The President of the Government opened today the new Cold Storage Unit in Ponta Delgada, an investment of nearly five million Euros which, like others made in the Region, are "a good foundation for the development of the Fisheries sector."
 
"In addition to fulfilling a commitment that will benefit the sector, this infrastructure, given its characteristics, will also provide an important contribution to Fisheries in the Azores," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
The Cold Storage Unit of Ponta Delgada contributed to the recovery of a degraded area of about 3,500 square meters in the town of Santa Clara. It includes two static freezing tunnels, with capacity over 20 tonnes per day, and a storage chamber for fresh fish with capacity for 50 tonnes. In addition to producing 10 tonnes of ice on a daily basis, they also have an ice storage capacity of 20 tonnes in automatic silo.
 
It has also four frozen storage rooms and three brine freezing tanks, with total capacity for 30 tonnes on a daily basis.
 
"All these features make this investment a good foundation for the future development of this sector," the President of the Government said, emphasising that the construction of this infrastructure does not solve the challenges the fisheries sector is facing.
 
"This is a good contribution to ensure that it meets a series of goals already defined, either by the Government or by the partnership established with several institutions representing the sector, as to how should the sector overcome these challenges," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
In his speech, the President of the Government highlighted a number of interventions during this term aimed at the improvement of fishing and the provision of better safety and working conditions for all fishers. In this regard, he pointed out the investments made in the ports of Horta, Madalena, São Mateus and Praia da Vitória as well as the redevelopment of the fish markets of Vila do Porto, Santa Maria Island, and Madalena, Pico Island.
 
These investments, which add up to others already implemented throughout the Region, directly benefit over 95 percent of the overall quantity of fish unloaded in the archipelago's sports," said the President of the Government.
 
According to him, the Regional Government also awarded priority status to the challenge regarding the increase of fish prices. There has been some improvements as there was an increase in average price of the first sale of fish between 2012 and 2016, from 2.86 Euros to 4.14 Euros.
 
"We are interested that the analysis of these figures may go deeper, because with just these figures we cannot conclude that the income of fishers increased and that the industry is experiencing a period of higher profitability," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
According to the President of the Government, there is a series of challenges that, despite this progress, are still affecting the sector, namely the scarcity of resources and the impact of several external decisions on the Region; many of which stem from the European Union's lack of knowledge on fishing activities in the archipelago.
 
Nevertheless, Vasco Cordeiro added that the Government of the Azores has great expectations on the contribution of Local Action Groups in Fisheries as well as on the strengthening of the partnership that has been established with the University of the Azores, bearing in mind that scientific knowledge is a key pillar in the relation with EU institutions towards the defence of the Region's interests.
 
The President of the Government also pointed out the uniformity of fuel prices for fishing diesel; the price per paid by the local fleet decreased by 10 cents.
 
"Winning the challenges the sector faces requires constant alertness and the clear awareness of the weaknesses of this sector and its potentialities," said the President of the Government. He concluded his speech with the belief that the new Cold Storage Unit will "improve the income and performance of all parties involved in the industry, from fishers to those who, within the fisheries chain, also contribute to wealth generation and job creation in the Region."