The Energy Transition Partnership (ETP), launched in June 2023, invites stakeholders committed to accelerating the energy transition to work together on a voluntary basis to drive progress across key sectors. As a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge sharing, the ETP focuses on innovation, technologies, skills, and finance to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. By creating spaces for open communication and facilitating processes for learning form one another at a practical level, the Support Group aims to contribute to an actionable plan to be delivered by the end of 2025, with measurable milestones aimed at supporting the transition to a sustainable future.
The ETP Support Group is a cooperative, bottom-up advisory body that supports the Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) and promotes the energy transition for EU Fisheries and Aquaculture. This group represents all key stakeholders and segments across the sector, ensuring diverse perspectives are included in shaping the transition.
The group’s primary role is to:
- Encourage stakeholder engagement.
- Start a dialogue within the sector about opportunities and challenges of the energy transition on the topic of the energy transition.
- Facilitate collaboration and the exchange of best practices.
- Contribute to a roadmap with concrete and feasible actions to accelerate the transition in the sector.
- Discuss and develop common strategic approaches for furthering the energy transition in the sector.
The work of the Support Group focuses on 5 thematic areas:
- Foresight and ambition goals: Setting and striving towards ambitious goals for energy transition, such as reducing GHG emissions, optimising expenditure, and defining clear pathways.
- Research, innovation & knowledge gaps: Identifying and addressing gaps in current knowledge and technological advances that support and impact the energy transition process.
- Skills & social aspects: Enhancing skills and addressing social implications related to the energy transition in all areas of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.
- Finance and business environment: Exploring and mapping financial instruments and funding opportunities, to ensure an adequate business environment for the energy transition.
- Regulatory framework: Discussing regulatory adjustments and existing frameworks that support the energy transition.
Support Group Coordinators and Segments
The Support Group is composed of 10 working groups and their coordinators from the different segments identified bellow:
- Fisheries
- Small-Scale Coastal Fisheries (SSCF)
- Large-Scale Fisheries (LSF)
- Distant Water Fleet (DWF)
- Aquaculture
- Inland Aquaculture
- Offshore Aquaculture
- Ports
- NGOs
- Research Organizations and Academia
- Processing Industry
- Fishing Shipbuilding Industry
Meet the Support Group Coordinators
We are pleased to introduce our ten Support Group Coordinators, whose role is essential in fostering the exchange of inputs, recommendations, and best practices within the sector. As a bottom-up advisory and consultative body, these Coordinators will play a pivotal role in assisting the European Commission by providing insights and guiding the development of the Energy Transition roadmap—an actionable plan to be delivered by the end of 2025, with measurable milestones aimed at supporting the transition to a sustainable future.
Vincent Guerre – SG Coordinator for Fishing shipbuilding industry
Vincent Guerre has 15 years of experience in the area of fisheries and maritime policies. He is currently the Director for Trade and Competitiveness at the Shipyards’ and Maritime Equipment Association of Europe (SEA Europe).
In this role, he oversees SEA Europe’s initiatives on trade and competitiveness policies, financing instruments, and market analysis. He advocates for the interests of European shipyards and maritime equipment industries to policymakers, international organizations, and business stakeholders. Additionally, he leads communication strategies to inform the media and public about the challenges facing the maritime industry.
Jules Danto – SG Coordinator for Large Scale Fisheries
Jules Danto is part of the European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) as a policy officer since October 2024. He has a scientific profile as engineer in the field of fisheries and marine socio-ecosystem management. He also graduated in marine governance and maritime spatial planning through a second master's degree.
After an experience as a scientific researcher at IFREMER on sustainability indicators for fisheries, he progressively moved towards the institutional field, relying on acquired transversal skills related to research. He could experience diplomacy and bilateral cooperation by working for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Azerbaijan and Denmark, while focusing on his core subjects: oceans, fisheries and aquaculture.
Alexandra Phillipe – SG Coordinator for NGOs
Alexandra Philippe is Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Advisor at the European Bureau for Conservation and Development since November 2021. She is also Vice-Chair of the North Western Waters Advisory Council Executive Committee and Chair of the Working Group Ecosystem of the North Sea Advisory Council. She has previously worked for eight years at the European Parliament mostly as parliamentary assistant to the Chair of the Committee on Fisheries. During this time, she contributed to the parliamentary work on fisheries and participated in the negotiations on initiative and legislative texts related to these topics. She acquired an expertise in fisheries issues and in EU political affairs and processes.
Alexandra holds a Bachelor degree and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles as well as a Master’s degree in European Affairs from the College of Europe in Natolin.
Giulio Brizzi – Offshore aquaculture
Giulio Brizzi is a senior aquaculture expert that has been working in the marine aquaculture sector for over 30 years. After his Degree in Aquaculture and Marine Ecology in Trieste in 1989, he has been working as consultant and expert for industry and public bodies, several aquaculture companies, EU Commission, FAO and State agencies. He has been involved in large EU projects on offshore energy production and aquaculture, studying the challenges connected to siting and environmental impact of offshore aquaculture. His expertise includes offshore aquaculture, farm siting and installation, farm impact and carrying capacity assessment, education and training, all of them applied within countries around the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East and in South-East Asia. He has been a manager of several aquaculture farms throughout the Mediterranean Sea, either on land or offshore. His primary research areas are in offshore aquaculture and engineering, marine impact assessment and marine spatial planning.
Carlos Botana Lagaron – SG Coordinator for Ports
Carlos Botana has a Bachelor of Marine Sciences, Master's degree in Environmental Management and in Business Administration and Management, and currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Climate Change. With over 20 years of experience in managing commercial, fishing, and port environments at the Port of Vigo, holding the position of Sustainability Department Head since 2015. He has been the driving force behind the Blue Growth strategy since 2016 and has worked on over twenty European projects focusing on environment and development under various programs such as Life+, H2020, Interreg Atlantic Area, Horizon, and Poptec.
Currently, he has recently been appointed as President of the Port Authority of Vigo and he also serves as the Coordinator of the Ports Pillar in the Atlantic Space of the European Commission, a member of the Sustainability and Development Committee, and the Energy Committee of ESPO (European Sea Ports Organisation). He is also a member of the Climate and Energy Committee of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) and served as the President of the Blue Ports Network during the 2019-2022 period at ESPO.
Katarina Sipic – SG Coordinator for Processing industry
Katarina Sipic is Secretary General at AIPCE and CEP; the European Association of Fish Processors and the European Federation of National Associations of Fish Traders, based in Brussels. The associations gather major players in the EU as well as UK and Norway in the sector and represent an overall value of the output of the industry of approx. €34 billion.
Gorka Gabiña – SG Coordinator for Research organisations and Academia
Industrial Engineer and PhD in alternative fuels directed by the Department of Machines and Thermal Engines of the School of Engineering of Bilbao. Since 2008 he has been working at AZTI Research Centre, in the Sustainable Fishing Technologies department. His main research lines are the decarbonisation, energy efficiency and digitalisation of fishing vessels, where he has developed projects on consumption patterns and energy audits, engine operation and fuel consumption monitoring systems, propulsion systems, alternative fuels, digital tools for improving fishing operations, smart grids in port systems and the monitoring of the freezing process on board fishing vessels. He has participated in the development of different prototypes and test benches.
Since 2021, he has been coordinating the Sustainable Fishing Technologies department, which deals with the reduction of the impact of fishing on biodiversity (selectivity of fishing gear, monitoring and reduction of accidental catches), digitalisation of fishing operations (digital systems, monitoring of fishing operations, use of artificial intelligence, on-board decision-making tools), reduction of the environmental impact of fishing (decarbonisation, marine waste and circular economy) and innovation of on-board processes (alternative fishing systems, on-board quality control, health and safety).
Marta Cavallé – SG Coordinator for Small Scale Coastal Fisheries
Marta Cavallé has a background of Marine Biology, Economics and fisheries management, NGO management, Conflict resolution, and 20 years of experience working with small-scale fishers, Marta is the Executive Secretary of the Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE).
LIFE is an EU-wide platform of associations of small-scale fishers committed to fishing in a low impact manner with the mission to unite small-scale fishers to achieve fair fisheries, healthy seas and vibrant communities, by providing a dedicated voice at EU level and support on the ground to become actors of change in their own right.
Mati Sarevet - SG Coordinator for Distant Water Fleet
Mati has over 17 years of experience with the Estonian Long Distance fishing company Reyktal Ltd, where he serves as a Member of the Management Board. He has also held the same position for 12 years at Reval Seafood Ltd and Reyktal Services Ltd. Additionally, he is a Member of the Management Board of the Estonian Long Distance Fishing Association.
He is involved in operating three freezing trawlers ("Merike," "Steffano," and "Reval Viking") as part of the Distant Water Fleet (DWF). These vessels fish in NAFO-regulated areas in the Flemish Cap, NEAFC-regulated areas in the Barents Sea, and fishing grounds in East and West Greenland. His efforts contribute to an annual catch of approximately 15,000 metric tons, comprising Northern Prawn, cod, and Greenland halibut (GLH).
Eva Kovacs - SG Coordinator for Inland Aquaculture
Eva has over 20 years of professional experience in fish production. She currently holds the position of Senior Project Manager at Eurofish International Organisation, an entity dedicated to advancing the development of fisheries and aquaculture across Europe. Eurofish represents 13 member countries, 11 of which are EU nations, and plays a significant role in promoting sustainable growth and innovation within the sector.
After working as a scientific researcher at Szent István University, Hungary, focusing on freshwater aquaculture, she joined the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as an expert in fish production. Over a decade at the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, she acquired extensive expertise in the status of the fishery and aquaculture sector, and conditions and challenges faced by countries of the Region.
