Press release
Minister McConalogue launches European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 2021-2027
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue today attended The Skipper Expo 2024, a key annual event for those in the fishing, seafood and maritime industry.
The Minister took this opportunity, in the presence of the EMFAF Monitoring Committee, to launch Ireland’s National Seafood Development Programme under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 2012-2027 (EMFAF).
Having over 120 exhibitors from the seafood and fishing industry at this popular event, the Skipper Expo presented an excellent opportunity to meet with a large volume of seafood and fishing industry stakeholders, and to launch this important programme which will support the industry in the coming years.
The Minister stated:
“The EMFAF 2021-27 operational programme was formally adopted by the Monitoring Committee and the Commission on 8 December 2022. The development of the Programme entailed multiple stakeholder consultations and environmental assessments. These important engagements with all stakeholders contributed significantly to the drafting of the programme. I was pleased to be able to secure funding of €258.4 million for the new programme ,an increase in funding over the previous EMFF Programme 2014-2020.”
The Minister further commented:
“This new programme builds on the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) Schemes and provides for additional, longer term supports to enable our seafood sector to engage in transformational change and for our coastal communities to thrive.”
The Programme details the vision and demonstrates how the strategic objectives of the EMFAF fund will be employed in fulfilling the Programme.
This Programme aims to support a diverse range of activities within the marine area. For fisheries, the Programme envisages support for capital investment both on board and ashore, relating to landing obligations, innovation in fishing gear and methods, technical advice to the fleet, acquisition of first vessel by young fishers, supports to the inshore fleet, training and marketing.
The Minister took the opportunity to explore the wide range of exhibits at the Skipper Expo and to also meet with the various exhibitors, visitors and EMFAF Monitoring Committee members.
Photos of the Minister at the The Skipper Expo 2024 to follow to media.
For information in relation to the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 2021-2027 (EMFAF) please visit: European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund - EU Funds.
For information on EMFAF supported schemes administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, please visit: BIM - Supporting the Irish Seafood Industry.
On behalf of the European Commission, I welcome the official launch of the Irish European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) programme for the period 2021-2027.
The Irish EMFAF programme was approved by the European Commission in December 2022. It aims at strengthening the resilience of the seafood sector, through environmentally sustainable and climate smart actions, and to support its green transition and digitalisation. It also commits support to Ireland’s coastal communities to enhance their economic resilience and a dynamic and sustainable local development through diversification of the blue economy. When it comes to marine knowledge, Ireland plays an important role in the European network. Actions to improve the understanding of the impacts of human activities and climate change on the marine environment, to protect and preserve marine biodiversity and actions to enhance data quality to support evidence-based decision making are core of the Irish EMFAF programme.
With this focus, the Irish EMFAF programme perfectly matches the objectives of the EU Green Deal, Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies.
Over the last years, the EU fisheries, aquaculture and processing sectors have been hit hard by the COVID-19 and the Ukraine crises. In addition, the Irish seafood sector acutely felt the adverse consequences of Brexit. The EU financial support provided through the Brexit Adjustment Reserve allowed Ireland to counter the immediate negative effects of Brexit. We welcome and acknowledge the efforts made by all stakeholders in Ireland to design a broad set of measures, with a budget of over EUR 300 million, to strongly support the Irish seafood sector with a challenging transition.
Now, it is time for longer-term and structural reforms in response to demanding economic, social and environmental challenges. The Irish EMFAF programme, with a budget of EUR 258 million, will be a key financial instrument to support the Irish seafood sector and coastal communities in the years to come.
We count on the Irish decision-makers, administration and all stakeholders of the Irish seafood sector to join forces and quickly start the programme implementation. We stand together in this journey over the next years and trust the ambitions of the Irish EMFAF programme will deliver fully, to the benefit of the seafood sector and all Irish citizens.
Charlina Vitcheva
Director-General of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission