AIPCE (EU Fish Processors and Traders Association) and CEP (European Federation of National Organizations of Importers and Exporters of Fish) were established in 1959 and collaborate on the basis of a Co-operation Agreement, creating AIPCE-CEP.

The association represents 20 EU National Associations and 2 Associations in Third countries, for a total of nearly 3,500 companies, the majority of which with 20 employees at most, for total employment of around 120,000 persons. The overall value of the output of the industry represented by AIPCE-CEP amounts to around EUR 27 billion, or three times the turnover of the catch sector.