The European Union is going to reinforce the funds destined to the conversion of fishermen and boosting the riverside communities of the European space. European Commissioner responsible for the fisheries sector Maria Damanaki announced an increase in funds "for the next six years", which will be used "to help local economies, in addition to fishing".
The announcement was made during the last plenary session of the Committee of the Regions, where the Sul Informação was present at the invitation of the president of the Chamber of Faro and member of this body Macário Correia.
One of the highlights of this session was, precisely, the discussion and vote on an opinion on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Committee of the Regions should be the first European institution to officially comment on this matter, a matter which, as it turned out, is far from peaceful.
Maria Damanaki praised the committee's initiative and even admitted that everyone is in agreement in identifying the problems. "The challenge now is to agree on the solutions", illustrated the member of the European Commission.
One point that should not be disputed is the announced increase in funds for programs that support the economy of fishing communities. It is not about direct support for fishing activities, but rather an incentive to the creation of complementary activities and industries that bring added value to the sector and increase the income of communities.
The motto is even “less fishing, with more value”, according to Maria Damanaki, who pointed out the tourism sector and the manufacturing industry as examples of how income can be increased, without fishing more. Not least because "it will take a long time before we can increase fishing quotas".
This increase in funds should be channeled to incentive programs such as Promar. This program, which is already underway, supports projects presented by members of fishing communities, not necessarily fishermen, in fields such as entrepreneurship, creation or restoration of community infrastructure and support for associations.
Defending the importance of riverside areas “to get out of the crisis”, Maria Damanaki believes that the best way to help those who live there “is to create a lasting industry”.
Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy promises a lot of discussion
The relative consensus between different countries regarding fisheries policies seems to end with this increase in funds to help the local economy of the riparian zones. Of the matters addressed by Maria Damanaki, the one that generated the greatest controversy is the intention, defended by the commissioner of fisheries, to grant private fishing quotas.
And, despite being the most debated topic in the discussion of the proposal for an opinion on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy that followed Maria Damanaki's intervention, this was far from being the only point of contention in relation to the report presented by the member. Committee of the Regions Mieczyslaw Struk.
The discussion was long and ended in an impasse, with the committee members rejecting the proposal presented by the Polish representative. There were, moreover, more than XNUMX proposals for amendments, which covered almost every point in Mieczyslaw Struk's report.
The future common agreement on fisheries is of particular importance for the Algarve region, where the fisheries sector is of considerable importance. Macário Correia does not hide that fishing “is a very controversial discussion, because it is a discussion between politics and biology”.
But, for now, it points out as positive the measure announced by Maria Damanaki to increase funds for fishing communities. This «incentive for the pluriactivity of fishing communities» helps to alleviate the problems related to quotas, as it prevents «the fishing fleets from going through the seas with more and more catches, with greater tonnages», believes the Algarve mayor.
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