The Regional Secretary for Natural Resources assured on Friday that the Government "is strongly committed" to reduce the payment deadlines to the support allocated to Azorean fishers under FUNDOPESCA.

Speaking at the end of hearing at the Committee on Economic Affairs of the Legislative Assembly, Luís Neto Viveiros restated the Government's belief that the legislation in force "is an effective legal document that is at the service of fishers and it meets their needs and expectations." In this context, the Government will continue working to further reduce the period between the end of applications and the respective payment in a future activation of this fund.
 
The Regional Secretary was heard on a proposal made by PSD/Açores to change the activation period of the fund and the extension of the annual number of days from 60 to 90. The contents of the proposal should be carefully analysed in terms of its possible impact.

According to Luís Neto Viveiros, the proposal "will face added difficulties concerning the further effectiveness of FUNDOPESCA in the Azores."

The Regional Secretary spoke to journalists, highlighting that the legislation in force "comprises aspects that are clearly advantageous to Azorean fishers compared to the national reality. In addition, these aspects were taken into consideration during the last legislative revision that was approved by the Regional Assembly in September.

FUNDOPESCA has already been activated three times in the current legislative period. Under this measure, a significant sum has been allocated to fishers in order to help them tackling the difficulties arising from periods of inactivity due to bad weather conditions.