The president of the Xunta de Galicia, Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, announced the approval of the Galician Aquaculture Strategy, a plan “consistent” with the directives of the European Union (EU).
This initiative has the objective to attract “viable projects for Galicia”, which can create wealth and generate jobs, and “projects friendly” with the autonomous region.
The Strategy will govern the planning and management of aquaculture activities until 2030, making Galicia the first collectivity in Spain and in the Community Region to launch a strategic plan for this sector.
“Today, we have passed what we want to do until 2030 in the field of aquaculture. An opportunity we must not lose for Galicia to regain aquaculture leadership in Europe”, the president of the local government said.
Nuñez Feijoo described the strategy as “ambitious” and “consistent” with the EU, “because it is made in line with the objectives set by the EU and the proposed reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)” and “consistent with us as regards the Regional Planning Guidelines and the Coastal Management”, the Xunta informed.
The government’s idea is to develop Galician aquaculture with all the environmental, economic and social guarantees.
With regard to the environmental field, the document includes measures for the preservation of biodiversity, landscape integration of facilities and a reduction and improvement of energy consumption.
“From an economic standpoint, we are seeking to recover the lost leadership in aquaculture and from the social point of view, we are looking for the revitalization of coastal areas where these facilities will be settled,” the Galician president stated.
Actions will be carried out in eight areas.
In the area of the amendment and supplementation of the regulatory framework, Nuñez Feijoo highlighted the commitment to adopt in 2012 the Galician Aquaculture Act to promote sustainable development of the local aquaculture industry, promote the implementation of a strong and structured industry in areas suitable for this activity, and have the appropriate tools for decision making.
He also referred to the Aquaculture Parks Management Act to restart and drive the process of reorganization of crop parks in Galicia”; and Galician Fishermen’s Guild Act reform, to establish a security framework that helps and affirms the planning of production and organizational aspects.
He also stressed the implementation of the Aquaculture Technical Committee and Aquaculture Product Market Observatory, to know how aquaculture products move in domestic and international markets.
He also referred to the Coastal Aquaculture Parks Plan, which aims to coordinate the development of fish farming in the coastal zone, and the Coastal Plan.
Finally, Nuñez Feijoo explained that guides for good practice in aquaculture, and in the field of research and innovation are under development, and the Strategic Plan for R & D related to genetics, nutrition, diseases, traceability, food safety, and automation and facility design will be presented.
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