The Regional Secretariat for Natural Resources has approved the extension of the deadline for the submission of applications to FUNDOPESCA to March 7, as requested by several fishers' associations across the archipelago.

As of February 28, the Regional Directorate for Fisheries has registered a total of 337 applications, which corresponds to 1,400 fishers.

The applications already submitted, regardless of the deadline extension, are already under analysis in order to prevent delays in payments to the beneficiaries of this measure.

The Administration Board of FUNDOPESCA unanimously decided to stipulate amount of support awarded to fishers at 254.62 Euros; beneficiaries cannot have another occupation other than fishing. The activation of this fund was justified by rough sea conditions that have prevented fishing vessels from operating at sea for 15 interspersed days.

Under the Government's proposal, the members of the board have analysed the data on the unloadings recorded by regional fish markets and have determined the criteria for the activation of this salary compensation fund. FUNDOPESCA covers for the first time other professionals in the fishing sector and it can granted in conjunction with the payment of other social benefits.