Society and culture

FARNET Magazine n° 14 - Autumn 2016

The Bothnian Sea coastline and Lake Pyhäjärvi have a lengthy tradition in the fisheries sector where the main catches include vendace and signal crayfish. About half of Finland´s Baltic herring catch is landed on the harbours along this particular part of the coast. Whitefish, salmon and other fresh water species are similarly important to the area. The processing industry is also highly active here. An additional positive development in recent years has been the growth in pesca-tourism.

The North Sardinia FLAG wishes to cooperate with FLAGs concerned with new start-up models led by young people, fishermen’s relatives or young people leaving secondary schools who want to create self-employment opportunities.

The Bothhian Sea and Lake Pyhäjärvi FLAG from the south of Finland is open to cooperation ideas. The FLAG has long-term experience in lake fisheries and in the development of fisheries with a strong link to water quality management.

The Mariña Ortegal FLAG from Galicia, Spain, is open to cooperation ideas from around Europe. In particular, it is interested in cooperation on projects related to adding value to fisheries projects through processing and marketing.

FISCHtival, the open air festival of concerts and food organized by the Tirschenreuth FLAG in the summer of 2015, had not expected to provide such a transformation to the local community. The initial idea behind the event was to promote the activities of the pond fishing association, which is responsible for the administration of the FLAG.

The “Fishtaverns” project aims to raise the quality standards of local seafood restaurants – their products and hosting capabilities – notably by improving the use of fresh fisheries products and applying attractive communication tools.

The experience developed by FARNET under Axis 4 of the EFF (2007-2013) is still highly valuable for the current programming period, especially for new FLAGs.

To help preserve and promote the local fishing communities of North Devon, UK, Boat stories set sail with the North Devon FLAG in 2014 to make 10 short films telling the personal stories of those living and working with boats in the area. The stories, told by the skippers or crew, open the door to a world mostly hidden to even those who live on the coast, enticing the audience to come and have a closer look.

As part of a broader cooperation project to promote the image of fishing and the coastal culture of the Mediterranean, a new online radio station gives a voice to ideas, news, culture and activities related to fisheries and the sea.