Environment

A series of festivals connects fishermen and aquaculture producers with the public, raising awareness of local fish, traditions and the marine habitat.

The Vidourle Camargue FLAG has collaborated with local stakeholders on a pilot scheme for collecting and recycling marine litter. The mix of plastic waste collected by the local fishermen are recycled all together thanks to an innovative industrial process.

Cuan Beon perustivat Galwaynlahden lähistöllä asuvat ja työskentelevät henkilöt, jotka huolestuivat lahden kuuluisien simpukkavesien laadun yleisestä heikkenemisestä.

To promote the local shellfish activity and its products, a FLAG redevelops an area overlooking the bay where its cockle pickers work and installs a shallow outdoor pool for kids, heated with excess hot water from the nearby leisure centre.

The FLAG territory includes 45km of the Black Sea coast in Varna Province, equating to approximately 13% of the Bulgarian Black Sea coastline. The leading industries in the area are tourism and agriculture. Fisheries in the region are small-scale and important in the local population – roughly 5% of the economically active population are engaged in fisheries.

FLAG cooperation in Finland’s EMFF programme is considered to be a way of bringing new ideas and innovations to the country in order to address some specific challenges. In particular, cooperation is sought to increase the profitability of small-scale coastal fisheries and make the sector attractive as a career for young people, as well as combatting the issues posed by seals and cormorants in fishing communities. However, cooperation is not limited and other ideas and networking can be developed among the FLAGs.

The fishing organisation of Bustio has become the first in Spain to become self-sufficient in renewable energy for its on land operations. By making an environmental commitment to reduce carbon emissions, it is saving around €10 000 a year on electricity.

By engaging local fishermen in the development and testing of environmentally-friendly fish traps, the Baltic Sea FLAG is paving the way for sustainable fisheries along its coast in a wider context of adding value to the local catch.

The Venetian FLAG is looking for partners in the context of INTERREG Alpine Space. Their project idea aims to protect the environment by reducing the amount of plastic that reaches the sea from rivers upstream.

On Lower Saxony’s North Sea coast, small-scale fishermen team up with an environmental NGO to collect marine waste and look at ways of disposing and recycling plastic components.