country (Country) import (million

USD)

Share in world

total (%) Country (Country)

Export (million

USD)

Share in world

total (%)

Sweden 2,331 13.0 Norway 5,459 30.6

Japan 2,251 12.5 Chile 2,923 16.4

United States of

America 2,203 12.2 Sweden 2,031 11.4

Germany 1,519 8.4 Denmark 1,157 6.5

France 1,225 6.8

United States of

America 1,023 5.7

Denmark 982 5.5 Poland 811 4.5

Russian

Federation 857 4.8 United Kingdom 806 4.5

China 792 4.4 Canada 702 3.9

Poland 688 3.8 Germany 501 2.8

United Kingdom 531 3.0 Russian Federation 328 1.8

Rest of the world 4,612 25.6 Rest of the world 2,119 11.9

World 17,992 100 World 17,860 100.0

Table A2.3. Top-10 import and export countries of molluscs (excluding cephalopods) in 2011

Top-10 importing countries Top-10 exporting countries

Country (Country)

import (million

USD)

Share in

world total

(%) Country (Country)

Export (million

USD)

Share in

world total

(%)

China, Hong Kong

SAR 860 14.9 China 1,907 27.0

Japan 756 13.1 Japan 798 11.3

United States of

America 682 11.8 Chile 401 5.7

France 666 11.5 United States of America 381 5.4

Spain 393 6.8 Peru 345 4.9

China 345 6.0 Canada 331 4.7

Belgium 253 4.4 Netherlands 294 4.2

Korea, Republic of 229 4.0 New Zealand 247 3.5

Italy 219 3.8 Korea, Republic of 243 3.4

Singapore 179 3.1 United Kingdom 223 3.2

Rest of the world 1,185 20.5 Rest of the world 1,904 26.9



World 5,768 100.0 World 7,076 100.0



Annex 1.3 - Key economic indicators Table 3.1. Economic indicators for the EU-28 aquaculture sector in 2012 (from Nielsen & Motova, 2013)



Figure A3.1. Total employment in numbers and FTE in the EU Aquaculture sector per member state (from Nielsen & Motova, 2014)

Figure A3.2. Average wage in the EU Aquaculture sector per member state (from Nielsen & Motova, 2014)

Table A3.2. Economic performance indicators for the EU-28 aquaculture sector in 2012 (from Nielsen & Motova, 2014)





Annex 1.4 - Projects funded in the offshore domain Table A4.1. Overview of projects including the search term “offshore” within the aquaculture domain. Extracted from the

COFASP database listing all projects funded between 2003-2013.



Documents

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