EU imports over half of its seafood needs

The EU has to import more than half of its fish and seafood requirements, although there is a wide variation between species.

In 2011, it supplied only 45.1 percent of its total consumption, but while it imported the great majority of its groundfish requirements, it was self-sufficient in small pelagic fish and had a small surplus.

EU self-sufficiency in groundfish has been decreasing since 2008, reaching a four-year minimum in 2011 when it was only 18 percent of consumption. Between 2010 and 2011, EU catches fell by 70,000 metric tons and imports increased by 88,000 metric tons.

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