"Development of aquaculture in Europe has stagnated in the last decade in contrast to the high growth rate of the sector worldwide over the same period," particularly in Asia, the ministers said in a joint statement from Luxembourg.

Fish-farming is a good response to the kind of over-exploitation hitting stocks of fish and crustaceans, or even threatening species, they added.

The ministers called on the European Commission to come up with concrete proposals by the end of the year, building on the broad outlines agreed Tuesday.

The Commission should "fully use existing funding mechanisms and possibly consider additional support to aquaculture."

However some professionals and ecologists contest the stated benefits of fish-farming.

They say that it can take five or six kilograms (11-13 pounds) of wild fish to produce a single kilogram of farmed fish and that acquaculture can cause serious damage to the environment, notably in developing countries.

"Rapid development and expansion of intensive aquaculture for species such as salmon and shrimp has, for example, resulted in widespread degradation of the environment and the displacement of coastal fishing and farming communities," according to Greenpeace.

Currently fish-farming is mainly used for Norwegian salmon, South-East Asian and South American prawns and various types of cheaper fish such as catfish.

In Europe, the main areas of aquaculture are off France with its oysters and mussels; and Britain and Greece with salmon, carp and various crustaceans and shellfish.

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