Compensation is yet to reach fish farmers across Europe seven months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In March, the European Commission initiated a financial package to support the fishing and aquaculture sectors through the crisis mechanism of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund. A second package was agreed in April.
However, this support is yet to reach those affected, says the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP). “Seven months into the Ukraine war crisis none of the supposedly urgent compensation money has yet reached any fish farmer in the European Union,” said a statement issued by FEAP.
Whilst the effects of the war and before that, the Covid-19 pandemic, are felt by many industries, fish farming has a key difference, argues the FEAP, in that farms can not simply down tools. Stocks need to be continuously fed and cared for, so costs can not be reduced.
“Fish farms cannot stop their activity and wait for the storm to pass,” said that statement.
Challenges facing the industry include the high price of feed, the unavailability of some raw materials for feed, overpriced oxygen, transportation costs, and a rocketing inflation rate affecting packaging materials, maintenance and labour.
Compensation rules mean that the sector is paid per company and not per site even though most operators own and manage several sites. This is making aid insufficient in most cases, says the FEAP.
“Efforts to make fish farming profitable again have failed because of the overcautious implementation of European environmental laws at national and regional levels,” said the statement. “A solution to this would pass through the establishment of legally binding targets on aquaculture production per member state,” it concluded.
