It has been well recognised that governance is an important element of sustainable aquaculture development. The application of the four governance principles – accountability, effectiveness and efficiency of governments, equity and predictability of the rule of law – has a vital importance for sustainable development of the aquaculture sector. In addition to governments, there are other participants in aquaculture governance such as communities, non-governmental organizations and producers (Hishamunda et al., 2014). In the European Union the Commission has launched a vast reform of governance in order to drive forward a wide-ranging democratic process in the EU, and proposes four major changes: more involvement of citizens, more effective definition of policies and legislation, engagement in the debate on global governance, and finally the refocusing of policies and institutions on clear objectives. In 2001 the document "European governance - A white paper" was published (EC, 2001) that identifies five principles that are the basis of good governance according to the followings: (1) openness (transparency and communication in decision making); (2) participation; (3) accountability; (4) effectiveness; and (5) coherence (taking into account the extremely diverse policies in the EU). In the European Union the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is main governing framework of fisheries and aquaculture and the financial instrument to support its implementation is the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Aquaculture is an important pillar of the CPF since the marine and freshwater aquaculture is a significant contributor to job and local development, substantial contributor to market for aquatic food, it includes wide range of sub-sectors, part of European cultural heritage and a dynamic and innovative sector. A “Strategic Guidelines for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture” was published by the Commission in 2013 (EC, 2013). The 4th Chapter of the guideline summarizes the main issues of a new governance to support EU aquaculture according to the followings: (1) preparation of multiannual national strategic plan for the promotion of sustainable aquaculture by the Members States; (2) complementarity with the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF); (3) exchange of best practices; (4) establishment of an “Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC). In the frame of an EU funded FP7 project “Aquainnova - Supporting governance and multi-stakeholder participation in aquaculture research and innovation” the document “The Future of European Aquaculture” was elaborated (EATiP, 2012) that includes the “Vision document” and the “Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda”. The Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) is a good example of the active participation of producers in aquaculture governance through stakeholder consultations, professional meetings, projects and publications. Although producers associations of only five countries are represented in FEAP from Central and Eastern Europe (Croatia, Czech R., Hungary, Lithuania, Poland), FEAP activities also contribute to the support of governance related to freshwater aquaculture that is dominant in the CEE region. Governments play decisive role in aquaculture governance in some CEE countries and further efforts are needed to strengthen the organisation level of producers and their capacity to make their voice heard. International collaboration may assist these effort especially between producers organisation in EU and non-EU countries.Prepoznato je da je upravljanje važan element održivog razvoja akvakulture. Primena četiri principa upravljanja – odgovornost, učinkovitost i efikasnost vlada, pravičnost i predvidljivost vladavine prava – ima ključni značaj za održivi razvoj sektora akvakulture. Pored vlada, postoje i drugi učesnici koji upravljaju akvakulturom kao što su ljudske zajednice, nevladine organizacije i proizvođači (Hishamunda et al., 2014). Evropska Komisija je lansirala široku reformu upravljanja za unapređenje demokratskih procesa u EU, predložena su 4 osnovna pravca promena: veće učešće građana, efikasnije definisanje pravila i zakona, angažovanje u debati o globalnom upravljanju i na kraju, ponovno usredsređivanje zakona i institucija na jasne ciljeve. 2001. godine objavljen je document “Evropsko upravljanje – bela knjiga” (EC, 2001) koji identifikuje 5 principa koji su osnov dobrog upravljanja: (1) otvorenost (transparentnost i komunikacija prilikom donošenja odluka); (2) učešće/participacija; (3) odgovornost; (4) efikasnost; (5) koherentnost (uzimajući u obzir krajnje različite politike koje postoje u EU). U EU je Zajednička Politika Ribarstva, “Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)” osnovni okvir rukovođenja u ribarstvu i akvakulturi i osnovni finansijski instrument za podršku implementaciji Evropskog Maritimnog i Fonda Ribarstva, “European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)”. Akvakultura je važan stub CFP od kako morska i slatkovodna akvakultura značajno doprinose radnim mestima i lokalnom razvoju, kao i tržištu namirnica - plodova mora i uključuje veliki broj pod-sektora, deo je Evropskog kulturnog nasleđa i dinamičan je i inovativan sector.
Komisija je 2013 objavila “Strateško uputstvo za održivi razvoj akvakulture u EU ” (EC, 2013). Poglavlje 4 Uputstva objedinjuje osnovne činioce novog načina upravljanja koji podržava EU akvakulturu, na osnovu sledećeg: (1) priprema nacionalnog strateškog plana za nekoliko godina za promociju održive akvakulture od strane država članica; (2) komplementarnost sa Evropskim Maritimnim i Fondom za Ribarstvo (EMFF); (3) razmena dobrih praksi; (4) uspostavljanje Saveta za akvakulturu “Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC)“. U okviru evropskog FP7 projekta “Aquainnova – Podrška upravljanju i učešću više zainteresovanih strana istraživanju i inovaciji u akvakulturi, Supporting governance and multi-stakeholder participation in aquaculture research and innovation” razvijen je dokument Budućnost Evropske akvakulture “The Future of European Aquaculture” (EATiP, 2012) koji uključuje documente Vizija akvakulture i Strateško istraživanje i inovacije. Evropska federacija proizvođača u akvakulturi (FEAP) je dobar primer aktivnog učešća proizvođača u upravljanju u akvakulturi kroz konsultacije interesnih grupa, stručne sastanke, projekte i publikacije. Iako su udruženja proizvođača iz samo 5 zemalja Centralne i Istočne Evrope (CEE) predstavljene u FEAP (Hrvatska, Češka Republika, Mađarska, Litvanija, Poljska), aktivnosti FEAP takođe doprinose upravljanju u slatkovodnoj akvakulturi koja dominira u CEE regionu. Vlade igraju odlučujuću ulogu u upravljanju u akvakulturi u nekim CEE zemljama i dalji napori su neophodni za ojačavanje organizacije proizvođača i njihove sposobnosti da im se glas čuje. Međunarodna saradnja može da pomogne ovim naporima naročito ona među organizacijama proizvođača u EU i ne-EU zemljama
