506 eligible professionals receive overall support of 262 thousand Euros from FUNDOPESCA - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Mar e das Pescas

The Regional Secretariat for the Sea and Fisheries, through the Regional Directorate for Fisheries, processed today the payment of the Azores Fishers' Salary Compensation Fund - FUNDOPESCA, following its activation on January 22.

Once the applications were analysed, the Regional Directorate for Fisheries reported that 690 applications were submitted, with 506 meeting the criteria established by the Administration Board. 

This analysis resulted in the allocation of €201,972.17 to eligible fishing professionals, plus the Social Security contributions corresponding to the days of inactivity, totalling €60,596.41.

This Social Security burden stems from the amendment introduced by the XIII Regional Government.

Hence, following this FUNDOPESCA activation, the total amount reaches 262,569.58 €.

Regarding rejected applications, the most common were professionals receiving unemployment benefits, professionals on sick leave and professionals receiving pensions when FUNDOPESCA was activated. Other rejections resulted from verification of compliance with criteria related to contributions to Lotaçor, number of loads and minimum fishing figures, as stipulated in the FUNDOPESCA regulations.

The Regional Directorate for Fisheries reiterates its commitment to ensuring that FUNDOPESCA is allocated fairly and transparently, according to the regulations in force.