The European Union (EU) is currently the world’s biggest importer of fish, seafood and aquaculture products. The EU produced only 1.1 million tons of farmed fish in 2022 (less than 1% of global production), but consumed approximately 3 million tons of aquaculture products and 7 million tons of fishery products.
EU legislation often applies uniformly to both wild-caught and farmed products: all fish products for human consumption in the EU must meet the same EU general food safety and hygiene rules. However, aquaculture is distinct from capture fisheries because farmed fish requires controlled conditions including specific infrastructures, management of water and waste, and external inputs such as feed. This means that certain requirements for aquaculture products are different from those for wild catch.
Meeting EU Regulations and Standards remains a major determinant for market access and competitiveness. Both operators and competent authorities in countries exporting aquaculture products to the EU must be aware and work together to meet EU standards. So competent authorities in exporting countries must have a robust and reliable system in place to allow safe aquaculture production, covering aspects such as food safety, veterinary residues and diseases, while overseeing the inspection and compliance of products exported by operators from their country.
AGRINFO information service, helps exporters navigate the complex and continually evolving EU regulatory framework and agri-food market requirements, including those for aquaculture.
To help ensure that exported produce – including that from small-scale producers and operators – remains compliant and retains access to the EU market, our introductory guide to exporting aquaculture products offers producers, processors, traders and competent authorities a concise overview of EU requirements that must be met to export aquaculture products to the EU.