EUR-Lex
COM(2023)0167

COM(2020)0809
EUR-Lex

COM(2018)0009
EUR-Lex

The Commission presents a report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of statistics on aquaculture by Member States.

The report is based primarily on the aquaculture quality reports submitted by the Member States for the reference year 2015. The previous evaluation reports on aquaculture statistics submitted under the Regulation were published in July 2012 (for 2008-2010 data), and June 2015 (for 2011-2013 data).

Timeliness and completeness : the report notes that in recent years, aquaculture statistics have evolved into a stable set of data with fairly timely, complete and consistent output for data users not only at the European and global levels, but at national level as well. They provide policymakers, industry and civil society with solid foundations on which to build the sector’s future development.

Some Member States have continued to face problems with the timeliness and punctuality of the data collection and delivery. The Commission (Eurostat) has taken steps to find solutions with France and Italy, which have repeatedly been sending in data very late.

The dataset on fish eggs for human consumption posed difficulties for a number of countries. There were also some data gaps in the table linked to production from hatcheries and nurseries.

The Eurostat data collection guidelines introduced in 2015 have improved the geographical comparability of the data. The aquaculture statistics submitted to the Commission (Eurostat) under the Regulation are well comparable between the Member States.

Data confidentiality : the main shortcoming affecting the aquaculture statistics collected under the Regulation was the high number of confidential data cells. This state of affairs is linked to the detailed breakdown of the data required by the Regulation and to the specialised and concentrated structure of the aquaculture sector.

Administrative burden : the time and effort needed to collect, compile and process the data at national level every year varied a great deal. Half of the Member States needed less than 10 weeks and the other half more than 10 weeks to compile the datasets.

Member States reduced the burden on respondents, but did not make clear, measurable efficiency gains. The average annual cost of producing aquaculture statistics was EUR 66 000 per country. However, the average share of the data collection costs in the total economic value of aquaculture production was rather low.

Recommendations: the Commission will continue working with the Member States on good practices, recommendations and guidelines to reduce the amount of confidential data delivered to Eurostat under the Regulation. It strives for constant improvement in the quality and availability of European statistics.

In order to reduce the burden on Member States and respondents, the Commission has included in its Annual Work Programme 2017 a project on streamlining and simplifying fishery statistics . The project ensures coordination to dovetail with statistics collected under Regulation (EU) 2017/1004 and better harmonisation with the standard aquaculture questionnaire recommended by the Coordinating Working Party on Fisheries Statistics.

At the national level the use of electronic questionnaires should be further encouraged. National data collection guidelines and helpdesks offering respondents tailor-made support are other examples of good practices.

COM(2017)0747
EUR-Lex

The Commission presents a report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96.

The Regulation requires submission of data in four areas, namely:

the annual production (volume and unit value) of aquaculture; the annual input (volume and unit value) to capture-based aquaculture; the annual production of hatcheries and nurseries; the structure of the aquaculture sector.

Data are required annually except in the case of structure information, which is submitted every three years. The first year for which data were required to be transmitted (the reference year) was 2008 and those data had to be received by Eurostat by 31 December 2009. Seven Member States were granted a transitional period in which to implement the Regulation

Data collection and sources : in the majority of Member States, data are collected through a complete census of registered aquaculture producers using annual postal or electronic questionnaires. Almost all countries have incorporated the requirements of European aquaculture data collection into national law.

The report describes the system for data collection in Member States. This section is derived from the most recent annual methodological reports for aquaculture statistics (reference years 2013-2011) sent from the Member States to the European Commission in accordance with the Regulation.

Data quality : analysis of the data which have been collected under Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 shows that:

data quality appears to be quite high for aquaculture production for human consumption (including eggs) at the aggregate level and for the major species, although for some countries individual species’ time series are incomplete and revisions may be useful; data on the input to capture based aquaculture and the production of eggs from hatcheries and nurseries are of rather poor quality. Better consistency is shown for the number of juveniles, although the definition of juveniles in the Regulation lacks precision.

Many countries judge the quality of national aquaculture data provided to Eurostat as high. Others do not explicitly rate the quality of their data, but do not mention any shortcomings.

Relatively little estimation is involved in the production of aquaculture figures. The large majority of Member States have an annual census with complete coverage of commercial production. It has been acknowledged though that the quality and completeness of data depend strongly on the goodwill of the industry.

Cost-effectiveness : for the reference year 2013 only four countries (Germany, Ireland, Greece and Poland) claimed a high burden imposed by Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 in terms of time needed to collect, process and submit the data, and two countries (Denmark and Germany) judged the production cost as high in monetary terms. By contrast, seven countries deemed the burden to be low in terms of both time and cost.

A number of countries have suggested improvements aiming to reduce the burden of Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 , particularly for improving the cooperation with other stakeholders in the field to standardise data submission requirements, concerning primarily the FAO and (EC) No 199/2008 (the Data Collection Framework Regulation)

The report notes that the vast majority of countries also cover national needs with the aquaculture data compiled for Regulation (EC) No 762/2008. Altogether, 20 countries exceed 50 % coverage, with 15 countries going beyond 80 % and seven countries reaching between 95 % and 100 %.

Recommendations: the Commission wants to conduct a review of Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 , drawing on lessons learned from the years of data collection, taking into account data needs of the revised Common Fisheries Policy and aligning with the Data Collection Framework Multiannual Programme. In particular, it suggests finding a solution to the high quantity of confidential data , and allowing the production and use of harmonised aquaculture data at European level. At Member State level, it should be possible to reduce the burden of aquaculture data collection by switching from paper to (partly pre-filled) online questionnaires and automating part of the validation process.

COM(2015)0297
EUR-Lex

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 762/2008, the Commission presents a report on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture. The report documents the progress made by Member States and EEA countries, together with the Commission, on implementation of the Regulation. The information supplied by Member States in their asessments forms the basis of the report.

Main findings: the main results of the analysis are the following:

21 Member States and Norway provided information for Eurostat's cost-effectiveness analysis for fields covered by the 2008-2012 Community Statistical Programme. Of the countries not providing aquaculture data under transitional arrangements, more than half assessed the burden of responding to Eurostat as being low with the remainder assessing the burden as being medium . As not all Member States are currently sending data, a more detailed cost benefit analysis would not be useful at this stage. In addition to this Regulation, there are a number of other EC requirements for collecting and providing information on the aquaculture sector and for which a monitoring and reporting infrastructure will already have been established. This partially explains why the statistical reporting burden is not seen by Member States as being particularly heavy. In 2009, the volume of production in the EU amounted to nearly 1.3 million tonnes , 77% of which came from marine areas: 52% from the Atlantic and 24% from the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Four countries, Spain , France, the United Kingdom and Italy accounted for more than 66% of EU production in 2009 . Spain with production of over 268 thousand tonnes (22%) made the major contribution followed by France, over 236 thousand tonnes (21%), the United Kingdom, nearly 197 thousand tonnes (15%), and Italy, more than 162 thousand tonnes (13%). Norwegian production at nearly 962 thousand tonnes, is equal to more than 74% of total EU production. In 2009 molluscs (mainly Mediterranean and Blue mussels) accounted for more than half of total volume of production . Of the marine fish cultivated, Atlantic Salmon, Gilthead Seabream and European Seabass were the most significant in terms of production volume, and Trouts and Common Carp the most important freshwater species. A number of Member States report economically significant production of fish eggs for human consumption totalling just under 1,000 tonnes for those countries reporting with a value of more than EUR 22 million. Production of trout eggs accounted for nearly 98% of production by volume but less than half of the value of production. Production of sturgeon caviar although less than 2% of production made up more than half of the total reported value. Information on capture-based aquaculture was provided for eight Member States. The most significant species are mussels (Blue Mussel and Mediterranean Mussel) and Bluefin Tuna. Information supplied on production of hatcheries and nuseries in terms of volume by country, largely follows that for overall production, with Spain and France being the most important producers .

Recommendations: as a number of Member States are still operating under transitional arrangments for implementing Regulation (EC) No. 762/2008 a comprehensive evaluation of the costs and benefits associated with producing the data has not been possible at this time. A more detailed evaluation will be conducted at the end of the transitional period under the auspices of the Working Group on Fisheries Statistics.

As not all Member States are yet supplying data under the Aquaculture Statistics Regulation, it has not been possible to compile full figures for the EU for aquaculture data except for production. A number of Member States have encountered issues with collecting the full data in compliance with the new requirements when implementing their data collection systems but are addressing these in consultation with Eurostat and as part of their own processes of continuous improvement. Data quality at the aggregate level appears to be quite high for production data and for input to hatcheries and nurseries for most Member States. However this is less good at the more detailed level and more needs to be done to ensure data consistency in the future . Specific problems with definitions for stages in lifecycle need to be addressed.

There are outstanding issues with data quality for some Member States particularly for structure data . These are being addressed bilaterally with Member States. Eurostat is currently involved in implementing new information systems which will flag up quality problems early and allow them to be more speedily rectified and the data published. For structure data, some are supplied annually to FAO between years where Eurostat collects data, and these reports should be used to cross-check the Eurostat structure reports.

Eurostat is developing a ' Confidentiality Charter ' which will define how data will be treated by Eurostat to preserve confidentiality and how data may be shared within the Commission services and other interested bodies, including the FAO.

COM(2012)0422
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE: to set out Member States’ obligations regarding the submission of statistics on aquaculture.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96.

CONTENT: this Regulation requires Member States to submit to the Commission statistics on all the aquaculture activities conducted in freshwater and saltwaters on their territory. The Regulation is designed to improve and replace Council Regulation 788/96/EC on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture production, which is repealed. The adoption of this Regulation will help in obtaining better data for implementing the strategy of the Commission for a sustainable development of the European aquaculture ( INI/2002/2058 ).

Compilation of statistics : Member States must use surveys or other statistically validated methods covering at least 90 % of the total production by volume, or by number for the production of hatcheries and nurseries. The remaining part of the total production may be estimated. To estimate more than 10 % of the total production, a request for derogation may be submitted under the conditions provided for in the Regulation. Use of sources other than surveys shall be subject to provision of an ex-post assessment of the statistical quality of those sources.

A Member State having a total annual production of less than 1000 tonnes may submit summary data estimating the total production. Member States shall identify the production by species. However, the production of those species which individually do not exceed 500 tonnes and do not represent more than 5 % in weight of the production by volume in a Member State may be estimated and aggregated. The production of hatcheries and nurseries in number of those species may be estimated.

The data will relate to the reference calendar year and cover:

a) the annual production (volume and unit value) of aquaculture;

b) the annual input (volume and unit value) to capture-based aquaculture;

c) the annual production of hatcheries and nurseries;

d) the structure of the aquaculture sector.

Member States must submit required data referred to in Annexes II, III and IV to Eurostat within 12 months of the end of the reference calendar year. The first reference calendar year shall be 2008. Starting with the data for the year 2008 and at intervals of three years thereafter, the data on the structure of the aquaculture sector referred to in Annex V will be submitted within 12 months of the end of the reference calendar year to the Commission (Eurostat).

Quality assessment : each Member State shall provide Eurostat with a yearly report on the quality of the data submitted. At the submission of the data, each Member State shall submit to the Commission a detailed methodological report. In that report, each Member State shall describe how the data were collected and compiled. This report shall include details of sampling techniques, estimation methods and of sources used other than surveys and an evaluation of the quality of the resultant estimates. A proposed format for the methodological report is indicated in Annex VI of the Regulation.

Transitional period: full calendar year transitional periods for implementing the Regulation lasting not more than three years from 1 January 2009 may be granted to Member States in accordance with the management procedure, in so far as the application of the Regulation to their national statistical systems requires major adaptations and is likely to cause significant practical problems. A Member State must present a duly motivated request to the Commission by 31 December 2008.

Evaluation report : by 31 December 2011 and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall submit an evaluation report on the statistics compiled pursuant to the Regulation and, in particular, on their relevance and quality. The report shall also undertake a cost-effectiveness analysis of the system introduced to collect and draw up the statistics and shall indicate best practices to lessen the workload for Member States and enhance the usefulness and quality of the data.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 02/09/2008.

Regulation 2008/762
OJ L 218 13.08.2008, p. 0001

03606/2008/LEX

SP(2008)1176

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the report drafted by Philippe MORILLON (ALDE, FR), and amended, in the first reading of the co-decision procedure, the proposal for a regulation on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture. The resolution was adopted by 599 votes for, 9 against and 17 abstentions.

The proposed amendments aim to improve the clarity and coherence of the text, take account of the problems faced by some Member States and make provision for information and regular updates for the Parliament and the Council concerning the application of the Regulation. Parliament pointed out that the increasing importance of hatcheries and nurseries for aquaculture activity requires detailed data for a suitable monitoring and management of this sector within the Common Fisheries Policy. The main amendments were as follows:

-in order to ensure smooth transition from the regime applicable under Regulation (EC) 788/96, the Regulation should allow for a transitional period of up to three years to be granted to Member States where its application to their national statistical systems would require major adaptations and would be likely to cause significant practical problems;

-the term ‘Community statistics’ has the same meaning as in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97. "Aquaculture" has the same meaning as in Article 3(d) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 on the European Fisheries Fund. “Capture-based aquaculture” means the practice of collecting specimens from the wild and their subsequent use in aquaculture. "Production" means the output from aquaculture at first sale, including production from hatcheries and nurseries offered for sale;

-Member States shall (not “may”) use surveys or other statistically validated methods covering at least 90% of the total production by volume or by number for the production of hatcheries and nurseries. The remaining part of the total production may be estimated. To estimate more than 10% of the total production, a request for derogation may be submitted under the conditions provided for in Article 8;

-a Member State having a total annual production of less than 1000 tonnes (the Commission had proposed 500) may submit summary data estimating the total production;

-a new Article stipulates that Member States shall identify the production by species. However the production of those species which individually do not exceed 500 tonnes and do not represent more than 5% in weight of the production by volume in a Member State may be estimated and aggregated. The production of hatcheries and nurseries in number of those species may be estimated;

-the data shall relate to the reference calendar year and shall cover: 1) the annual production (volume and unit value) of aquaculture; 2) the annual input (volume and unit value) to capture-based aquaculture; 3) the annual production of hatcheries and nurseries;

-Member States shall submit the data referred to in Annexes I, II and III to Eurostat within twelve months (rather than nine) of the end of the reference calendar year. The first reference year shall be 2008 (instead of 2007). Starting with the data for the year 2008 and at intervals of three years thereafter, the data on structures referred to in Annex V shall be submitted within twelve months of the end of the reference calendar year to Eurostat;

-Member States shall provide the Commission with a yearly report on the quality of the data transmitted. At the first submission of the data, Member States shall submit a detailed methodological report describing how the data were collected and compiled. In the quality report, Member States shall describe how the data were collected and compiled;

-full calendar year transitional periods for implementation of the Regulation lasting not more than three years from the date of its application may be granted to Member States in accordance with the management procedure, in so far as the application of the Regulation to their national statistical systems requires major adaptations and is likely to cause significant practical problems. To this end, a Member State shall present a duly motivated request to the Commission before 31 December 2008;

-technical changes to the Annexes shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny. The format in which statistics shall be transmitted shall be adopted in accordance with the management procedure;

-within a period of three years starting from the date of entry into force of the Regulation and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall submit an evaluation report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the statistics compiled and, in particular, on their relevance and quality. This report shall also undertake a cost-effectiveness analysis of the system introduced to collect and draw up the statistics and shall indicate best practices to lessen the workload for Member States and enhance the usefulness and quality of the data;

-lastly, the Regulation should apply from 1 January 2009. By way of derogation from this, a Member State having been granted derogation shall continue to apply the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 788/96 for the duration of the transitional period granted.

T6-0027/2008

A6-0001/2008

A6-0001/2008

The Committee on Fisheries adopted a report drafted by Philippe MORILLON (ALDE, FR), and amended, in the first reading of the co-decision procedure, the proposal for a regulation on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture.

The proposed amendments aim to improve the clarity and coherence of the text, take account of the problems faced by some Member States and make provision for information and regular updates for the Parliament and the Council concerning the application of the Regulation. The main amendments adopted in committee are as follows:

- in order to ensure smooth transition from the regime applicable under Regulation (EC) 788/96, this Regulation should allow for a transitional period of up to three years to be granted to Member States where its application to their national statistical systems would require major adaptations and would be likely to cause significant practical problems;

- he term ‘Community statistics’ has the same meaning as in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97. “Capture-based aquaculture” means the practice of collecting specimens from the wild and their subsequent use in aquaculture. "Production" means the output from aquaculture at first sale, including production from hatcheries and nurseries offered for sale;

- Member States shall (not “may”) use surveys or other statistically validated methods covering at least 90% of the total production by volume or by number for the production of hatcheries. The remaining part of the total production may be estimated. To estimate more than 10% of the total production, a request for derogation may be submitted under the conditions provided for in Article 8;

- a Member State having a total annual production of less than 1000 tonnes (the Commission had proposed 500) may submit summary data estimating the total production;

- a new Article stipulates that Member States shall identify the production by species. However the production of those species which individually do not exceed 500 tonnes and do not represent more than 5% in weight of the production by volume in a Member State may be estimated and aggregated. The production of hatcheries and nurseries in number of those species may be estimated;

- the data shall relate to the reference calendar year and shall cover: 1) the annual production (volume and unit value) of aquaculture; 2) the annual input (volume and unit value) to capture-based aquaculture; 3) the annual production of hatcheries and nurseries;

- Member States shall submit the data referred to in Annexes I, II and III to Eurostat within twelve months (rather than nine) of the end of the reference calendar year. The first reference year shall be 2008 (instead of 2007);

- Member States shall provide the Commission with a yearly report on the quality of the data transmitted. At the first submission of the data, Member States shall submit to the

Commission a detailed methodological report describing how the data were collected and compiled. In the quality report, Member States shall describe how the data were collected and compiled;

- within a period of three years starting from the date of entry into force of this Regulation and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall submit an evaluation report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the statistics compiled pursuant to the Regulation and, in particular, on their relevance and quality. This kind of report shall also undertake a cost-effectiveness analysis of the system introduced to collect and draw up the statistics and shall indicate best practices to lessen the workload for Member States and enhance the usefulness and quality of the data;

- one amendment aims to limit clearly the Commission’s powers to adopt only technical changes to the Annexes;

- lastly, the Regulation should apply from 1 January 2009.

PE398.343

PE384.418

PURPOSE: to repeal Council Regulation 788/96/EC on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: the proposal is designed to improve and replace the existing Community legislation. Council Regulation 788/96/EC on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture production should therefore be repealed. The adoption of this Regulation will help in getting better data for implementing the strategy of the Commission for a sustainable development of the European aquaculture ( INI/2002/2058 ).

The objective of the proposal is to provide for Member States to:

– submit data annually on the volume and value of the production from aquaculture with a breakdown by species, environment (freshwater or saltwater) and technology (e.g. in ponds or cages):

– submit data every third year on the input to capture-based aquaculture, i.e. the volume and value of fishery products taken from the wild and placed in aquaculture units for on-rearing to a marketable state:

– submit data every third year on production from hatcheries with a breakdown showing the products are to be used for on-growing in aquaculture units or released to the wild for example for restocking of waters.

– submit data every third year on the structure of aquaculture holdings giving information on the technology used and the size of the holdings.

The Commission will continue to ensure that concepts and definitions used in the current proposal on aquaculture statistics covering largely structural characteristics of the sector are compatible with those in the future implementing DCR legislation which will concentrate on economic aspects of the sector.

The proposed Regulation provides for coordination and harmonisation of data at EU level and for the national authorities to submit reports on the methods used to collect and compile them.

The Commission will continue to ensure that concepts and definitions used in the current proposal on aquaculture statistics covering largely structural characteristics of the sector are compatible with those in the future implementing DCR legislation which will concentrate on economic aspects of the sector.

COM(2006)0864
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE: to repeal Council Regulation 788/96/EC on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: the proposal is designed to improve and replace the existing Community legislation. Council Regulation 788/96/EC on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture production should therefore be repealed. The adoption of this Regulation will help in getting better data for implementing the strategy of the Commission for a sustainable development of the European aquaculture ( INI/2002/2058 ).

The objective of the proposal is to provide for Member States to:

– submit data annually on the volume and value of the production from aquaculture with a breakdown by species, environment (freshwater or saltwater) and technology (e.g. in ponds or cages):

– submit data every third year on the input to capture-based aquaculture, i.e. the volume and value of fishery products taken from the wild and placed in aquaculture units for on-rearing to a marketable state:

– submit data every third year on production from hatcheries with a breakdown showing the products are to be used for on-growing in aquaculture units or released to the wild for example for restocking of waters.

– submit data every third year on the structure of aquaculture holdings giving information on the technology used and the size of the holdings.

The Commission will continue to ensure that concepts and definitions used in the current proposal on aquaculture statistics covering largely structural characteristics of the sector are compatible with those in the future implementing DCR legislation which will concentrate on economic aspects of the sector.

The proposed Regulation provides for coordination and harmonisation of data at EU level and for the national authorities to submit reports on the methods used to collect and compile them.

The Commission will continue to ensure that concepts and definitions used in the current proposal on aquaculture statistics covering largely structural characteristics of the sector are compatible with those in the future implementing DCR legislation which will concentrate on economic aspects of the sector.

COM(2006)0864
EUR-Lex