Ecuador’s Deputy Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and members of the management board of the National Development Bank (BNF) presented details about the financing lines for crew members that on 15 December 2012 will stop trawling.
Pablo Hurtado, the national supervisor of the BNF Microcredit, explained that the credit lines will be used to buy boats, motors, technological equipment, storage facilities, ice plant, cold chambers and heat vehicles.
Individual credits for those crew members who wish to continue fishing with fiberglass boats that are properly equipped, amount to USD 20,000, with an interest rate of 5 per cent, a grace period of two years and a loan term of up 10 years.
Meanwhile, the crew members intending to undertake a new production activity will be granted an associative loan of up to USD 3 million, with an interest rate of 5 per cent, a grace year and a maximum loan term of 15 years.
The Vice-ministry technicians will offer crew members technical assistance in strengthening their organizational and design plans or their production projects, the government reported.
The director of Artisanal Fishing of the Undersecretariat of Fishing Resources (SRP), Gladys Cedeño, said that the crew members will have access to a credit after the submission of a request to the Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries, under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries (Magap).
Applicants may apply for alternative technical assistance provided in the Contingency Plan.
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