Fishermen and municipality join forces to set up a local fish market

The small city of Corabia has a long tradition in fisheries and was always known for its maritime heritage. It even lends its name to an ancient ship, the Corabia.

Located on the banks of the Danube, in the south of Olt County, the city has more than 170 small scale fishermen. While the city’s fisheries sector has traditionally been reasonably profitable, most of fisherman are unable to sell their catch locally due to a lack of a physical fish market. Confronted with the challenges of long marketing chains and difficulties accessing other markets in the region, fisherman have seen their livelihoods decline in recent years.

With the help of the FLAG, the Olt fisheries association asked the local municipality to support them in planning a local fish market to sell their catch. Construction of a building for the market with facilities meeting European standards soon followed, allowing fisherman to sell their catch directly. More than 1 200 kg of fish per day is now being sold here including species such as: wels catfish, northern pike and zander. The local market also serves as a handling area and auction, including for the neighbouring villages.