On 6th November, the Palamós Fish Producers‘ Organisation attended the VIII National Conference of Fish and Aquaculture Producers’ Organisations, held in the Assembly Hall of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Madrid.
This meeting brought together representatives and experts from the main organisations in the fishing and aquaculture sector at national level, with the aim of analysing the challenges and opportunities in terms of promotion, sustainability, innovation and market within the sector.
The day began with an inaugural session by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, followed by a presentation on the situation of the OPPs, where Aurora de Blas, Director General of Fisheries and Aquaculture, explained the lessons learned and the new paths to follow for the good development of the sector.
The conference was structured in several round tables that addressed key aspects of the sector. The first roundtable dealt with food promotion and consumption, where successful campaigns to boost the consumption of seafood products locally and internationally were shared.
The second round table focused on innovation, exploring new technologies and processes to improve the sustainability of fishing and aquaculture practices as well as the quality of the final product, and the last one dealt with trade and market issues, with a special emphasis on strategies to strengthen the competitiveness and market access of the SPOs.
The conference closed with a presentation by Clemente Mata, Deputy Director General for the Competitiveness of the Food Chain, who explained the requirements for the recognition of an Inter-Professional Fisheries Organisation (IPO), highlighting the importance of cooperation between the different agents in the sector.
Finally, Isabel Artime, Secretary General for Fisheries, offered the conclusions of the conference, underlining the need to continue working together for a more sustainable, competitive and highly regulated fishing industry.
