The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands has announced for the year 2020 two exceptional compensatory aid packages for aquaculture companies and owners and shipowners of fishing vessels belonging to the Canary Islands fishing grounds (small-scale fishing or tuna fishing modalities) who have suffered economic losses caused by the pandemic.
These subsidies, amounting to two million euros, represent "an injection of liquidity for a sector that has directly suffered the stoppage in economic activity, with an alteration of supply as a consequence of the interruption of supply chains as well as demand, which has generated considerable economic difficulties", according to the regional Executive.
The subsidy for aquaculture companies (one million euros), charged to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, is aimed at compensating for the decrease or reduction of income suffered by aquaculture companies. To access these funds, aquaculture companies must prove that they have had a decrease of at least 20% in their turnover, in the period between March 14 and June 30, 2020, with reference to the average turnover of the same period of the last three years.
According to the Government of the Canary Islands, the aquaculture sector has been "especially affected" by market disruptions caused by the significant decrease in demand as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
For the aid for owners and shipowners of fishing vessels belonging to the Canary Islands fishing grounds, the amount allocated to these subsidies amounts to one million euros, and will be financed with own funds from the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands to be distributed among all applicants based on the losses calculated from the first sale notes of each of the vessels, which will take into account sales during the months of March (from the 15th), April, May and June of the last three financial years 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Mitigating the effects of the pandemic in a strategic sector
"As a result of the closure of points of sale, markets, stores and distribution channels, sales prices and volumes have decreased substantially. The decrease in demand and prices, together with the vulnerability and complexity of the supply chain, have made commercial fishing and aquaculture operations unprofitable," the Canarian Government points out.
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Alicia Vanoostende, highlights the importance of these compensatory actions "to mitigate the effects of the pandemic in a strategic sector that needs more liquidity to return to normal, so we are aware that the administration must extraordinarily support the sector with this type of subsidy lines".
