Perspectives of German aquaculture

Aquaculture is currently undergoing an exciting phase of changes and new challenges.

The declining populations of many wild fish species result in an increasing demand for fish products from aquaculture. At the same time, issues of quality, sustainability, and regionality are increasingly affecting the needs of consumers and thus create changing demands on production. The development of modern aquaculture technologies, which meet the requirements of the consumers, is so far not fully exploited and still represents a great potential.

The following questions arise:

• What is the future of German aquaculture?

• Which role will traditional aquaculture enterprises play?

• What are the requirements for the development and market penetration of modern production technologies?

• Is Germany prepared for this future?

In order to develop future perspectives for German aquaculture, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) published a tender via the Federal Institute for Agriculture (BLE) in early 2016.

By September 2017, sound recommendations for the structural improvement of the situation of German aquaculture for the BMEL and BLE will be developed.

The project consortium consists of:

• AFC Consulting Group

• Cofad – Consultants for Fishery, Aquaculture and Regional Development

• University of Rostock – Professorship for Aquaculture and Sea-Ranching

• Fisch und Umwelt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e.V.

The recommendations for action are elaborated in several steps.

First, a screening is taking place, in which the current status of German aquaculture is assessed. A comprehensive literature research serves as a basis for this. In addition, interviews are held with stakeholders of various aquaculture sectors, as well as with neighboring sectors.

The preliminary results of the screening are discussed and supplemented by experts at several workshops.

Finally, a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis forms the foundation for the development of perspectives and recommendations for action.

The project began in July 2016 and the final report is scheduled for September 2017.

Currently the projects is in its final phase. The work on the final report, including the SWOT analysis and recommendations for action are in full swing.

So far all the workshops (kick-off, presentation of the study at the EuroTier 2016 in Hanover, the presentation of the interim report as well as a workshop with the participation of experts to discuss the preliminary results) were carried out. The same applies to the interviews.