Recent decisions at an international level and within the EC will impact significantly on the institutional framework for trade in fisheries products, including the products of European freshwater aquaculture. The major trade barrier in the past has been the application of high tariffs to fishery products but these can be expected to be further reduced and in the long term removed through WTO negotiations.
The key measures affecting trade in the future will be rules governing the health and safety aspects of fisheries products, on the one hand, and rules to ensure that fishing and aquaculture are compatible with sustainable development, on the other. The EC as the world’s major importer of fish products has a clear policy that the European consumer has the right to be assured that imported products meet the same health standards as those subject to the Community’s control. Imports are only permitted from authorised countries included in the Annex to Commission Decision 97/296/EC as amended. For aquaculture products the residue monitoring requirements of Council Directive 96/23/EC, which have applied in the EC are currently being extended to imported aquaculture products.
The application of more stringent food safety regulations, based on hazard analysis critical control point theory and the assessment of risk, constitutes a burden to the small aquaculture operation. However, the changes should be seen in a positive light of providing increased security in the food chain, rather than as barriers to trade. The aquaculture industry will need assistance and training to meet the challenge.
