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Cornouaille, on the western part of Brittany, has a 330km coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. The FLAG area counts 130 000 jobs and its key industries include food processing, tourism and commercial fisheries. 20% of the fish landed in French ports is landed in Cornouaille

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Scallop fishermen teamed up with scientists to study the possibility of cultivating Queen Scallops in the Vigo Estuary, diversifying their production method and improving the sustainability of their activity.

FLAG cooperation in Slovenia is mandatory and all FLAGs had to foresee it in their strategies. In the period 2007-2013 there was only one FLAG in Slovenia, covering the coastal area, but in 2014-2020 there are also three new FLAGs in inland areas.

The 2003-2013 period in Sweden saw a number of exchange visits with FLAGs from other Member States, including exchanges that led to projects to introduce new approaches to other countries. In 2014-2020, FLAG cooperation is not mandatory in Sweden, but FLAGs had to indicate in their strategies how much funding they planned to allocate to it.

The first cooperation initiatives in Ireland are expected to emerge in 2017 following a national call for cooperation projects, which the Managing Authority (MA) plans to launch mid-2017. Although cooperation was not a strong element of the 2007-2013 Axis 4 programme in Ireland, the MA hopes that the call in the current programming period will result in at least one cooperation project per FLAG.

FLAG areas in Denmark are focused on the few remaining small-scale fisheries communities. As such, cooperation activities are expected to focus on supporting small-scale fisheries businesses, attracting young people to work in fisheries and diversifying activities.

The Land of 1000 Ponds is in the Northeast of Bavaria, close to the border with Western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest agro-cultural landscapes in Europe and is formed by more than 4 700 fish ponds, some of which have been verified as being more than 800 years old.

Fishermen often find it difficult to obtain loans. Because they do not always fit the standard profile of a borrower, they can be categorised as ‘non-bankable’. Recent discussions with the local fishermen made clear the need for the FLAG to provide them with a more accessible credit system to help fund their initiatives.

A year prior to the launch of her Axis 4 supported research on social relationships and communication in fisheries communities, Monica Palladino was on holiday on the Costa Viola, a part of the Calabrian coast hosting several fisheries strongholds. There, she came to the conclusion that, if she was to understand the fishermen’s professional relationships, she would herself need to become part of their network...