Commission Decision of 25 February 2016 setting up a Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, C(2016) 1084, OJ C 74, 26.2.2016, p. 4–10. The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, fishing gear technology, fisheries economics, fisheries governance, ecosystem effects of fisheries, aquaculture or similar disciplines. The 2016 Annual Economic Report (AER) on the Economic Performance of the EU Aquaculture sector is the fifth report of its kind produced for the sector and provides a comprehensive overview of the latest information available on the production, economic value, structure and competitive performance of the aquaculture sector at the national and EU level. This report includes data for 2008 to 2014. The data collected is reported by national totals and by segments divided on species. Aquaculture data collected under the DCF showed that the EU aquaculture sales volume and value reached 1.3 million tonnes and €4.5 billion, in 2014. This corresponds to an increase of 15% in sales volume, while the sales value increased by 13% from 2013 due to increasing production in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as a better coverage of the Greek aquaculture sector. DCF data has been complemented with Eurostat data to provide a full overview for all EU28 MS. The 20 countries covered under the DCF reported a number of more than almost 12 thousand aquaculture enterprises. It is estimated that the total number of enterprises in EU28 is between 14 and 15 thousand. Almost 90% of the enterprises in the aquaculture sector are micro-enterprises, employing less than 10 employees. The reported number of employees under the DCF reached 70 thousand in 2014. The total EU28 employment is estimated to be around 80 thousand people, while the number of FTE reported remained at 31.5 thousand. Profitability for the EU aquaculture sector was positive in 2014 and the Gross Value Added and EBIT of the sector increased by 16% and 3% compared to 2013, respectively. ROI decreased from 7% to 6.5%. The aquaculture sector in EU28 can be divided into three main sectors: Marine, Shellfish and Freshwater production. The most profitable of these three sectors are the shellfish sector with €165 million, followed by the Marine sector which generated €99 million in EBIT, and the freshwater sector with €87 million.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource