Addressing challenges and opportunities of the European seafood sector under a circular economy framework

Abstract

The European seafood and aquaculture sectors are facing important challenges in terms of environmental threats (climate change, marine debris, resources depletion), social development (worker rights, consumer's awareness) or economic growth (market and nonmarket goods and services, global competitiveness). These issues are forcing all stakeholders, from policy-makers to citizens and industries, to move to more sustainable policies, practices and processes. Consequently, an improvement in collaborations among different parties and beyond borders is required to create more efficient networks along the supply chain of seafood and aquaculture sectors. To achieve this, a "nexus thinking" approach (i.e. the analysis of actions in connected systems) combined with a life cycle thinking appears as an excellent opportunity to facilitate the transition to a circular economy.