Fisheries local action groups in Estonia

Fisheries local action group cooperation activities from EMFF in Estonia

Support for the implementation of cooperation project may be granted to FLAG from European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) for the following operations. We have received the input also from FLAGs strategies.

• Joint marketing, including a trade fair or conference participation or arrangement, e-marketing activities, joint marketing or action plan development for new product or new service, development of logistic solutions, creating a common brand name or trademark, visual identity elaboration, etc.

• Knowledge transfer, including through training, study tour, seminar, workshop, trade fair or conference visit, also organize these events, etc.

• Popularization of the fisheries and maritime activities, including the organizing of festivals, exhibitions and events, involving youth, etc.

FLAGs should also consider the following: Supported activity must meet at least one of the objective in Article 63 (1) of EU 508/2014 and has to be in compliance with the community led local development strategy.

Cooperation principles

• It is important that partners have common needs doing the project together and all partners must do activities to meet the objectives what they have seen in their documents or their local strategy.  All partners must benefit from the project. Partner of a FLAG does not have to do the same eligible activity, what our FLAG is doing, but the project must be single and integrated.  

• A joint team - project tasks should be shared with all partners of each other and should be avoided duplication of activities;

• Common budget, which represents the total budget of the project (each partner seeks only to support their part of the cooperation project, the partner's actions are not eligible).

Who can ask support and how big is the budget?

• Eligible applicant, who can ask support, is fisheries local action group (FLAG), whose strategy is approved by the Ministry of Rural Affairs;

• FLAG can apply support only for his part of the project, partners actions are not eligible (it is meant that FLAGs partner will seek finance from his fund to fulfil his part of a project or look financing from other places);

• Call for applications are open year round until budget exhausted, start autumn-winter 2016.

• Budget per FLAG for entire EMFF period is between 100 000 – 420 000 eur (depends on the size of the fisheries area);

• No budget limit per project.

Who may be the partner of the FLAG?

• Other FLAG or a Leader LAG in EU, whose strategy is approved by managing authority according to EU 1303/2013 art 33;

• A local public–private partnership that is implementing a community–led local development strategy within or outside the EU. In that case more documents must be applied by the FLAG to the intermediate body, when FLAG submits an application for support.

What is important to know for partners?

Partner must sign a cooperation agreement (FLAG submits it with the project application to the intermediate body). Agreement consist parts like the duration of a project, a description of a current situation, objectives, place where the project is implemented, distribution of tasks between partners, budget, etc. Duration of the cooperation project can be maximum 3 years. FLAG cannot do investments in infrastructure (not eligible according to our national legislation), equipment is eligible for FLAG up to 2000 eur per project.

Within the period of 2011-2015, the activities
of the Fisheries Information Centre took place
in the framework of the operational programme
of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) 2007-2013,
under the activities of “Other joint actions”
of Measure 3.1, “Collective actions”. 

The aims and purposes of the activites of the Fisheries Information Centre shall be referred as follows.

The purpose of the Fisheries Information Centre was the acquiring of the unified  Network to enable the Fisheries sector (fishing activities, aquaculture, fish processing and marketing, fish consumption) the receiving of the up-to-date know-how, professional training and consultations.

Our aim was the distributing of the scientific and legislative information, professional experiences and good practices to predispose the lifelong learning process of the Fisheries sector to enable the adopting of the knowledge-based and sustainable decisions, economical managing of the Sector’s enterprises and enhancing its competitiveness.

The Fisheries Information Centre was established in April 2011 at the Department of Fish Biology and Fisheries of the Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu.

Mr Toomas Armulik, the Head of the Fisheries Information Centre, was responsible for the executive processes.

The Council was a supreme body to coordinate the activities of the Fisheries Information Centre. The eleven-membered Council consisted of members of the following organizations and institutions:  

1) Ministry of Agriculture,
2) Ministry of the Environment,
3) Estonian Ministry of Education and Research,
4) Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications,
5) University of Tartu,
6) Estonian University of Life Sciences,
7) Estonian Maritime Academy,
8) Rural Economy Research Centre,
9) Estonian Fishermen's Association (Chairman of the Board Mr Mart Undrest, mobile +372 5023 860),
10) Estonian Association of Fishery,
11) Estonian Fish Farmers Association. 

On the basis of the directive No 17-6/265, 11.11.2010 of the General Director of the Estonian Agricultural Register and Information Board, the grant of EUR 1 910 319,17 was assigned to the activities of the Fisheries Information Centre in the framework of the operational programme of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) 2007-2013 under the activities of "Other joint actions" of Measure 3.1, "Collective actions".

The final date of the activities of the Fisheries Information Centre within the period of 2011-2015 was 30.06.2015.