Aquaculture: use of alien and locally absent species

The Commission presents this staff working document concerning the proposal to amend Regulation (EC) No 708/2007 on the use of alien and locally absent species in aquaculture.

As already mentioned in the explanatory memorandum of the Commission’s initial proposal, a formal Impact Assessment on this issue has not been carried out for the following reasons:

• lack of specific data on the number of facilities or on production in "closed aquaculture facilities" in the EU, therefore the Commission services cannot provide an estimate of the number of companies that may benefit from this proposal at present;
• the proposed amendment of Regulation 708/2007 does not represent any specific risk that needs to be highlighted.

A specific Impact Assessment addressing this limited modification of the Regulation would not therefore provide any added value as it represents just an executive decision on a technical issue with marginal consequences. It would not be proportionate to invest additional effort and time in carrying out a formal Impact Assessment.