FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN ROMANIA. A GLOBAL OUTLOOK ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The paper proposes an analysis of the fishing sector in Romania, from the perspective of the exploitation of natural resources. Romania's hydrographic network represents over 3.5% of the country's total area. Fishing and aquaculture are activities carried out in all regions of the country. In the areas along the rivers and the Black Sea, fishing is the primary source of income for the population of the region. In the last decades, fish production from aquaculture has regularly exceeded the catch. Romania's foreign trade with fish and aquatic products has an unbalanced balance, with a significant dependence of the domestic market on imports. The average annual fish consumption per capita in Romania is below the European average, although a positive evolution has been recorded in the recent period. The implementation of European projects by the companies operating in the Romanian fishing sector is difficult, the degree of access to the funds available to the domestic sector being characterized by a relatively low level of absorption. The lack of effective measures from the public authorities to support the national fishing sector will accentuate its decline, and the domestic market's dependence on imports from abroad will continue to grow. The research results can be useful to companies in the fishing sector, for accessing European funds, and to public authorities, in developing appropriate public policies and strategies.