BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Fish farmers, fish feed producers and European Commission officials voiced their support for the sustainable growth of the E.U. aquaculture sector during the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) workshop “Aquaculture in Motion - Confidence in Culture” on Dec. 1, co-organized by FEFAC.

Participants agreed on making communication efforts to jointly promote the merits of E.U. aquaculture in order to positively stimulate the public image.

FEAP President Arnault Chaperon highlighted the impact of unfair media coverage of E.U. aquaculture on the demand for farmed fish in the last few years, which may be due to the fact that fish farming, as a growing industry, emerged during years where consumers and mainstream media are wary of new technologies and farming methods.

He stressed that growth in E.U. aquaculture is an absolute necessity to meet the future’s demand for animal protein as well as to diminish the impact of fisheries activities on threatened fishing colonies.

Chairman of the FEFAC Fish Feed Committee Niels Alsted illustrated the achievements of the fish feed industry, which invests 20% of its annual revenues in R&D, in the last decade as regards improving the feed conversion rate and the increasing replacement of marine raw materials such as fish meal and fish oil for vegetable oils and proteins. He reminded the participants that market resistance caused by scientifically unfounded fears to the use of non-ruminant processed animal protein prevents E.U. aquaculture from further increasing the sustainability profile of aquafeed.

FEAP President Arnault Chaperon highlighted the impact of unfair media coverage of E.U. aquaculture on the demand for farmed fish in the last few years, which may be due to the fact that fish farming, as a growing industry, emerged during years where consumers and mainstream media are wary of new technologies and farming methods. He stressed that growth in E.U. aquaculture is an absolute necessity to meet the future’s demand for animal protein as well as to diminish the impact of fisheries activities on threatened fishing colonies.

All presentations made at the workshop “Confidence in Culture” are available on the website of FEAP, http://www.feap.info/.