EU funding for the fisheries, aquaculture and processing sectors: How have the Member States used it?

The latest implementation report of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is now available. It highlights the most important achievements supported by the EMFF across the EU. The report is based on data provided by the Member States, reflecting the state of implementation at the end of 2019. The first data reflecting the impacts of Covid-19 are due to be reported by the Member States at the end of April 2021 and will feature in the next report.

The report shows that by the end of 2019, €3.21 billion of EMFF support was committed to operations in the Member States. This corresponds to 55.8% of the €5.69 billion EMFF funding available to the Member States.

€1.4 billion of the support committed contributes to the objective of enhancing the competitiveness of Small to Medium sized Enterprises, while €1.3 billion (i.e. 40% of support committed so far) is dedicated to preserving and protecting the environment. The remaining €0.5 billion was committed to a variety of topics, which notably include promoting quality employment and labour mobility.

The report analyses the breakdown of these figures according to key policy objectives and topics such as climate, biodiversity, and the landing obligation. Analysis is provided at EU level, by Member State and specifically for support targeted at the small-scale coastal fisheries sector.

The report shows that most of the EMFF funding was committed towards the objectives of ensuring economically viable and competitive fishing and processing industries (€899 million). Development of sustainable aquaculture activities (€588 million) and supporting the achievement of the maximum sustainable yield (€572 million) were also key funding targets.

In terms of activities, data collection on fisheries and aquaculture activities, which helps improve stock assessments and understanding of the state of these sectors, including socio-economic conditions, received the largest amount of support (€433.9 million). Control (€375.8 million) and productive investments in aquaculture (€348 million) also received significant support.

The EMFF is one of the five European Structural and Investment (ESI) funds. This detailed report provides critical input for evaluating policy implementation and tailoring future policy decisions.

More information

EMFF implementation report 2019

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)