The Government of the Azores has granted to the Azores Fisheries Federation  a financial support in the amount of 31,615.92 Euros for the purchase of 612 inflatable vests for the vessels operating on the islands of Santa Maria, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico, Flores and Corvo.

Granted by an Ordinance issued by the Regional Under Secretary of Fishing in the Official Journal on Tuesday, this governmental support is allocated under a protocol signed between the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and the Sea and the aforementioned federation, which is headquartered in the municipality of Madalena on the island Pico.

Marcelo Pamplona justifies this measure given the fact that fishing industry associations are “entities that develop collective actions which are carried out on behalf of the fisheries producers from the fishing communities of their respective island.”

According to the Regional Under Secretary, this initiative is based on the existing incentive system in the archipelago to “support measures of common interest developed by operators of the fisheries sector, organisations acting on behalf of fisheries producers, organisations that contribute to the resolution of specific problems affecting fishing communities or by scientific institutions in the field of marine sciences.”