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| algae:aquaculture_wild_harvesting [2026-06-21 10:30] – [Use of Alien and Locally Absent Species in Aquaculture] robert | algae:aquaculture_wild_harvesting [2026-06-22 00:20] (current) – [Fragmentation and the Policy Direction] robert |
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| Environmental limits on wild harvesting are set through: | Environmental limits on wild harvesting are set through: |
| * Directive 2000/60/EC (Water Framework Directive) — requires maintenance of good ecological status of water bodies; member states must ensure harvesting does not cause deterioration. | * Directive 2000/60/EC (Water Framework Directive) [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02000L0060-20141120|EURlex]] — requires maintenance of good ecological status of water bodies; member states must ensure harvesting does not cause deterioration. |
| * Directive 2008/56/EC (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) — requires achievement and maintenance of Good Environmental Status of marine waters; large-scale harvesting must be assessed against this objective. | * Directive 2008/56/EC (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02008L0056-20170607|EURlex]] — requires achievement and maintenance of Good Environmental Status of marine waters; large-scale harvesting must be assessed against this objective. |
| * Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitats Directive) — protects marine habitats and species that may be associated with seaweed beds (e.g. kelp forests); an appropriate assessment is required if harvesting affects a Natura 2000 site. | * Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitats Directive) [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AL%3A1992%3A206%3ATOC|EURlex]] and Regulation 2024/1991 on nature restoration [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024R1991|EURlex]] — protect marine habitats and species that may be associated with seaweed beds (e.g. kelp forests); an appropriate assessment is required if harvesting affects a Natura 2000 site. |
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| __Note on food safety for wild-harvested seaweed:__ Wild-harvested seaweed intended for food use is subject to the same food safety requirements as farmed seaweed — contaminant limits, microbiological criteria, and labelling. The production area may need to be classified and monitored for environmental contaminants, particularly heavy metals and iodine, in line with Commission Recommendation (EU) 2018/464 of 19 March 2018 on the monitoring of metals and iodine in seaweed, halophytes and products based on seaweed, OJ L 78, 21.3.2018, p. 16. [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32018H0464|EUR-Lex]] See also [[algae:food:quality_safety|Food Quality and Safety]]. | __Note on food safety for wild-harvested seaweed:__ Wild-harvested seaweed intended for food use is subject to the same food safety requirements as farmed seaweed — contaminant limits, microbiological criteria, and labelling. The production area may need to be classified and monitored for environmental contaminants, particularly heavy metals and iodine, in line with Commission Recommendation (EU) 2018/464 of 19 March 2018 on the monitoring of metals and iodine in seaweed, halophytes and products based on seaweed, OJ L 78, 21.3.2018, p. 16. [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32018H0464|EUR-Lex]] See also [[algae:food:quality_safety|Food Quality and Safety]]. |
| ==== Organic Algae Production ==== | ==== Organic Algae Production ==== |
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| Organic certification for algae — both farmed and wild-harvested — falls under the aquaculture provisions of the organic regulation. This is covered in detail in [[algae:organic_certifications|Organic Production and Other Certifications]], but the key point for the aquaculture context is that Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products, OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 1 [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32018R0848|EUR-Lex]] contains detailed production rules for organic seaweed and microalgae in Part III, treating them under the aquaculture production chapter. Water quality requirements for the cultivation area are a central element, creating a direct link between the environmental status of the water body and eligibility for organic status. | Organic certification for algae — both farmed and wild-harvested — falls under the aquaculture provisions of the organic regulation. This is covered in detail in [[algae:organic_certifications|Organic Production and Other Certifications]], but the key point for the aquaculture context is that Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products, OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 1 [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02018R0848-20250325|EUR-Lex]] contains detailed production rules for organic seaweed and microalgae in Part III, treating them under the aquaculture production chapter. Water quality requirements for the cultivation area are a central element, creating a direct link between the environmental status of the water body and eligibility for organic status. |
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| ==== Fragmentation and the Policy Direction of Travel ==== | ==== Fragmentation and the Policy Direction ==== |
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| A consistent finding in EU policy documents is that the regulatory framework for algae production is fragmented across multiple legal acts with no single overarching EU framework. The Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2022) 249 final "Towards a Strong and Sustainable EU Algae Sector" [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2022:592:FIN|EUR-Lex]] explicitly identifies this fragmentation as a barrier to sector development, noting that seaweed aquaculture alone is subject to at least eight separate EU legal acts (Common Fisheries Policy, Habitats Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Water Framework Directive, Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, Novel Foods Regulation, Alien Species Regulation, Nagoya Protocol compliance regulation — see section 3.1 __Legal basis context__ of the related document SWD(2022) 361 final that document). | A consistent finding in EU policy documents is that the regulatory framework for algae production is fragmented across multiple legal acts with no single overarching EU framework. The Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2022) 249 final "Towards a Strong and Sustainable EU Algae Sector" [[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2022:592:FIN|EUR-Lex]] explicitly identifies this fragmentation as a barrier to sector development, noting that seaweed aquaculture alone is subject to at least eight separate EU legal acts (Common Fisheries Policy, Habitats Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Water Framework Directive, Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, Novel Foods Regulation, Alien Species Regulation, Nagoya Protocol compliance regulation — see section 3.1 __Legal basis context__ of the related document SWD(2022) 361 final that document). |
| * Development, together with CEN, of standard testing, quantification and extraction methods for algae ingredients and contaminants (by end of 2026). | * Development, together with CEN, of standard testing, quantification and extraction methods for algae ingredients and contaminants (by end of 2026). |
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| The NACE classification itself has been identified by industry as a source of difficulty in the EU4Algae survey (Mangini, S. et al., 2022, EU4Algae stakeholder survey on EU algae legislation) — both because it does not cover all algae production scenarios well, and because it determines access to sector-specific funding and support schemes. | The NACE classification itself has been identified by industry as a source of difficulty in the EU4Algae survey, both because it does not cover all algae production scenarios well, and because it determines access to sector-specific funding and support schemes. |
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