Common market organisation
The common market organisation covers five main areas.
Organisation of the sector
Producer organisations, established under common rules, are the key players in the sector. Through their production and marketing plans, they deliver the EU common fisheries policy and contribute to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
Marketing standards
Common marketing standards lay down uniform characteristics for fishery products sold in the EU, whatever their origin. They are applied in accordance with conservation measures and help to ensure a transparent internal market that supplies high-quality products.
Consumer information
Consumer information rules establish what information must be provided to the consumer or mass caterer who buys fishery and aquaculture products. They allow consumers to make informed purchasing choices.
Competition rules
The common organisation of the markets is subject to competition rules. Given the specific characteristics of the sector, exceptions to the application of these rules exist to ensure the functioning of the policy and the achievement of EU objectives.
Market intelligence
The Commission has set up the European Market Observatory for Fishery and Aquaculture Products to contribute to market transparency and provide market intelligence to all actors across the sector including policy makers.
Organisation of the sector: professional organisations
Producer organisations
Today, more than 210 producer organisations exist in the European Union. They are bodies set up by fishery or aquaculture producers and officially recognised by EU countries under common EU-wide rules. They are in charge of the day-to-day management of producers’ activities and
- guide their members towards sustainable fishing and aquaculture, in particular by collectively managing their activities
- take measures to channel the supply and marketing of their members’ products
- promote their members’ products through certification schemes
- work towards reducing the environmental impact of the fishing or aquaculture activities of their members.
They can also be represented in associations of producer organisations.
Member States must communicate any recognition of producer organisation or withdrawal of recognition to MARE-A4
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (MARE-A4[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Inter-branch organisations
Inter-branch organisations are organisations of different operators in the fishery and aquaculture sector. Like producer organisations they are subject to common EU-wide rules. They bring together fish producers, processors and marketers to improve the coordination of marketing activities and to develop measures of interest for the whole sector.
Given the shared nature of the marine resources, these professional organisations may also be set up at transnational level to coordinate the production and the marketing of certain fish species across several EU countries.
Member States must communicate any recognition of inter-branch organisation or withdrawal of recognition to MARE-A4ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (MARE-A4[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Tools and financial support for professional organisations
Creation of professional organisations
The European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) can provide financial support to creating producer organisations, associations of producer organisations and inter-branch organisations.
Production and marketing plans
To contribute to the sustainability of fishing and aquaculture activities, producer organisations and associations of producer organisations draw up production and marketing plans. These plans, which shall be financed by the EMFAF, facilitate the collective management of producers' activities.
Marketing standards
Marketing standards currently exist for
The current marketing standards framework was evaluated in 2019-2020.
Consumer information
The common organisation of the markets defines the specific information that must accompany fishery and aquaculture products sold to consumers and mass caterers. These requirements contribute to more transparency on the market and enable consumers to make informed choices on the products they buy.
Commercial and scientific name of the species
Any product sold to the consumer must bear the commercial designation of the species (i.e. the name under which the fish is marketed) and its scientific name. To ensure consistency, each EU country draws up and publishes a list of the commercial designations accepted in its territory, including accepted local or regional names.
The Commission has set up a tool gathering all the commercial designations recognised in the EU and other useful information, such as scientific names, production methods and catch areas. This tool complements the information provided in the EU countries: only the national lists provided below are the authoritative source.
List of commercial and scientific name of species
Tool: Commercial designations of fishery and aquaculture products
Market intelligence - EUMOFA
The European market observatory for fisheries and aquaculture products (EUMOFA) is an online tool to enhance market intelligence and to contribute to transparency and efficiency of the market for fishery and aquaculture products. It is aimed at producers, processors, importers, retailers, consumers, markets' analysts and policy makers.
EUMOFA enables direct monitoring of the volume, value and price of fishery and aquaculture products, from the first sale to retail stage, including imports and exports. Data are collected from EU countries, Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom and from EU institutions and updated every day. EUMOFA also provides thematic analyses and regular highlights on main market developments.
European market observatory for fisheries and aquaculture products (EUMOFA)
Documents
Publications
EU consumer habits regarding fishery and aquaculture products
Media
Euronews Ocean: Sea to plate: how the EU is stopping any fishy business in our oceans
How much do we know about the fish we eat? Find out more about the complex journey fish take to get to your plate and how the EU is ensuring its quality and safety on this edition of Ocean.