Black Sea SustAQUA-Sustainable Aquaculture Technical Group
Aquaculture in the region
The Black Sea region is home to a wide range of freshwater and marine aquaculture activities, with a strong potential for sustainable blue economy development. With aquaculture rapidly expanding across Black Sea countries and ambitious policies in place to foster its growth, there is an opportunity for it to become a pillar of the region's sustainable blue economy. When developed sustainably, both marine and freshwater aquaculture represent a source of nutritious food, employment and economic opportunities for coastal and rural communities. Moreover, innovative, and sustainable aquaculture practices can serve to diversify local value chains, ensure food security, and reduce reliance on wild fish capture, contributing to global and regional efforts to mitigate overfishing. To enhance its resilience, aquaculture production in the Black Sea region must grow sustainably, capitalising on innovation, digitalisation, and knowledge sharing, while also enhancing its appeal to financial investors. The growing demand for aquaculture products in the Black Sea implies a need to align the state of art in the region with rapidly advancing developments in Europe and worldwide.
The Technical Group on sustainable aquaculture in the Black Sea (Black Sea SustAqua) can foster exchange and collaboration between countries in the region.
At the CMA Steering Group meeting on 4 July 2023, following a proposal from Romania, the CMA overall coordinator at that time, CMA participating countries decided to establish a Technical Group focusing on 'Sustainable Aquaculture.' This Technical Group aims to support the coherent development of the sector in the Black Sea region by addressing needs and opportunities and boosting existing and future innovative practices. The overarching objective of the Technical Group is to foster and promote, through innovation and knowledge sharing, the development of a sustainable and future-proofed aquaculture sector that enhances food security and adapts to climate change in the Black Sea region. It will build on cooperation across the region and with other EU sea-basins by supporting the exchange of best practices in sustainable aquaculture development, considering regulatory, institutional, technical, and scientific aspects.
Key objectives:
- Identify and share relevant knowledge on innovation and development of sustainable aquaculture in the Black Sea region, as well as identify aspects of the sector where further action is needed;
- Facilitate contact and exchange between national and regional institutions and authorities in charge of aquaculture development in the Black Sea region;
- Facilitate contact between relevant actors of the aquaculture sector in the Black Sea to identify, share and valorize best practices of sustainable aquaculture and promote the establishment of effective regional partnerships between aquaculture stakeholders (i.e., from industry, research and academia, public authorities, and civil society);
- Identify funding available at EU, regional and national level with the assistance of Black Sea Assistance Mechanism and National Hubs and support the development of high-quality projects ideas for the identified funds.