Adding value to fisheries

The peninsula of Setúbal is located in the south of Lisbon and has many urban and suburban centres. Here, fishing is an important activity that has developed over centuries along the Atlantic coast and the estuaries of Sado and Tejo.

To the north of Lisbon, Mafra and Cascais are coastal municipalities with strong fisheries sectors due in part to the presence of two auctions and important municipal fish markets in Ericeira and Cascais.

The region Oeste consists of several fishing communities primarily dedicated to small scale fishing and gathering activities such as the gathering of shellfish, seaweed, mussels and barnacles, using mostly small boats. It includes two municipalities, Peniche and Nazaré, which act as twin centres of fishing activity and attract skilled labour, investment, business equipment and infrastructure.

The FLAG area includes the parishes of Marinha Grande and Vieira de Leiria in the municipality of Marinha Grande and the parish of Coimbrão in the municipality of Leiria. The fishing communities here include Vieira de Leiria, Pedrógão and São Pedro de Moel

The Elbe-Roeder-Dreieck FLAG is situated east of the river Elbe on the border between Brandenburg and Saxony. It is a rural region with a few focal points of large industry including steel and chemical plants. The landscape is characterised by high-value vineyards along the Elbe river and pond landscapes in the Roeder riverside floodplain. This area has been used for pond farming for about 300 years. The ponds were designed for purely economic reasons and served exclusively for carp pond farming.

Having declined from 1000 oyster farms in 1970 to just 300 in 2015, the Bassin d´Arcachon FLAG area has seen the number of oyster farmers stabilize, thanks, in part, to work with 13 different schools to take pupils out on oyster boats to see what it means to be an oyster farmer.

The FLAG area includes the most developed area of the island of Crete (North West and North East coastal parts of Heraklion) in terms of tourism. Despite the extensive coastline, fishing is limited to demersal and small pelagic fish species which are promoted to the local fish markets.

Due to its extensive history and unique natural environment, this FLAG area which covers the southwest part of Heraklion Prefecture, (Messara Gulf), is rich with cultural and natural assets.

The FLAG area covers parts of Heraklion and Rethymno. The area has significant port infrastructure, fishing harbours and fishing shelters. The fisheries communities have similar social, economic and development characteristics.

The FLAG territory is made up of a series of small-scale fishing, environmental and touristic areas. The entire area has a long, mostly coastal fishing tradition, which is an integral part of the local culture of these island communities.