The Marine living resources sector encompasses the harvesting of renewable biological resources (primary sector), their conversion into food, feed, bio‐based products and bioenergy (processing) and their distribution along the supply chain.
The Marine living resources sector comprises three sub-sectors:
primary sector: capture fisheries (small-scale coastal, large-scale and industrial fleets) and aquaculture (marine, freshwater and shellfish); processing of fish products: processing and preservation of fish, crustaceans and molluscs; meal preparation, manufacture of oils and fats and other food products; distribution of fish products: retail sale of fish, crustaceans and molluscs in specialised stores and wholesale outlets.
For the first time the sector figures incorporate Blue biotechnology, Retail of seafood products in non-specialised shops (e.g. supermarkets) and Seafood consumption outside home
The exploitation of marine biological resources is analysed in this section, as well as in Blue biotechnology.
The EU is the seventh largest producer of fishery and aquaculture products (behind China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Peru, and the Russian Federation), covering around 2.1% of global production. Overall EU production has been rather stable in the last decades. The EU has slightly more than 52 800 active vessels landing about 3.9 million tonnes of seafood worth EUR 6.6 billion in 2022; while the EU aquaculture production represented almost ¼ of the total EU seafood production with about 1.2 million tonnes worth EUR 4.8 billion in 2022.
During the past years, several external shocks had an impact on the fisheries landings at the European level. The COVID-19 pandemic and public health interventions depressed demand and disrupted supply chains for many fishing businesses in 2020. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022 led to an increase in energy and fuel prices, as well as general inflation, until the end of 2022. Fuel prices decreased consistently below EUR 1 per litre only after November 2022, allowing the primary sector to recover its economic performance from 2023 onwards.
The impacts on the processing and distribution sectors have been milder as they have relied on imports to fill the gap in domestic production. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) following BREXIT gradually reduces the share of EU fishing opportunities in UK waters stocks from 2021 to 2025.
Seafood imports have contributed to sustain the consumption of seafood products in the EU, and have also had positive impacts on the economic activity of the Processing and Distribution sectors, as well as in the general economy, especially in the presence of limited domestic supply. The EU’s self-sufficiency was estimated to have decreased to 37.5% in 2022[1]; therefore, for each 10kg of fish that EU citizens eat, more than 6 kg come from outside the EU.
The sector generated almost EUR 37.9 billion in GVA in 2022, a 4%-increase compared to 2021. While gross profits decreased by 5%, reaching almost EUR 13.6 billion, the reported turnover was about EUR 209.4 billion. Estimates for 2023 suggest that the economic performance of the sector has increased.
The sector directly employed more than 1.09 million persons, a 2%-increase from 2021. The annual average wage is estimated at EUR 22,300, an 8%-increase from 2021. (Figure 1)
Spain has the highest employment in the sector with 18% of the jobs, followed by Germany and Italy with 14% each, and France with 13%. Germany and Spain generate 18% of the GVA each, followed by France with 15% and Italy with 14% (Figure 2).
Employment: Distribution of fish products employed more than 776 500 persons, accounting for 71% of jobs, while Primary production employed slightly more than 193 000 persons (18%) and Processing of fish products about 121 700 persons (11%).
Gross value added: In 2022, Distribution of fish products generated EUR 26.9 billion in GVA, about 71% of the sector, followed by Processing of fish products with more than EUR 5.5 billion (15%) and Primary production with slightly less than EUR 5.5 billion (14%).
Turnover, GVA, employment and average remuneration showed an improvement in 2022 compared to 2021, reaching their historical highs. Still, gross profit and the economic performance indicators of wild-capture fisheries worsened in 2022, due to the increase in fuel prices and inflation. Estimates for 2023 show an increase in all the performance indicators of the sector.
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In 2023, household expenditure on fishery and aquaculture products in the EU reached EUR 60.2 billion, a 4.5% increase over 2022, continuing the upward trend in recent years[2]. Fishmongers sold about 12% of the sales, while the rest was sold in non-specialised shops, such as supermarkets. The average consumption per capita is estimated at 23.51 kg (measured in live weight equivalents) of fishery and aquaculture products in 2022, a less than 1% drop from 2021[3]. Most EU consumption of fishery and aquaculture products consists of wild products (about 70%) and, more specifically, of imported wild-capture fishery products.
The EU’s self-sufficiency continued to decrease, given the increasing consumption of fishery and aquaculture products on the one hand, and the stable and limited domestic supply on the other (reaching its lowest level in 2022). The EU's 2022 imports of fisheries and aquaculture products reached EUR 31.9 billion in value and 6.1 million tonnes in weight respectively (average price of 5.2 EUR/kg), representing a 23% increase in value but a 3% decrease in weight compared to 2021. The value of the EU's exports increased by 19%, reaching EUR 8.1 billion (average price of 3.5 EUR/kg), but their weight decreased by 5% to 2.3 million tonnes. EU trade flows in 2022 were influenced by several key factors. The primary driver was a surge in inflation, partly linked to the COVID-19 recovery, which sparked an increase in demand and subsequent price hikes. In addition, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine had a profound impact, as it drove up energy and production costs, exacerbating global inflation and affecting currency exchange rates. Furthermore, supply constraints resulting from quota reductions and intensified competition for raw materials (e.g. fish, fishmeal and fish oil) contributed to a decline in trade volumes, which in turn, contributed to rising prices[4].
In the EU, the fish processing industry strongly relies on imports from third countries, such as salmon and cod from Norway and the UK, Alaska pollock from China, shrimp from South and Central America and South-East Asia, sardine from Morocco, squid, tropical tuna, etc.
Towards sustainability
The Strategic Guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture and the Communication on the Energy Transition of the EU Fisheries and Aquaculture sector aim to enhance the sector's resilience. In this context, measures are taken to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions (see section on energy transition). A major milestone for the energy transition in the fisheries and aquaculture sector will be the adoption of the energy transition roadmap by early 2026. The roadmap will be evidence-based and developed through consultation with stakeholders using a bottom-up approach under the Energy Transition Partnership. Several workshops and seminars have been organised on finance, research and innovation and skills, to identify challenges and barriers, solutions and best practices for the different segments (Small Scale Coastal Fisheries, Large Scale Fisheries, Distant Waters Fleet, and offshore and inland aquaculture) in the short- and long-term. Following up on the Communication on the Energy Transition from February 2023, the Commission has released a dashboard on the EU Blue Economy Observatory. This dashboard measures the incremental impact of fuel prices on the economic performance of the EU fishing sector.
In early 2025, the European Commission opened a public consultation to gather evidence, insights, concerns, ideas, and feedback on the effectiveness of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) regulation from a range of stakeholders. This consultation is the next step in a comprehensive evaluation of how the existing CFP regulation is performing including the meeting of its objectives and addressing certain challenges. The evaluation will assess the impact of the CFP Regulation on the conservation of marine biological resources and the management of fisheries and fleets that rely on them. It will also examine the policy’s effects on the supply chain, consumers, and public authorities across all EU Member States over the past decade (2014-2024).
The new EU Fisheries Control Regulation[5] entered into force in early 2024, although most provisions apply after two or four years, to allow time for implementation. This revised EU fisheries control regulation updates most of the rules for fishing vessels to modern technology and promotes sustainability. The key changes involve enhanced monitoring of fishing activities, better traceability of catches and harmonised sanctions for rule violations.
Another recent Commission initiative is the Fishers of the Future study, an EU-wide multi-stakeholder foresight project that explores the changes that the profession, role and identity of fishers may face. The study’s findings, along with discussions during and after the closing event, will inform the reflections planned throughout 2025 on the European Ocean Pact and the evaluation of the CFP regulation. It will also help inform a future vision for fisheries and aquaculture in 2040.
[1] Self-sufficiency is the capacity of a country to meet their consumption from their own production. Hence, self-sufficiency can be calculated as the ratio of domestic production over domestic consumption. EUMOFA. 2024. The EU fish market, 2024 edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
[2] Eurostat. Purchasing power parities (PPPs), price level indices and real expenditures for ESA 2010 aggregates. https://doi.org/10.2908/PRC_PPP_IND.
[3] EUMOFA. 2024. The EU fish market, 2024 edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
[4] EUMOFA. 2024. The EU fish market, 2024 edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
[5] Regulation (EU) 2023/2842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2023 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, and amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006 and (EC) No 1005/2008 and Regulations (EU) 2016/1139, (EU) 2017/2403 and (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards fisheries control.