Analysis the Aquaculture Situation in the European Union

Aquaculture is the production sector that recorded the fastest development at global level in recent years, providing a quarter of the world fish production. That is why, analysing the aquaculture at European level, and taking into account the place it has in the world, we have found that it is important both in economic and in social terms. Given the fact that competition is becoming stronger, one of the most important tools of fighting is the production quality. Therefore, in the last decades, there have been drafted international standards and various information systems that would help farmers develop their businesses in the area of aquaculture. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the aquaculture sector in the European Union, focusing on European funds supporting this sector. There are major differences among European countries as concerns endowment with factors that will potentiate aquaculture, as well as the importance given to it. It is well known that despite the large allocations, Central and Eastern European countries managed to absorb less than 50% of the funds. As a result, for the programming period between 2014 - 2020, it has been drastically cut from the funds for fishing and aquaculture of several Member States, including Romania, in order to redistribute them to other states. Aquaculture remains an important sector as it can contribute to the sustainable development of the countries and regions in which it develops.