Research under the common fisheries policy
The European Commission has published a call for expressions of interest in proposals to support the integration of structural operations of the fisheries and aquaculture sector into the Community Structural Funds' operating mechanism. This will enable a reliable and regular assessment of the operation and improvement of the sector's competitiveness, in accordance with the goals of achieving a balance between marine resources and their use. This is intended to improve the awareness and know-how of the Commission and Member States in each of the three areas concerned and to better define Community support framework (CSF) finance measures. The results obtained will be assessed and those involved in the specific areas in the various countries will be notified. They will also be used to establish the priority operations in the areas where the Commission and Member States will focus and to which the financial instrument is able to lend support. The notice concerns the following areas: - Pricing of fishery and aquaculture produce: . Transnational activities to promote fishery and aquaculture products; . Rationalization of marketing networks; . Studies on the influence of marketing networks on producer price setting; - Research, pilot actions and demonstration projects intended to improve transnational information and cooperation between companies in the fishery business: . Exchange of experience in the management and pricing of marine products; . Common fisheries policy (CFP) popularization, training and information actions; . Initiatives to promote transnational and/or interregional cooperation between companies and representative organizations in the fishing business; . Cooperation and setting-up of a network of research establishments, particularly in aquaculture; . Initiatives concerning information on obstacles on the sea-bed and safety at sea; . Installation of a network for information exchange between fishing organizations at Community level. - Research, pilot actions and demonstration projects in the social and economic sphere to support the CFP: . Compilation of social and economic data for analysis or assessment: creation, maintenance or development of standardized databases, harmonization of the type of data and the methods for its collection, and the combination of sample data and administrative statistics; . Analyses of the employment dynamics in the marine-fishing and related sectors: spread of employment, whether direct or indirect, regional or Community-wide, according to the type of fishing done, recruitment according to age or level, and qualification and retraining strategies; . Analyses of the investment and sectoral production dynamics according to region, fleet and type of processing: investment and product-pricing strategies (vessels, fishing and other equipment, new methods, etc.); . Research on the impact of public policy on monitoring output (technical measures relating to vessel or engine specifications) or input (restriction of access to certain resources or fishing grounds, and of activities); . Research on the impact of public policy on employment support (training, retraining and early retirement incentives) and investment assistance (subsidies, reduced-rate loans and fiscal incentives); . Compilation of economic data on the Community market in white pelagic fish and production for consumption (comparative price structure, per-capita consumption, destination of production, etc.). Proposals will be selected on the basis of the following criteria: - Benefit to the CFP overall and to the area selected in particular; - Transnational dimension (joint participation of bodies from two or more countries in the project); - Proposer's experience and resources to implement the project; - Qualifications of the experts proposed. Particular attention will be paid to proposals which will be co-financed from sources other than the IFOP, but this is not a condition for eligibility. Further information may be obtained on request from: European Commission Directorate-General for Fisheries Unit for Coordination and General Matters in the area of Structural Operations DG XIV/D-1 200 rue de la Loi (J99 2/32) B-1049 Brussels Fax +32-2-2963033