European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements (*)

^{(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Many come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual life cycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often follow only after completion of the programmes.}

Budget for 2021-2027

Rationale and design of the programme

The European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) supports the common fisheries policy, the EU maritime policy and the EU agenda for international ocean governance.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

^{(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.}

  Financial programming:
  - EUR 23.4 million (- 0%)
  compared to the legal basis*

^{* Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.}

Though the financial envelope in the adopted EMFAF legal act is EUR 6 108 million, EUR 26 million has been diverted to finance the needs of the European Fisheries Control Agency.

Budget performance – implementation

Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR)⁽¹⁾:

^{(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.}

Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

• The amounts concerning the EMFAF horizontal priorities (climate change mitigation, biodiversity, digital and gender equality) were calculated as a percentage of the annual amounts committed in 2021 and 2022; for 2023-2027 the amounts were calculated based on the annual appropriations in the EMFAF multiannual financial plan. The methodology set out in Annex IV to the EMFAF regulation (Regulation (EU) 2021/1139) was applied to calculate the amounts for climate change mitigation. A Commission-wide horizontal methodology based on similar principles was applied to biodiversity⁽¹⁾ see DG Environment, European Commission, Biodiversity Financing and Tracking: Final report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2022), digital and gender.
• As the majority of Member States’ EMFAF programmes were only adopted at the very end of 2022, the related initiatives will only be launched as of the beginning of 2023.
• Reflecting the importance of tackling climate change in line with the EU’s commitments to implement the Paris Agreement, and the commitment to the United Nations’ SDGs, the initiatives under the EMFAF should contribute to achieving the target of 30% of all multiannual financial framework expenditure being spent on mainstreaming climate objectives. The fund should also contribute to the ambition of providing 7.5% of annual spending under the multiannual financial framework to biodiversity objectives in 2024 and 10% of annual spending under the multiannual financial framework to biodiversity objectives in 2026 and 2027, while considering the existing overlaps between climate and biodiversity goals. The contribution of the EMFAF to EU climate and environmental objectives is tracked through the application of environmental and climate markers and reported on regularly within the monitoring framework of the fund.
• These objectives should be met quite comfortably. Based on currently available data from the Member State programmes, 55% (EUR 2 923 506 548) of the amount allocated to the EMFAF covers the climate change objective (coverage by Member State ranges from 41% to 77%). For biodiversity objectives, the corresponding coverage is 28% (EUR 1 482 917 689), ranging from 14% to 56% at Member State level.
• The amount allocated to EMFAF operational expenditure under direct and indirect management for climate change represents EUR 258 878 672 (for the 2021-2027 programming period). For biodiversity, the amount allocated represents EUR 372 800 845 (for the same period).
• No EMFAF data are available in respect of clean air.

^{(1) See Biodiversity Financing and Tracking: Final report, available at https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/793eb6ec-dbd6-11ec-a534-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-258471562.}

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

<sup>(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);
- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.</sup>

• A score of 0* is assigned.
• The contribution to gender equality is estimated at EUR 106 500 000 under the EMFAF (2021-2027 programming period).
• Fishing and fish processing are male-dominated activities in Europe⁽¹⁾. Men provide the main labour on board fishing vessels, and the majority of fishing boats and aquaculture farms are owned by men⁽²⁾.
• However, women play an important role in the fisheries sector, especially in small-scale family businesses. Either they are involved in the fishing activity itself, on board or on foot as shellfish gatherers, or they support the business through onshore activities such as fishing-gear preparation and maintenance, transporting fish to auctions, sales, administration, logistics or even the development of tourist activities⁽³⁾. This work is not always recognised. According to a study⁽⁴⁾ for the European Commission, the share of unpaid women in fisheries (6.6%) is almost double their share in total employment (3.8%). However, this level of employment is an underestimate, as the existing statistical data shows employment within the fisheries sector only if this employment is declared and remunerated.
• Gender inequality in the fisheries sector is influenced by a set of factors⁽⁵⁾, which are as follows:
  • participation of women and men in fisheries subsectors;
  • women’s invisible work in the fisheries sector;
  • women’s participation in decision-making.
• The EU’s fisheries policy promotes sustainable fish stocks and sustainable marine ecosystems as a precondition for a competitive European fishing industry. Although the gender equality dimension is not present in the EMFAF in the form of gender-specific objectives and measurable gender commitments, the fund covers broader gender-related aspects in line with the equality provisions set out in the common provisions regulation.
• Furthermore, in accordance with Article 46 of the EMFAF regulation on the monitoring and evaluation framework, the managing authority will provide the Commission with relevant operation-level implementation data, including key characteristics of the beneficiary (name, type of beneficiary, size of enterprise, gender and contact details). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/79 sets out the format: for each operation, a specific data field covering gender for natural persons must be filled in. One code must be selected from a list. This ex post submission can be used to estimate an approximate financial contribution relevant to gender and to identify examples of operations Member States consider to be gender relevant in the area of fisheries, in line with the relevant requirements of the common provisions regulation. The current score of 0* will be reassessed as such data become available.

^{(1)   https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-7-2014-0070_EN.html?redirect.
(2)   https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/policy-areas/maritime-affairs-and-fisheries.
(3)   https://epthinktank.eu/2021/10/15/women-in-fisheries/.
(4)   https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/43805/2485408/STECF+19-03+-+Social+data+in+EU+fisheries+sector.pdf/401568fd-3e48-4ddf-aabf-801cea045dce.
(5)   https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/policy-areas/maritime-affairs-and-fisheries.}

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

• The digital contribution envisaged for the EMFAF programmes amounts to EUR 464 million, or 9%, of the total allocation to the Member States (for the 2021-2027 programming period). The digital contribution relating to EMFAF operational expenditure under direct and indirect management is estimated at EUR 30 million (for the same period).

Budget performance – outcomes

• With regard to shared management, it will be possible to provide more meaningful performance assessments in future performance progress statements. By the end of 2022, 25 of the 26 EMFAF programmes had been adopted. As the adoption of the majority of them only happened at the very end of 2022, the actual operations will only begin in 2023. EMFF operations continue to be executed, however, which ensures the continuity of the policy achievements.
• With regard to direct and indirect management, as the initiatives implemented since 2021 provide for smooth continuity from the EMFF to and throughout the EMFAF, the following assessment covers both EMFF and EMFAF activities without distinction.
  • Priority 1 (fostering sustainable fisheries and the restoration and conservation of aquatic biological resources). Voluntary contributions to regional fisheries management organisations assisted in the development of scientific knowledge and science-based management decisions, promoted compliance and the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and further improved the impact of partner international organisations’ performance in operations. The provision of scientific advice has been ensured by renewing the various contractual and administrative arrangements in place with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries and the Joint Research Centre.
  • Priority 2 (fostering sustainable aquaculture activities and processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products, thus contributing to food security in the EU). The Commission has financed several initiatives, including a new aquaculture assistance mechanism, which created (in 2022) and maintains the EU Aquaculture website⁽¹⁾ as a central repository and one-stop-shop for knowledge of and support for aquaculture in the EU. It also awarded a contract for the continuation of the operations of the European Market Observatory for fisheries and Aquaculture Products, which enables data collection, reports, studies and market analysis, dissemination and communication activities for fisheries and aquaculture sectors by the EU. These initiatives are ongoing and continuously provide the Commission and our stakeholders with relevant data, analyses and advice focusing on economic operational and social aspects of the fisheries and aquaculture sector, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of its operators and the maritime economy, fully achieving their objectives.
  • Priority 3 (enabling a sustainable blue economy in coastal, island and inland areas and fostering the development of fishing and aquaculture communities). In 2023, the fund will finance cross-border maritime spatial planning projects in the EU, with the goal of supporting the adaptation of Member States’ maritime spatial plans to new needs and challenges, in particular integrating into their plans the European Green Deal and related initiatives in areas such as biodiversity, food, energy and mobility. By launching the Blue Forum for sea users at the end of 2022, the Commission aims to increase stakeholder involvement in maritime spatial planning and coordinate the dialogue between stakeholders in different blue economy sectors in order to develop synergies between their activities and reconcile competing uses of the sea. In 2022, a new assistance mechanism to support regional cooperation in the Atlantic, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean was launched to continue supporting the implementation of the three EU sea basin strategies, building on best practices and lessons learned from the past service contracts and encouraging synergies between the different sea basins. During the same period, the programme renewed support for the ocean literacy initiative EU4Ocean, and also, through indirect management by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, supported ocean literacy at the international level. Through calls for proposals published in 2022, it will award grants to projects relating to ‘blue careers’, aiming to further support skills associated with the sustainable development of the blue economy, and ‘women in the blue economy’, targeting gender inequalities in the different sectors of the blue economy (the supported projects are to start in the second half of 2023). The Commission also launched a call for regional flagship projects to support cooperation on EU sea basins, expected to start in summer 2023 and covering several topics, notably:
    • fisheries diversification in the Atlantic sea-basin;
    • marine pollution in the Black Sea;
    • sustainable transport, ports and maritime clusters for sustainable blue economy in the Mediterranean;
    • sustainable maritime and coastal tourism in outermost regions; and
    • regenerative ocean farming in the Baltic Sea region.
  • In 2022, the Commission also financed a new initiative in the area of the blue economy called the ‘blue economy observatory’, which has recently become operational and will continue to provide relevant economic analysis, data and knowledge in the years to come.
  • The fund continued to support investment in the sustainable blue economy in the EU, in particular via the BlueInvest platform, which provides investment readiness and fundraising assistance to innovative blue-economy small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups.
  • Additionally, since 2021, an annual EMFAF contribution has enabled a blended thematic financial instrument for a sustainable blue economy under the InvestEU programme, which is expected to leverage substantial equity investments for European blue-economy entrepreneurs by 2027.
  • Most of the initiatives under this priority have started recently, and will be rolled out in the medium term, which does not allow for a meaningful assessment of their achievements and performance at this point. However, as regards the continuation of existing activities, significant and positive results have already been achieved. Some examples of these achievements are as follows: providing investment readiness assistance and support to dozens of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups in the blue economy and connecting them with prospective investors; successful and continued support for regional cooperation in the Atlantic, Black Sea and Western Mediterranean via sea basin strategies; contributions to ocean literacy and the promotion of sustainable management of the ocean via EU4Ocean coalition. Where relevant, all these new or continued EMFAF initiatives build on previous achievements and lessons learnt.
  • Priority 4 (strengthening international ocean governance and enabling seas and oceans to be safe, secure, clean and sustainably managed). The programme continued to promote the objectives of the international ocean governance agenda by providing support to international organisations, regional and sectoral bodies and entities that are active in promoting the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans. The initiatives in particular strengthened the engagement of the EU in the Arctic region and in the EU Ocean Partnership with Canada. They also targeted important scientific gaps identified through work and policies on the deep seas. For the first time, a BlueInvest Africa event was organised as a matchmaking event between African entrepreneurs active in blue-economy sectors and investors. The continued support provided for the development and maintenance of the European Marine Observation and Data Network has resulted in steady progress in terms of users and products since 2018, reaching the level of an operational service and making the network a valuable EU asset, offering thousands of datasets across seven thematic disciplines (bathymetry, biology, chemistry, geology, seabed habitats, physics and human activities) to a variety of users. In July 2022, the Commission received and accepted the final report for the project ‘Promotion of interoperability between industry and competent authorities in the European maritime single window (EMSW) environment under the CISE process’. The interoperability project has achieved its objectives to enable a more efficient data exchange and sharing of port documentation, enhance connectivity between relevant authorities and end-users, develop specific interoperability solution contributing to the development of a European maritime single window environment, and improve ship-to-shore information exchanges using the latest communications technology (VDE-SAT). In October 2022, a grant was awarded to a consortium of eight Member States to develop new pre-operational services for the common information sharing environment, such as ‘vessel of interest’ and ‘incident alerting service’. The project is ongoing and promising, with the trials expected to start during the second quarter of 2024 and the final results expected to be delivered by October 2024.

^{(1) https://aquaculture.ec.europa.eu/.}

MFF 2014-2020 – European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

The EMFF is the fund for the EU's maritime and fisheries policies for 2014 to 2020, and is one of the five complementary European Structural and Investment Funds promoting a growth- and jobs-based recovery in the EU. The fund helps fishers in the transition to sustainable fishing, supports coastal communities in diversifying their economies, finances projects that create new jobs and improve quality of life along EU coasts and makes it easier for applicants to access financing.

Budget

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

Performance assessment

Local strategies – unchanged.

• The challenges posed by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have not prevented an increase in jobs maintained (both actual and planned) in the aquaculture sector. The EMFF regulation was modified twice to provide exceptional crisis support to the operators from the seafood supply chain.
• For initiatives implemented under direct and indirect management, see the ‘Performance assessment’ section for the EMFAF above.
• The initiatives under shared management continue to help improve the sustainability of fishing and aquaculture, to maintain and protect the natural environment, to encourage innovation and the adoption of new technology and to increase cooperation and partnerships between businesses, thus contributing to the achievement of these objectives. Examples are provided below.
  • For the objective of promoting competitive, environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially responsible fisheries and aquaculture, the programme financed:
    • development of a closed aquaculture technology to produce tilapia and catfish, two species of high commercial value and with lower production impact on the environment. Working with a traditional farming sector, this company provides a diversification option for farmers and is a driver for smart and sustainable economic development in land-based areas; and
    • development of an automated monitoring tool to quantify the freshness of seafood.
  • For the objective of fostering the implementation of the common fisheries policy, examples of operations include a project to create an autonomous vessel and survey platform that would significantly reduce the need for manpower and use of large vessels in the future, and the use of an app enabling vessel owners, fishers, skippers and crew to easily access all the daily expiry and sales alerts for their vessels in near real time. They can check in advance the average selling price of each species in each fish auction participating in the project, and balance their catches against their available quotas. The app also provides access to important general information such as the scientific names of species, allowable sizes, prohibited species and closed seasons.
  • For the objective of promoting a balanced and inclusive territorial development of fisheries and aquaculture areas, the programme financed a project which is helping preserve a small-scale heritage fishery while also supporting regional development and environmental initiatives.
• For the objective of fostering the development and implementation of the EU’s integrated maritime policy in a manner complementary to cohesion policy and the common fisheries policy, the programme financed a study covering the effect of marine traffic on underwater noise, and a research project to identify sources of litter in the marine environment and their status, with the aim of reducing litter. This project has fed into the marine strategy framework directive.

Contribution to the sustainable development goals

SDG 1 End poverty in all its forms everywhere

The EMFF contributes to SDG 1 (End poverty in all its forms everywhere), by: contributing to the improvements of the economic results of the EU fisheries sector, and to the improvements of the living standards of the coastal populations which depend on that sector; allowing operators to modernise their productive tools, to diversify their sources of income or to switch to alternative economic activities.

An illustrative example appears below.

SDG 2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

By promoting the conservation of the marine living resources and the protection of the marine ecosystem, the EMFF contributes to the sustainability of the production of the EU fisheries sector of healthy quality food, and thus to SDG 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and SDG 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages).

An illustrative example appears below.

SDG 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Please see the section on gender equality above.

SDG 14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

The main objective of the EMFF is to support the implementation of the common fisheries policy and the integrated maritime policy, thereby contributing first and foremost to SDG 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development). The EMFF funds projects on preserving the marine environment and ensuring better resource efficiency, and operations related to better management of Natura 2000 areas.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identified conservation and sustainable use of oceans as one of the 17 SDGs (SDG 14). The EU is fully committed to that goal and its implementation. In that context, it has committed to promote a sustainable blue economy which is consistent with maritime spatial planning, the conservation of biological resources and the achievement of good environmental status, to prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to refrain from introducing new such subsidies.

Some illustrative examples appear below.