Auctions at auctions will be reduced and the fee for berthing to fishing vessels will be suspended, with a credit line of up to 20 million euros to support the sector, it was announced today.
In a statement, the Ministry of the Sea recalls that it has been monitoring the fishing situation, in contact with industry associations, to plan and adopt measures to minimize the economic impacts on fishing and aquaculture due to the covid-19 pandemic.
“At the end of this first week, it is considered appropriate to reduce the number of auctions and to adapt the public service provided to the evolution of activity conditions. The collection of the docking fee due by fishing vessels will also be suspended for 90 days ”, the note reads.
Previously, it is mentioned, the operation of the auctions and the first sale of fish had already been assured, “through a demanding contingency plan put in place by DOCAPESCA, guaranteeing the supply of fish to the Portuguese”.
The plan includes the adoption of preventive measures to mitigate contamination, the suspension of all external visits to fishing auctions and ports, the conditioning of the entry of buyers and shipowners / fishermen into the auction grounds, the dissemination of preventive information from the covid- 19 on electronic panels and the reinforcement of cleanliness in public access areas.
In the note, the Ministry of the Sea also points out that, in the measures of economic support to the sector, the Council of Minister approved “a credit line of up to 20 million euros, five years, allowing the contracting of loans and the renegotiation of eventual debts, with the payment of the respective interest by the State ”.
In the social responses, "the payment of the Compensation Fund for Fisheries Professionals was accelerated, with the payment of 508 applications involving 350 thousand euros at the beginning of April".
In the meantime, the Government has already launched an initiative with the European Commission to revise the regulation of the European Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), adapting it “to this exceptional situation” and with specific measures aimed at fishing and aquaculture.
An extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries is scheduled for Wednesday with the European Commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevičius, for analysis and decision-making in this matter, it is added.
“The Ministry of the Sea recognizes that this is an unprecedented situation and is committed to doing everything in its power to put in place measures that protect the fish industry in this context of a pandemic”, the note also reads.
Comments