Activities of Rosa D'AMATO related to 2021/2189(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward
Amendments (42)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
— having regard to Articles 3, 4, 13, 38, 43 and 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
— having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
— having regard Council Directive 98/58/EC on the protection of animals kept for farming purposes,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
— having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September on the protection of animals at the time of killing,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the common fisheries policy states that aquaculture should avoid the degradation of the marine environment and contribute to the preservation of food production potential on a sustainable basis throughout the Union so as to guarantee long-term food security, including food supplies, growth and employment for Union citizens, and contribute to meeting the growing world demand for aquatic food;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the European Green Deal, the Biodiversity Strategy and the Farm to Fork Strategy aim to achieve a carbon neutral Europe by 2050 and make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally friendly across the Union; whereas certain types of aquaculture can provide healthy food with a smaller climate and environmental footprint than that of land- based farming; whereas the majority of aquaculture activities depend on a supply of catches from wild fish populations;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the EU Strategic Guidelines for a More Sustainable and Competitive EU Aquaculture (2021), the FAO Shanghai Declaration: Aquaculture for food and sustainable development (2021), and the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code (2021) establish animal welfare objectives in aquaculture to support producers and consumers;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean 2030 strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea specifies that aquaculture production needs to meet demand, grow sustainably, capitalise on innovation, digitalisation and knowledge sharing and enhance its attractiveness for investment; whereas the strategy further states that monitoring and reducing the sectors’ environmental footprint, dealing with climate change and pollution and securing animal health and welfare are crucial in achieving the sector’s sustainability;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the European Market Observatory for fisheries and aquaculture’'s fishmeal and fish oil report from September 2021 indicates that most fishmeal in aquaculture feed is consumed in Asia and that in 2019, 34 % of fishmeal was used in China, 35 % in other Asian countries and 9 % of fishmeal was used in Europe; whereas less than 2% of the global aquaculture production stems from the EU27; whereas 20 million tonnes of wild fish are captured for non-human feed purposes; whereas there is increasing competition for fishmeal on the global animal feed markets between aquaculture and livestock producers; whereas the European Commission has identified the need to transition to low-trophic species and higher feed prices will imply that only feed- efficient and high-valued aquaculture products can be profitable with such inputs; whereas feeding purpose-caught wild fish to farmed fish is an inefficient use of resources when the wild fish could otherwise be consumed directly by humans and calories are lost in the conversion process;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas EU aquaculture is mostly focused on high value carnivorous species of higher trophic levels;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas aquaculture is especially sensitive to extreme weather events in riverbeds and coastal areas that are increasingly occurring due to global warming, including floods, storms and waves, which cause severe damage to aquaculture infrastructures and the species cultivated;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the resolution on the adoption of a European Cormorant Management Plan to minimise the increasing impact of cormorants on fish stocks, fishing and aquaculture, adopted 13 years ago, proposed several possible actions to solve the problems that cormorants posed such as scaring cormorants away, protecting the fish resource, reducing fish availability or financial compensation;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the own-initiative report entitled ‘Towards a sustainable and competitive European aquaculture sector’ highlights the importance, among many other actions, of minimising the increasing impact of cormorants on aquaculture; highlights that Cormorants are listed as protected species under the Birds Directive and therefore Member States are required to request a derogation in order to take any action; stresses that a range of effective non-lethal measures are available to aquaculture operators to limit the interaction between cormorants and fish;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
M a. whereas financial compensation is available to aquaculture and fisheries operators for losses deriving from cormorants’ interaction with fisheries;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M b (new)
Recital M b (new)
M b. whereas cormorants and other predators that visit aquaculture facilities are sentient beings and their welfare must also be protected during deterrent activities;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M c (new)
Recital M c (new)
M c. whereas farmed fish are required by legislation to be killed humanely, however most are currently killed by inhumane methods, such as asphyxiation in ice slurry, which are known to cause poor welfare as stated by the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) 2016;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M d (new)
Recital M d (new)
M d. whereas farmed fish currently have minimal legislative welfare protection during rearing and transport and more detailed, species specific legislation is required to prevent suffering and allow them lives worth living by provision of good health and ethological needs;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M e (new)
Recital M e (new)
M e. whereas it is preferable from an animal welfare and sustainability point of view to avoid farming species that are carnivorous and instead rear species lower in the trophic chain in line with the Commission Strategic Guidelines, whereas the Commission encourages producers to limit the use of fishmeal and oil and to reduce aquaculture’s reliance on these ingredients produced from wild- caught fish, proposes that EU aquaculture diversifies by introducing low-trophic species that do not need wild- caught feed as well as species with a lower environmental footprint such as algae, shellfish, and extensively reared herbivorous fish;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M f (new)
Recital M f (new)
M f. whereas the EU fisheries funds (EFF, EMFF and EMFAF) have provided financial support to the EU aquaculture sector;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M g (new)
Recital M g (new)
M g. whereas escapees from aquaculture farms can cause genetic alterations in wild populations;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights the potential of the aquaculture sector’s contributions to achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal, and highlights the need to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of the sector, notably in the light of the COVID-19 crisis; considers that the transition to a sustainable food system in Europe needs to include the aquaculture sector as an important part of the circular economy and as a net contributor to excess nutrient transformation in high-quality protein meaning that aquaculture does not remove more wild fish from the oceans for its feed requirements than it produces;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points out that aquaculture is expected to contribute to food supply and food security by rebalancing the fish gap, since the EU needs to imports 70 % of all the aquatic food it consumes and that causes an annual EUR 21 billion trade deficit (in 2019); considers that aquaculture has sizeable growthdevelopment potential that needs to be enhanced while remaining within ecological limits, so that it can provide sustainable and quality food products, reduce our dependence on aquatic food imports and create more jobs, especially in coastal regions; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide a predictable, streamlined and business- friendly legal framework, and making full use of the available financing resources of the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), as this is the only environment under which these aquaculture contributions can occurfunding instrument specifically dedicated to the objectives of EU fisheries and aquaculture management;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses that progress towards the objectives of the European Green Deal must be aligned with ensuring food security of third countries;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that the growth potential of the EU aquaculture sector needs to be developed in a sustainable manner, taking all three pillars of sustainability – economic, social and environmental – into consideration; points out the need to have a market-oriented sector with a legal framework for attracting business investments and protecting the environment by using sustainable feed sources, improving aquatic health and biosecurity, that continuously reducinge the burden of disease and encouragir ratio of wild feed content, preserving food security ing the responsible and prudent use of antimicrobialsird countries, improving aquatic health, animal welfare, and biosecurity, and reduce the use of antimicrobials by 50% by 2030, in line with he Farm to Form Strategy;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that the aquaculture sector capable of providing a consistent contribution to ecosystem services for society, and algae and shellfish farming especially can contribute to decarbonising the EU economy and mitigating climate change; stresses, however, that carbon sequestration by algae and shellfish farming is limited when the product is harvested; supports the proposed actions on climate change but highlights the need for a common methodology to measure the carbon footprint of individual aquaculture farms and requests an impact assessment for all the proposed measures;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to facilitate, encourage and provide adequate support for environmentally friendly aquaculture, such as organic farms, closed-system aquaculture that operate with renewable energy and in line with high animal welfare standards , algae, shellfish, pond fish farming and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Reiterates the need for a food traceability system in the EU that enhances the sustainability of the aquaculture sector and responds to consumer demands by providing information on where, when, how and what fish or seafood has been farmed, primarily to improve food safety but also to enable checks throughout the chain of both EU products and imports from outside the EU and to combat fraud, to combat fraud and ensure that consumers receive clear information on the environmental impact of the products they purchase; believes that this system should involve all actors in the value chain, so that they can collaborate with one another using digital systems, artificial intelligence and other technological innovations;
Amendment 139 #
11. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to support green business models, such as those based on carbon sequestration, in order to make supply chains more sustainable; stresses, in this regard, that certain aquaculture practices, such as mussel or oyster farming, can be successful models for the future, in the context of the Emissions Trading System; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support this type of green business in the light of the strategy’s objectives;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers that the aquaculture sector should commit to actively applying evidence-based interventions to improve fish welfare during keeping, transport and slaughter, including maintaining water quality within welfare-relevant limits, reduced stocking densities and environmental enrichment as a way of reducing the prevalence and spread of diseases, which diminishes the need for antibiotics and lowers pollution levels; as well as improving handling practises which will provide welfare and quality benefits, and ensure that humane slaughter methods are used; highlights that the aquaculture sector should continue to improve farming methods in line with the most up-to-date scientific knowledge available in order to achieve animal welfare that contributes to better environmental results, resilience against climate change and the optimisation of resource use objectives;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States to continue encouraging the promotion of algae farming without neglecting the more conventional aquaculture farmed speciand the farming of non- carnivorous species as well as extensive aquaculture systems that provide ecosystem services; considers that restoring and better managprotecting seaweed populations could be an effective way, in addition to farming algae, to combat eutrophication and remove excess carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from water, as well as excess carbon if the algae remain in the water and can deposit on the seafloor;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure that national plans for the sustainable development of aquaculture take into account the main barriers to the development of the potential of the sector and to recognise the need to allocate space to aquaculture through appropriate spatial planning; highlights the importance of a transparent and participative mechanism, in line with Directive 2014/89/EU on maritime spatial planning, for allocating space, including to existing and new fishing grounds and, aquaculture farms, and marine protected areas as well as fisheries restricted areas to all stakeholders in an equitable manner;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that the development of aquaculture requires a solid, reliable and clear legal framework for the use of space and licences that provides confidence and security for investment in the sector and ensures that it develops within planetary boundaries; stresses that spatial planning should result in an effective and flexible plan that considers the ever-changing marine and freshwater environments within which aquaculture functions, and that ovearly restrictive zoning may detezoning will ensure clear investment and development prospects;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Stresses the importance of sustainable feed ingredients for aquaculture in the Union; considers that aquaculture can only fill the fish gap if all species farmed provide a net gain in fish protein, meaning that aquaculture does not remove more wild fish from the oceans for feed requirements than it produces; highlights that a large share of fish used to produce fishmeal and fish oil is caught in the EEZ of developing countries, with negative consequences on their food security and their fisheries sector; stresses the need to use ecologically sustainable marine proteins and oils, by-products and trimmings, other proteins and innovative solutions, such as insect meal and microalgae, and the partial replacemenhase out of marine proteins and oils that are replaced by with non-marine alternatives that are sustainably produced; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote responsible and sustainable practices such as low/zero input extensive systems and increase the percentage of independently certified fishmeal and fish oil within feeds, with certification done by a credible and independent environmental and social certification scheme, such as the one by the Marine Stewardship Council,s that uses low trophic index assessment criteria and the FAO code of conduct;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Acknowledges the fact that it is not currently possible to provide enough fishmeal and fish oil to aquaculture with just discards and by-products from the fishing industry, in part because of increasing competition within the fishmeal market; calls on the Commission and Member States to jointly step up efforts on research and innovation to solve this particular problem without undermining the CFP objective to gradually eliminate discards by avoiding and reducing, as far as possible, unwanted catches; reiterates the necessary transition for the substitution of carnivorous farmed species with herbivorous species; encourages further a move towards lower trophic species and away from systems that farm carnivorous species that are dependent on fishmeal;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to acknowledge the importance of conducting EU-wide communication campaigns about thsustainable EU aquaculture sector and the importance of production with funds under direct management in line with the objectives of the strategic guidelines; calls on the Member States and the Commission to include the organisation of information and communication campaigns in all operational programmes, in line with the objectives of the strategic guidelines, on specific subsectors of thsustainable EU aquaculture sector;
Amendment 203 #
22. Calls on the Commission to work further on levelling the playing field through the revision of international trade agreements, including updating rules for the better implementation of aquatic food labelling; considers that, in specific cases such as caviar labelling, the legal framework on information for consumers should be revised; calls on the Commission to analyse the inclusion of sustainable aquaculture sectors in the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in order to create incentives for European industries and EU trade partners to decarbonise their industries and therefore support both EU and global climate policies towards greenhouse-gas neutrality, and at the same time, without being discriminatory or constituting a disguised restriction on international trade;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses the need to improve the availabilityreduce the utilisation of veterinary medicines for the aquaculture sector in order to be able to comply with the proposed actions on fish health and welfare; calls on the Commission to support scientific knowledge on fish welfare, promote best aquaculture practices on fish wellbeing and promote the creation of EU reference centres for fish welfare;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Stresses the importance of adequate training to both competent authorities and farmers on how to limit the environmental impact of aquaculture practises and ensure the respect of high animal welfare and health standards;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish permanent measures to regulate the number ofallow coexistence with cormorants and reduce their economic and social impact on aquaculture; considers that only some of Parliament’s demands have been fulfilled through the actions of the Commission, such as compensation of losses and the guidance document for applying derogations under Article 9(1) of the Birds Directive, the CorMan Project and the EU Cormorant Platform; calls on the Commission to include the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) in Annex II, Part A of the Birds Directive, which consists of a list of species that may be hunted under national legislation;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Points out that sustainable aquaculture, in general, and organic aquaculture, in particular, can help meet consumer demands for diversified high- quality food produced in a way that respects the environment and ensures fish welfare, thereby filling the gap between demand and supply of fishery products in the EU, and relieving pressure on wild stocks by using feed sources other than wild caught fish;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Urges the Commission to consider re-authorising the use of 30 % of the daily ration of fishmeal and fish oil from non- organic aquaculture trimmings, or trimmings of fish caught for human consumption that come from sustainable EU fishery products, for a transitional period of five years for all newcomers in the organic aquaculture sector, given its positive impact on the circular economy and as a necessary support measure in view of the lack of organic feed;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Highlights the need to level the playing field for EU organic farmers across the Union by providing the same rules, support and harmonising treatments for diseases u; welcomes that medicinal treatments are not authorised in organic aquaculture and organic livestock farming in the EU, except as vaccines;