The Ministry of Agrarian Policy continues to improve fisheries policy and adapt it to EU standards

On December 7, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Vitaly Holovnia took part in the seventh meeting of the Subcommittee on Economic and Sectoral Cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union. The focus of the discussion was Cluster 5 - agriculture and rural development, fisheries and maritime policy, the Danube region, cross-border and regional cooperation.

Image credit: Deborah Freeman on Flickr
(CC BY-SA 2.0)

Fisheries are an important element of food security in Ukraine and the world as a whole. Its development through the creation of effective conservation mechanisms, the rational use of aquatic biological resources and the development of aquaculture is one of the priorities of state policy.

In his speech, Vitaly Holovnya outlined the details of the reform of the fishing industry, including legislative and regulatory changes; named the main priorities of maritime policy in Ukraine.

Currently, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy is developing a number of acts designed to improve the mechanisms for managing aquatic biological resources, ensuring their conservation and rational use, improving the quality and efficiency of fishing control systems and combating illegal, unaccountable, and unregulated fishing, creating equal conditions of access to the exploitation of aquatic biological resources, and ensuring the development of aquaculture , to regulate the issue of amateur and sport fishing, etc.

"The Ministry of Agricultural Policy continues to work on the adaptation of fisheries policy to EU standards, as well as on its improvement in general. Right now, together with EU experts, we are creating a project of the State Strategy for the Development of the Fisheries Industry for the period until 2030. The document will define strategic goals and indicators for solving economic, environmental and social problems of the industry, as well as ways of development," says Vitaliy Holovnia.

He also adds that the issue of Ukraine's accession to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal Fishing is already at the final stage of consideration.

Separately, the Deputy Minister emphasises the negative consequences of the inland waters, marine environment and coastal areas of the Black Sea due to the Russian invasion. In addition, due to mining and pollution of the water area, it is currently impossible to conduct fishing activities and research.

The Aquaculturists

---