At this year’s EU Maritime Days, European policymakers, industry and civil society gather in Cyprus to discuss upcoming proposals that will shape the future of European oceans, fisheries and aquaculture, and billions of sentient aquatic animals.

With the upcoming Vision 2040 for Fisheries and Aquaculture expected in autumn we are launching our latest position paper Rethinking Aquaculture - Our Vision 2040 for Aquaculture - calling on the EU to avoid repeating the same mistakes made through the intensification of land animal farming.

Industrial aquaculture: a false solution

In the coming years, the aquaculture sector is expected to grow exponentially, due to increased consumption of seafood, which will put increased pressure on wild fish stocks.

Far from a sustainable solution, intensive aquaculture - and in particular carnivorous aquaculture - has disastrous consequences for the welfare of aquatic animals, food security and the health of our oceans.

Now is the time to ensure that this sector develops in a truly sustainable and resilient way.

What our oceans need

To protect food security, long-term sustainability, and high welfare standards for animals, the upcoming Vision 2040 for Fisheries and Aquaculture must:

Actively support the transition to low-trophic aquaculture
Introduce EU rules to protect the welfare of farmed aquatic animals
Restrict the development of carnivorous aquaculture, preventing its expansion both in volume and to new species

Thriving marine ecosystems and the welfare of billions of sentient animals hang on the EU making the right choice: stopping the growth of carnivorous aquaculture and instead supporting a sector which farms species that don’t need fish-based feed,

said Alexandre Cottier Pérez, our Aquaculture Policy Officer.

Our vision for the future of fish farming