FARNET
Fisheries Areas Network
FLAG Factsheet
--ARCHIVED as of 31 January 2020--
Shetland is an island archipelago located 340 km north of Aberdeen and 362 km west of Bergen, Norway. It consists of over 100 islands and islets of which 16 are inhabited. A number of these smaller islands are linked to the main island by ferry and/or air services, or by fixed links. Shetland is linked to the UK mainland by ferry and air services.
The single largest contributor to economic output in Shetland is the fishing industry. The combined output of the various fisheries sectors (catching, processing and aquaculture) was valued at around €400m in 2011.
The major challenges in the areas are: the decline of traditional skills and skills retention, geographic distance from main markets and the lack of niche market capitalisation. This includes a lack of young people in the industry and the increasing sense of fisheries communities becoming commuter areas.
2 National Nature Reserves; 81 Sites of Special Scientific Interest
The FLAG strategy has the following priority actions:
National
As with the last programme, it is anticipated that the FLAG will accept projects on an ongoing basis.
The FLAG will consider any cooperation project ideas that come forward, but given the size of the budget allocation, the preference may be to focus on delivery of projects at a local level.
The FLAG shares board members and some territory with a with a LEADER LAG. It also has a common local development strategy with the LAG.
The membership of the FLAG includes Seafood Shetland, the Shetland fishermen’s association, the Shetland shellfish management organisation, the Scottish salmon producers’ organisation – Shetland, the NAFC marine centre (educational and scientific institute), the AB Associates (private company – independent consultancy), Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the Shetland Islands council.