Growing competition for the use of European seas has placed access to maritime space at the centre of the debate on the future of fisheries and aquaculture. The European Parliament has called for both sectors to be recognised as strategic activities within the European Union’s maritime spatial planning, with priority areas that can protect marine food production from the increasing pressure of other uses of the sea.
The initiative comes in a context of intensifying competition for marine space. The expansion of offshore wind energy, marine protected areas, maritime transport, coastal infrastructure and other economic uses is increasing pressure on areas where fisheries and aquaculture also operate.
For the European Parliament, maritime planning must better integrate these activities, strengthen coordination between Member States and assess in advanced the socio-economic impact of new offshore developments on existing productive sectors.
For aquaculture, the debate is particularly relevant. The European Commission had already identified access to space and water as one of the key factors for developing a more competitive and sustainable aquaculture sector.
Not all available areas are suitable for production, and not all technologically suitable areas are actually available to the sector.
Factors such as water quality, bathymetry, exposure to waves, distance from other uses, land-based pollution and resilience to extreme events all conditions the viability of a marine farming site.
Although the proposal does not yet imply immediate legislative changes, it does signal a relevant shift in European maritime policy. The future European Ocean Act could make access to maritime space one of the central elements for the development of European aquaculture over the next decade.
Reserving areas will not, by itself, solve problems related to permits, social acceptance or environmental impact, but it could become a precondition for unlocking new investment, organising coexistence with other uses of the sea and providing greater predictability for marine and offshore aquaculture projects.
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