Special Session on  EURASTiP:  reinforcing international cooperation on sustainable aquaculture production between the European Union and countries from South East Asia  

The European Asian Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (EURASTiP) is a three year support action project, funded through the EU Horizon 2020 programme, and coordinated by the European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (EATiP).  

EURASTiP will provide a structured basis for multi-stakeholder dialogue in the aquaculture community between South East Asia and the EU.  

The EU is the hub of the largest global market in seafood, of which circa 65% is imported, the majority being from Asia. With capture fishery yields proving static and increasingly subject to further regulation, global seafood markets must look to aquaculture to meet the forecast increase in demand from consumers. The FAO believes that global population growth will require an increase in aquaculture production of 1.5 million tons to satisfy demand. Modern commercial aquaculture practices exist using many processes and technologies that were developed originally in Japan and later on in other regions in the world including Europe, where growth and development has stagnated in recent years. Asia is by far the largest aquaculture production region in the world (circa 85% of all production). The driving question is "how to provide consumers with high quality, healthy seafood that is produced sustainably?". A core objective of EURASTIP is to provide answers that enable long-term sustainable growth of aquaculture, promoting a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

Priorities for the EURASTiP project include:  food safety; sustainability; environmental and social impacts; consumer issues (including the scope of production standards, product quality and conformity); aquatic animal health and welfare. These components are integral to developing the potential of commercial opportunities between European and SE Asian professional interests.

Further consideration will be given to:  sharing of best practices and experience in SME development and financing; capacity building and technology transfer in aquaculture and food products; and the promotion of mobility of students/academics and strengthening of collaborations between educational organisations.  

Consideration will also be given to developing and strengthening networks facilitating employment opportunities, work placements, etc.

The EU experience proves that achievement of such multiple development objectives is best facilitated through a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach. The European Union has many successful examples, notably with the European Technology Platforms, where professionals, researchers, administrators and NGOs work together, providing a bottom-up approach to issue identification, needs and research prioritisation and problem-solving.  A prerequisite for achieving successful cooperation between Europe and South East Asia is therefore to provide the necessary structural support to allow for constructive and pro-active dialogue between the industry and relevant stakeholders at both the national and international levels.   

This session aims to introduce this new EU project to Asian stakeholders, review the different work packages and explore opportunities for concrete interaction between SE Asian and European stakeholders.