Fishing and Aqua- Fishing and Aqua-culture in the MED area

In order to find out exploitation opportu-nities within the sector and identify inno-vation potentials to be implemented, the actual sector status in the MED area was studied based on a benchmark analysis across the eight countries of the MISTRAL project and covering a set of different attributes for the whole assessment. Here is presented a comparative overview to highlight the relevance of each attribute

Fig. 3.7Relevance of Fishery and Aquaculture sector

Fig. 3.8 Readiness of Fishery and Aquaculture sector

- Key economic figures

The Pelagic and Demersal Large Scale Fisheries (LSF) and Distant Water Fleet (DWF) subsectors generated in 2016 89%

of the total landed weight, equivalent to 78% of the landed value (mainly from Italy, Greece, Spain and Croatia), whereas LSF accounted for 41% of the European number of vessels, but only 8.5% of the landed weight and 19.2% of the landed value. The LSF in the Mediterranean employs a total of 26.980 people,

cor-30 Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – The 2018 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (STECF-18-07). Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018, JRC112940, ISBN 978-92-79-79390-5, doi:10.2760/56158

that describe the sector and the level of maturity of such attribute for the sector development. A detailed description of the methodology followed for the analysis is reported in Chap. 2 (section 2.4 MISTRAL methodological framework)

Qualitative analysis performed at Country level for each attribute is represented in Fig. 3.7 and Fig. 3.8. The Relevance and Readiness of each attribute has been as-signed by self-assessment in a range that goes from “low” to “high”.

The majority of MISTRAL Countries recog-nized the higher relevance for the sector

growth of reference policy and strategies followed by research and technology trends, research infrastructures, research group and networks and funding agencies.

The above finding reflects the perception to find innovation within the sector by fo-cusing on technological drivers at different level within the target area whereas the socio-economic dimension is still per-ceived as a consolidated trend to unlock.

The self-assessment analysis of readiness revealed a great variability among coun-tries and reflects the current picture of the sector per each country.

responding to 24,640 Full Time Equiva-lents and fall under the provisions of the multiannual management plan as adopted under the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.

The small-scale (SSF) coastal fleet (ves-sels under 12m using passive gears) in the Mediterranean is of vital importance from a social point of view since it represents the 86% of the total fleet by number of vessels and 61% of all employment in 2016. Greece and Italy represent major

employers: Greece with 17.748 FTEs and Italy with 9.554 FTEs (Fig. 2). In addition, in Greece and Cyprus women play a key role in many small-scale coastal fleets very often through the provision of unpaid labour (STECF, 2018).

Marine³⁰ aquaculture (MA) including shell-fish and finfish with a diverse value chain, suitable areas, economical value, actors and technological challenges provide an important source of protein in many Medi-terranean countries.

mussel production include France and Spain. Oyster is the second main shellfish species grown in the EU with approxi-mately 95 ktons produced, valued at €450 million and France is the single largest oyster producer (90% of EU production), however production in the Mediterranean is limited to 6 ktons. In the Mediterranean there is also a significant production of clams in Italy (approximately 30 ktons).

Fig. 3.9: Leading EU Member States in fishing and aquaculture production in the Mediterranean (2016) from Eurostat Database 2016

According to data extracted from Eurostat 2016 (Fig 3.9-3.11), EU capture fisheries production in the Mediterranean is mainly concen-trated in Italy with 43.1%, Spain (18.7%), Greece (17.1%) and Croatia (16.7%), while marine aquaculture production is dominated almost equally by Greece (37.9%) and Italy (35.5%), in a profoundly different pattern, since marine finfish represents more than 80% of produc-tion in Greece, but only 10% in Italy. Italy and Greece are making up 65% in weight of EU totals in the Mediterranean.

In 2012, EU Member States produced 330 ktons of marine finfish aquaculture (MFA) species with a value of €1.5 billion repre-senting 25% of EU aquaculture produc-tion. Total EU production is close to 150 ktons at a value of €800 million. The main EU producers are Greece with roughly 60% of EU production, Spain (20%) and Italy (7%). These two species are also grown in several other EU Member States, namely Croatia, Cyprus and Malta, but at modest levels (less than 4 ktons annual production) or they contribute minimum quantities as in Albania.

Bluefin tuna (ThunnusThynnus) cap-ture-based aquaculture is widespread in the Mediterranean. In 2016, the produc-tion reached 17.6 ktons, with Spain and Croatia producing 7.5 ktons (in Malta 10.1 ktons).

The EU shellfish aquaculture (SA) sector produced almost 550 ktons in 2012 at a value nearing €900 million, account-ing for roughly half of EU aquaculture output, one fifth of which produced in the Mediterranean. Mussels dominate EU shellfish aquaculture with production nearing 450 ktons per year for a value of

€417 million. The main EU producer in the Mediterranean is Italy with almost 60%

of the farmed mussel production; Greece is the second largest producer (20%).

Other Member States with significant

Emilia-Romagna in Italy is the first region for shellfish production whereas regional mussel and clam production are nation-ally the firsts in quantity productions (22 and 15k tons/year) and they contribute, respectively, with the 33.6 and 53% of the country production. Similarly, the region of Central Macedonia in Greece produces approx. the 85% of the country annual production in mussels (18k tons/year).

Fig. 3.11Key figures of the MISTRAL member countries: Gross Value Added of fisheries landings and Gross Production Value of aqua-culture (MA) in the Mediterranean (2016). Sources: Eurostat Database, Fisheries, Production from aquaFig. 3.11Key figures of the MISTRAL member countries: Gross Value Added of fisheries landings and Gross Production Value of aqua-culture excluding hatcheries and nurseries (from 2008 onwards) [fish_aq2a]; European Commission, JRC, Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fish-eries (STECF). 2018. The 2018 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (STECF-18-07). Publications Office of the European Union. Luxembourg. Doi:10.2760/56158.

Fig. 3.10Contribution to the employment of small scale fisheries (SSF) and large scale fisheries (LSF) of MISTRAL member countries in the Mediterranean (2016).Source: European Commission, JRC, Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).

2018. The 2018 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (STECF-18-07). Publications Office of the European Union. Luxem-bourg. Doi:10.2760/56158.

As reported by MISTRAL partners the weak recovery in the Italian fisheries sector, which had begun in 2014, contin-ued in 2016. The total volume of products landed in 2016 has remained unchanged.

The value of landings increased by 1.6%

thanks to the good performance of LSF (+2%). In Greece a downward trend was

observed in 2014 and activity growth fell by 25% below 2009, while in 2016 it was still down to 7%.

In Italy until 2015 aquaculture registered an average reduction of about 7% in terms of production. However, only in 2015 the economic contribution of Italy is higher than 10%, placing it among the major EU

producers and accounting for almost three quarters of the aquaculture production volume and value together with Spain, the UK, France and Greece. In Greece, following a downward trend after 2010, activity growth returned in 2016 to the levels of 2009.

- Reference policies and strategies Fishing policies, strategies and manage-ment

All fishing opportunities are regulated to ensure that fisheries are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable.

In the EU, harvesting limitations are introduced autonomously and result from agreements reached in the framework of Regional Fisheries Management Organiza-tions (RFMOs).

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), a set of rules for managing European fishing fleets and for conserving fish stocks, urges that if fishing is not to be controlled and limited at a maximum sustainable yield, at the latest by 2020, European fish stocks may collapse or fishing may cease to be economically viable. Another increasingly important aim of the CFP is to reduce unwanted catches and wasteful practices to the minimum or avoid them altogeth-er, through the gradual introduction of a landing obligation. In preparation of the implementation of the landing obligation, the Commission has adopted two discard plans for the Mediterranean (through so-called delegated acts):

● Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/2376 of 13 October 2016 estab-lishing a discard plan for mollusc bivalve Venus spp. in the Italian territorial waters.

● Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/86 of 20 October 2016, amend-ed by Commission Delegatamend-ed Regulation (EU) 2018/153 of 23 October 2017, estab-lishing a discard plan for certain demersal fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea.

Furthermore, the CFP increasingly has recourse to Multiannual Plans that often combine different management tools. The European Commission is empowered in

multiannual management plans to include the target of fishing at maximum sustainable yield and a deadline for achieving this target. In February 2017 the Commission proposed a multiannual plan for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea. The implementation of multiannual fisheries management plans at this sea basin level has been set as a specific objective of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) as well. In March 2018 the Commission proposed a multiannual plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea. These plans are still in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, a multiannual plan for small pelagic fisheries in the Adriatic Sea was adopted by the GFCM in 2013 (Recommendation GFCM 37/2013) and amended with additional restricting measures for 2017 and 2018.

Certain national (Croatian and Italian) management plans have been issued following GFCM recommendations and under Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery re-sources in the Mediterranean Sea (the Mediterranean Regulation), covering purse seiners and pelagic trawls which are the gears involved in the small pelagic fisheries. There are management plans set down under national regulations as well. All the MISTRAL mem-ber countries have put in force such plans. On top of that, a number of specific actions have been taken for the Mediterranean towards aligning the Mediterranean strategy with the CFP, both within EU waters and with its international partners. This has already had an effect with the review and update of five national management plans in line with advice of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF³¹, 2018).

The process is expected to accelerate beyond 2018.

The European Commission is also empowered in multiannual plans to establish biolog-ically sensitive protected areas, including areas where there is clear evidence of heavy concentrations of fish below MCRS and of spawning grounds. In such areas, fishing activ-ities may be restricted or prohibited in order to contribute to the conservation of living aquatic resources and marine ecosystems. In the Mediterranean, GFCM and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)/ Mediterranean Action Plan Secretariat to the Bar-celona Convention (UNEP-MAP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2012 that has already achieved results, including the harmonization of existing criteria for identifying Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance and Fisheries Restricted Areas (FRAs) (FAO32, 2018). FRAs can contribute to biodiversity conservation, even though their primary target might not be conservational per se (i.e. conserving ecosystems as a whole), but rather focus on maintaining or improving the status of particular stocks and enhancing the respective fisheries.

31 Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – The 2018 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (STECF-18-07). Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018, JRC112940, ISBN 978-92-79-79390-5, doi:10.2760/56158

32 FAO. 2018. The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries. General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Rome. 172 pp. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

ever, despite the good intentions at EU level and the national plans, actions seem not be a match for the sector’s expecta-tions and the initial enthusiasm is being transformed to deception and defeatism (European Parliament³², 2018).

For nearly all the Countries of the Med area there is an alignment of all the above described objectives with: the Blue Growth Strategy the long-term strategy to support sustainable growth in the ma-rine and maritime sectors with priorities such as sustainable aquaculture. The Bio-diversity Strategy and Action Plans aiming to halt the loss of biodiversity and eco-system services, with the priority of the integration of biodiversity conservation into fisheries policies; the Climate change adaptation strategy which defines a series of priorities and make some proposal to mitigate the impact on fish stocks and the aquaculture industry.

- Clusters, Technology Platforms In the MISTRAL MED area a few clusters and technology centres have been devel-oped dealing exclusively with Fishery and Aquaculture and highlighting the impor-tance and the prospective of the sector in each country separately and in the MED region.

● The EATiPMirror Platforms (MiPs) which are industry-driven multi-stake-holder aquaculture clusters (with experts from the industry and the academia), supporting the implementation of strate-gic research and innovation activities at a regional/national level (HETEPA –Greece, PTEPA-Spain, ITAQUA-Italy).

Aquaculture policies, strategies and management

Albeit fisheries are intended in a strictly regulated and controlled or even inspect-ed manner, for attaining sustainable development of aquaculture in the EU, however, the EU legislation has estab-lished the high quality, respecting strict environmental sustainability, animal health and consumer protection standards that EU aquaculture activities have to comply with:

● Environmental respect: Marine Strat-egy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC (MSFD), Directive 2014/89/EU for Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), and more gen-erally, Habitats (Natura 2000) Directive 1992/43/EEC .

● Use of alien and locally absent species in aquaculture: Regulation (EU) N°304/2011.

● Health and welfare of livestock: Ani-mal Health Directive 2006/88/EC and Live Animal Transport Directive 1995/29/EC .

● Food processing and adherence to market-oriented quality and/or certifi-cation labels: Product quality control systems (HACCP) 487/2000 and quality management systems as described in the EC Directive 2004/41/EC concerning food hygiene and health conditions for the production and placing on the market of certain products of animal origin intended for human consumption.

Within the framework of the Common Fisheries Policy, the Aquaculture Adviso-ry Council (AAC) was established in late 2016. This stakeholder-led organisation has as main objective to provide the European institutions and the Member

States with recommendations and advice on issues related to the sustainable development of the sector.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, nation-al authorization and leasing processes (granting the exclusive right to use an area of water for marine aquaculture, usu-ally for a defined period) are setting main constraints hampering the development of the sector in the Mediterranean. In order to facilitate the responsible competi-tiveness of EU aquaculture, in 2013, the newCFP introduced the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) that aims at spread-ing best practice and at givspread-ing practical answers to common challenges identified by Member States and stakeholders, identifying common objectives and, where possible, indicators to measure progress towards these goals.

GFCM has recently adopted two rel-evant resolutions, namely Resolution GFCM/41/2017/1 on a strategy for the sustainable development of Mediter-ranean and Black Sea aquaculture and Resolution GFCM/41/2017/2 on guidelines for the streamlining of aquaculture autho-rization and leasing processes.Under the OMC in particular, the EU Member States developed, in 2014-2015, Multiannual National Strategic Plans for the promotion of sustainable aquaculture. In these plans, Member States address the four priori-ties identified in the Strategic Guidelines for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture (COM/2013/0229 final) and propose for the period 2014-2020 concrete actions to address them.

The evaluation of the OMC for EU aquacul-ture will be completed by mid-2019.

How-32 European Parliament, Committee on Fisheries. 2018. Towards a sustainable and competitive European aquaculture sector: current status and future challenges. Draft Report.

&Agropolis International). Meanwhile, clusters investing in a multi-scientific re-search and innovation can involve Fishery and Aquaculture sector in their goals and perspectives (FCiências ID – Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências& Marine and Environmental Sci-ences Center-MARE in Portugal; Mediter-ranean Advisory Council -MEDAC in Italy.

In countries where the sector is less mature (Cyprus, Albania), it seems that no cluster was created but professional organisations or networks play that role of structuring the sector.

- Funding Agencies

The European Union, through its various funds and funding schemes is the key funding provider supporting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, which avail of the following:

● The European Maritime and Fish-ery Fund (EMFF) through the National Operational Programmes “Fisheries and Maritime 2014-2020” - Almost half of the EMFF 2014-2020 budget of €5.7 billion covers the “sustainable fisheries” (27%) and “sustainable aquaculture” (21%) priorities, being used in the responsibility of Member States under shared manage-ment.These programs can also contribute to the competitiveness of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors by promoting market-ing actions, producers organizations and actions undertaken through Communi-ty-Led Local Development (CLLD).

● The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with the participation of the European Social Fund (ESF) as well,

● Cluster Mariculture - Croatia

● TechnologicaldistrictAgroBio e Pesca eco-compatibile in Italy

● France FilièrePêche is an original initiative in the world of sea fishing, in France

● RIIA Innovation Network in Aquacul-ture Industries of the Valencian Commu-nity, Aquaculture Technology Center of Andalusia-CTAQUA in Spain.

Part of the existing Clusters and Technol-ogy Platforms are involved in all sectors of Blue Growth in order to promote research, technology, innovation, sus-tainability and environmental protection as well as education and training within and for the maritime industry. These clusters are indicative of the maturity and readiness of the above countries/regions to boost Blue Economy including Fishery and Aquaculture as one of the sectors of Blue Growth.

● Pôle Mer Méditerranée & French Maritime Cluster in France;

● National Technology Cluster - Blue Italian Growth in Italy;

● Oceano XXI – Cluster doConhecimen-to e Economia do Mar in Portugal;

● Maritime Cluster of the Balearic Islands & IDIMAR - Balearic Marine Inno-vation Cluster in Balearic Islands-Spain).

Clusters involved in agriculture, food, biodiversity and the rural environment including the Fishery and Aquaculture sector activities in their interests and ef-forts are reported from Croatia and France (Croatian Network for Rural Development and French Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation

through the Regional Operational Program along with the National Operational Program on Competitiveness, Entrepre-neurship Research and Innovation, in line with the regional and national, respective-ly, Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization (RIS3).

● The European Investment Bank (EIB) backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) and relying on national promotional banks across the partner countries.

● The EU Research and Innovation 7 years (2014-2020) program, Horizon 2020, LIFE + (for environmental issues) and the cross-border and interregional coopera-tion program of INTERREG.

● Such funding can de-risk private investment and make investments more attractive for private funds (bank loans, equity funds and venture capital).

The rationalization and streamlining of all funding, either EU or national and region-al, public and private, carried out at the regional level, is a major challenge ahead.

The ‘Plan Littoral 21 Méditerranée’ of the French region Occitanie is a characteris-tic response to this challenge, aiming to develop integrated and innovative coastal and maritime economic activities and preserve the natural wealth, where the objective of strengthening the compet-itiveness of fishery and aquaculture is included as well.

A list of the principal national or regional fund managing authorities of each partner country can be found in Table 3-13.

Country Funding mananging Authority

Grece The national as well as certain regional (Ionian Islands, South Aegean, Crete, Attica, Epirus, East Mace-donia-Thrace, Western Greece) Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) have highlighted “Fishing and aquaculture” as a priority economic domain (A.03). This priority is linked to the use of the ERDF, through the Ministry of Economy and Development (EU Funds National Coordina-tor) and the respective Regional Authorities, only in a pre-industrial research phase, otherwise is linked to the use of the EMFF through the Ministry of Rural Development and Food.

Grece The national as well as certain regional (Ionian Islands, South Aegean, Crete, Attica, Epirus, East Mace-donia-Thrace, Western Greece) Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) have highlighted “Fishing and aquaculture” as a priority economic domain (A.03). This priority is linked to the use of the ERDF, through the Ministry of Economy and Development (EU Funds National Coordina-tor) and the respective Regional Authorities, only in a pre-industrial research phase, otherwise is linked to the use of the EMFF through the Ministry of Rural Development and Food.