– (FR) Madam President, my answer will be in two parts, because the problem in the livestock sector relates primarily to the food situation and, hence, to the situation in the cereals market, and then I will also refer to the mechanisms at our disposal for the livestock sector.

22. Notes that information on the sentience of fish has gradually accumulated over recent years and notes that the common fisheries policy includes a strategy for the sustainable development of European aquaculture, highlighting the need to improve the welfare of farmed fish; welcomes the Council of Europe recommendations on the treatment of farmed fish, and looks forward to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) welfare guidelines for farmed fish; expresses concern over the impact of international trade in ornamental fish, which can lead to over-harvesting of popular species, damage to fragile coral reef environments through the use of the non-selective technique of sodium cyanide to capture fish and high degrees of mortality of ...[+++]fish associated with insensitive shipping and poor farming practices along the supply chain; considers that, if managed properly, the aquarium industry could support long-term conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs; therefore urges the Commission to consider what steps can be taken to reduce these problems;

Council Directive 71/118/EEC of 15 February 1971 on health problems affecting the production and placing on the market of fresh poultrymeat and Council Directive 91/495/EEC of 27 November 1991 concerning public health and animal health problems affecting the production and placing on the market of rabbit meat and farmed game meat also allowed the Member States to derogate from the general requirements for such a purpose without limiting it to fresh meat.

This is an issue which needs to be addressed, not just in relation to farmed salmon but in relation to other farmed fish.

If this problem is addressed sheep farming can compete favourable with beef or arable crops and be profitable for farmers.

In traditional mollusc farming areas competition for space is not a major issue but finding space for new concessions is hard because this kind of farming is highly sensitive to external pollution and requires large amounts of space to thrive.