Regional Government made payments under FUNDOPESCA to nearly 680 fishers, amounting to 200 thousand Euros
The Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science and Technology, through the Regional Directorate for Fisheries, has made payments under FUNDOPESCA to 677 fishers, shipowners and other professionals in the sector, representing an overall amount of 199 thousand Euros.
The Salary Compensation Fund for Fishing Professionals in the Azores, commonly known as FUNDOPESCA, was activated on March 12, based on the analysis of the fish unloaded during the month of February. The Board of Directors has unanimously decided to set the amount of support at 304.50 Euros, which will be allocated to fishers due to a drop of income.
According to the Regional Director for Fisheries, "there has been an income drop of 35% on 15 days in a 30-day period when compared with the daily arithmetic average in the same period of time over the last three years." This situation has led to the activation of this salary compensation fund for fishers.
Luís Rodrigues stressed that, following the activation of FUNDOPESCA in the amount equivalent to 50% of the regional minimum wage, "fishing professionals submitted 818 applications, corresponding to 248 vessels; 677 applications covering 224 vessels were approved."
Applications for FUNDOPESCA took place in December 2017 and were analysed according to the eligibility criteria established for the period concerned: exercise of fishing activities on an exclusive basis; payment of Social Security contributions by fishers; minimum of 50 unloads or a minimum amount of 7,500 Euros of unloads in auction by local fishing boats and divers; minimum of 30 unloads or a minimum amount of 25,000 Euros of unloads in auction by coastal fishing vessels.
In the cases when fishers also benefit from other compensation measures, the amount allocated under FUNDOPESCA will be adjusted so that this sum and the remaining support does not exceed the amount of 913.50 Euros, i.e., 1.5 times the monthly minimum wage.
FUNDOPESCA was created in 2002 with the purpose of providing a financial compensation to fishers when they are prevented from working in certain situations.