European fishermen tighten cooperation in Pärnu

04.06.2009

The representatives of fisheries areas of 20 European Union Member States gather to hotel Strand in Pärnu from Thursday to Saturday to find opportunities to tighten cooperation, in order to improve the living standard of fishing communities.

 About 120 people from 20 different countries are participating at the international conference organised by the Ministry of Agriculture of Estonia and the Directorate - General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission (DG MARE). The event focuses on the implementation of Axis IV of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), which deals with the sustainable development of fisheries areas, making it possible for coastal fishermen to diversify their activities and, therefore preserve the socio-economic structure of their area.
 

The conference mostly emphasizes activities in working groups, which enable the representatives of different countries to get a better and clearer overview of the other countries´ doings and share the best practices starting from the formation of action groups and finishing with the implementation of local strategies, which will certainly benefit the work of the action groups in the future.
 

The participants are mostly the representatives of fisheries areas, i.e. people who are engaged in the development of coastal and inland areas and fisheries on daily bases. Ernesto Penas Lado, the Director of the Baltic Sea and North Sea region in DG MARE will be taking part from the conference and also the Support Unit of FAR-NET (The European Fisheries Areas Network), which connects the fisheries networks or individual groups of the Member States, is represented.
 

Background information:

The European Fisheries Fund (EFF) is intended to implement the European Common Fisheries Policy and finance the modernization and development of fisheries and aquaculture, support the development of fishing fleet and environmentally friendly management. During the 7-year budget period, the fisheries sector is annually supported by 59.5 billion kroons (3.8 billion Euros). The fund is open to fishermen fishing both at sea, as well as inland waters, aquaculture enterprises, fisheries representative organisations, industries and fisheries areas.
More information:

http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/structural_measures/eff_introduction_en.htm
 

Additional information:
Hindrek Riikoja
Public Relations Department
Ministry of Agriculture
Phone: +372 6256 255, +372 53 030 865
Email: hindrek.riikoja@agri.ee