(13 May 2015) – The 12th edition of the FARNET Magazine, coproduced by AEIDL within DevNet EEIG, looks back at six years of FARNET and the local development approach applied to 312 EU fisheries areas, while analysing the challenges and opportunities Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) will have to address until the end of the 2014-2020 programming period.
The reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, job creation and the fight against poverty, climate change and the energy transition, blue growth and coastal development, and a participatory approach to local development combining different funding opportunities (multi-funding) – these are just some of the very diverse challenges and opportunities FLAGs must consider as they prepare their strategies for the next five years.
Two reports from fisheries areas in Cyprus and in England illustrate the local dynamic created trough Axis 4 of the European Fisheries Fund. In Cyprus, fishermen have improved their skills and the quality of their products and services in order to better capture a share of the tourism market. In Hastings, local development support has contributed to rebuild links between the fishing community and the wider “inland” community.
This magazine also explains how development can be fostered at local level. A special 4 page pull-out insert presents the “FARNET experience” in 20 key points, drawing on the lessons learned and the methodologies developed and tested over the last six years.