AquaVitae ´s Policy Brief was officially launched to DG-MARE on April 15th.
On April 15th AquaVitae held a Policy session along with DG MARE and CINEA. This final meeting gathered attendees in DG Mare premises (Brussels, Belgium) as well as online to discuss low trophic aquaculture (LTA), licensing, and regulations.
After a brief presentation of the project by Philip James, AquaVitae´s coordinator, the Policy Brief was officially launched to the Commission by Sofia Franco (SAMS). This document summarises the key governance challenges encountered and proposes recommendations to enable the sustainable development of LTA in the Atlantic region. The fifteen actionable recommendations within the brief were listed and defined.
Partners involved in the elaboration of the Policy Brief
The subsequent discussions covered different questions and comments regarding governance in low trophic aquaculture. DG Mare was particularly interested in ecosystem services provided by low trophic species. The participants also compared high trophic aquaculture to low trophic aquaculture, and talked about the challenges faced by the latter: the complicated licensing procedure, the different regulations depending on the context/countries, limitations and profitability, etc. Examples from different regions from Norway to Galicia (NW Spain) were given. In addition, the lack of coordination or the actions taken in relation with LTA by several administrations were discussed.
Lorella de la Cruz (DG MARE) took advantage of the meeting to update on EU´s late work on LTA focusing on the two documents the Commission is elaborating and that would serve to guide each Member State.
