De minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector

ClientEarth argues against the introduction of de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector, stating that the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) should be the sole source of structural aid to prevent the circumvention of rules designed to combat overfishing and overcapacity. If the proposal proceeds, ClientEarth recommends reducing the Member State aid ceiling to 0.5% of annual sector output and lowering the individual beneficiary limit to EUR 15,000 over three years. They further propose that de minimis aid must not cover operations ineligible under the EMFF, such as vessel decommissioning, and call for the creation of a publicly accessible electronic list of all aid beneficiaries to ensure transparency.

• ClientEarth's primary position is that de minimis aid should be entirely removed from the fishery and aquaculture sector, as structural support is already provided by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
• The organization argues that de minimis aid could be used to bypass the EMFF's strict controls on spending, which were established to address systemic issues like overfishing and excessive fishing capacity.
• If de minimis aid is maintained, ClientEarth recommends restricting the overall ceiling for Member States to 0.5% of the annual output of the fishery and aquaculture sector, rather than the proposed range of 0.5% to 2.5%.
• ClientEarth proposes reducing the maximum amount of de minimis aid a single undertaking can receive over three fiscal years from EUR 30,000 to EUR 15,000, aligning it with the agriculture sector's ceiling.
• The document asserts that de minimis aid must not be eligible for operations that are ineligible under the EMFF, specifically mentioning the decommissioning of fishing vessels and temporary cessation of fishing activities.
• ClientEarth calls for increased transparency by requiring Member States to publish an electronic list of de minimis aid beneficiaries, including the amount of aid, the EU fleet register number of the vessel, the type of operation, and the year of allocation.

APA

ClientEarth (2014). De minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector. https://www.clientearth.org/media/4lufhvgl/2014-03-13-de-minimis-aid-in-the-fishery-and-aquaculture-sector-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. De minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector. 2014. https://www.clientearth.org/media/4lufhvgl/2014-03-13-de-minimis-aid-in-the-fishery-and-aquaculture-sector-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=De minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector |date=February 2014 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/4lufhvgl/2014-03-13-de-minimis-aid-in-the-fishery-and-aquaculture-sector-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2014minimis, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{De minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/4lufhvgl/2014-03-13-de-minimis-aid-in-the-fishery-and-aquaculture-sector-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }