Presentation of conclusions and development prospects of the ARIEL PLUS project to stakeholders in the fisheries & aquaculture sector, as well as various other stakeholders
On 30 August 2022 the Region of Western Greece (RWG) organized a workshop in the Conference Room of the Regional Council of the Region of Western Greece in Patras, entitled “Presentation of conclusions and development prospects of the ARIEL PLUS project to stakeholders in the fisheries & aquaculture sector, as well as various other stakeholders”.
The main purpose of the event was to present the conclusions of the ARIEL PLUS project as well as to highlight the problems and development prospects of the small-scale fisheries (SSF) and aquaculture (AQ) sector. The workshop was opened by the Deputy Regional Governor for Entrepreneurship, Research and Innovation Mr. Fokionas Zaimis, who referred to existing problems such as poor infrastructure, the complexity of the institutional framework, control of trafficking, and the need for modernization of SSF and AQ facilities.
His opening speech was followed by a message of the Deputy Regional Governor of Rural Development Mr. Theodoros Vassilopoulos, who stressed the intertwining of SSF and AQ with the economy and the need for support and financial support measures due to an unprecedented situation of low demand for fisheries products.
The workshop was further welcomed through a digital video link by Mr. Christos Economou, Head of the Unit of the European Commission of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in Brussels, who spoke about strategies for sea basins, regional maritime cooperation, and maritime safety.
This was then followed by a presentation from Dr. Alkistis Parpoura, Head of the Fisheries Department, Directorate of Agriculture Economics & Veterinary of R.U. Aetoloacarnania, who gave an overview of the goals of ARIEL PLUS, the outcomes and results of the Innovation Brokering Events and Capacity Building Seminars & co-creation labs which were organized in Mesolonghi in June 2022, and a summary of the participation of RWG in the ARIEL PLUS Transnational Event in Split in August 2022.
The workshop ended with a round-table discussion session, during which, through a constructive dialogue with the various stakeholders, issues such as porting of fishing vessels, increase in production costs, illegal fishing, insufficient information, and lack of policing were raised for discussion.
In total, 30 participants representing national, regional, and local authorities as well as SSF, AQ and other stakeholders attended the workshop.
INVITATION 30-8-2022
AGENDA WORKSHOP 30-8-2022
PRESS RELEASE WORKSHOP 30-8-2022
