GFCM Regional Aquaculture Conference in Heraklion, 4&5 December 2024
Shaping the future of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Region
On December 4th and 5th the FAO GFCM Conference “Shaping the future of sustainable aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea” took place in Heraklion, Greece. Organised with the support of FEAP, this event was an important milestone in the future of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and BlackSea region, building on a decade of progress since the last 2014 Bari Conference.
But beyond the Mediterranean and Black Sea, this event aimed also at pushing for the right conditions and highlight the urgent needs for aquaculture to unleash its full potential in Europe. On this, our Secretary-General Javier Ojeda shared important messages from FEAP during the panels on Climate Change and BlueTransformation at this exceptional conference:
“Climate change is restarting the paradigms of fish farming”. The Mediterranean and Black Sea which are exposed to intense risks in ecosystem health and production capacity, are at the forefront of the fight with increasingly complex climatic situations which will impact every species, threatening the sector welfare and survival of the activity. We must be extremely careful and make sure that all segments of the sector receive the proper support to adjust and improve resilience.
“Collaboration between farmers, researchers and public administrations is essential”. Only through better knowledge management, better connections between research, production and policy, more investment in training, skills and capacity building will we able to achieve the target of continuing to provide food to the global population in a sustainable and profitable way. FEAP believes that this target can be met by Fish Farming like no other food producing sector. So let’s work together to make it happen.
“The EU is missing the train of the BlueTransformation instead of leading it”. Policies and funding opportunities must be aligned with FAO guidelines, particularly when it comes to food security and primary production in waters and oceans.
“Carbon footprints are not the only criteria to guide customers in their choice of food”. Authorities should recommend diets considering the broader nutritional values and the whole environmental impacts. Also, plant-based diet has little scientific backing from a nutritional perspective; the only sound and proven diet is the Mediterranean diet.
“By focusing on low trophic aquaculture, the EUMissionOcean is neither in line with the FAO Blue Transformation, nor with the United Nations SDGs”. Sustainable intensive finfish farming in Europe, powered by technological innovation, circularity and resource efficiency, is the backbone of a new paradigm for global food security, qualified jobs for local communities, and healthy diets for European citizens.
FEAP will promote these messages and hopes to attract as many partners as possible who share these views. Together, we can turn this into reality in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and beyond!
More on FAO GFCM:
https://www.fao.org/gfcm/news/detail/en/c/1729069/
More on FEAP activities supporting the GFCM strategy:
https://feap.info/feap-activities-supporting-the-gfcm-2030-strategy/
