The Estonian Fisheries Strategy is a national sectoral strategy of Estonia for the period 2007-2013. Its main objective is to develop the Estonian fisheries sector as a part of the economy and to increase the competitiveness of fishery products in domestic and external markets, thereby contributing to the creation of a favourable and balanced fisheries environment in Estonia.
The Strategy aims to eliminate malnutrition and improve food safety. To this end, it sets out measures concerning growth of the share of fishery products in food production; promotion of the consumption of fishery products and raising the awareness of the consumer in terms of the health advantages and quality of fish products; and improving fish quality control systems and ensuring the traceability of the origin of raw fish material.
In addition, the Strategy aims to make fisheries more productive and sustainable. To this end, it is planning to pay more attention to environmental risk management when developing fish processing; to elaborate a supplementary system for managing fish processing waste; to avoid eutrophication of internal water bodies; to restrict pollution from agricultural sources; and to ensure the protection of the living environment of fisheries regions by restoring and conserving the natural and architectural heritage of coastal villages.
Further, for reducing rural poverty, the document targets to guarantee the preservation of a diverse socio-economic structure and increase in the quality of life in fisheries regions; to contribute to the creation of jobs outside the fisheries sector; to promote local joint activities (fisheries action groups), the implementation of development strategies, increased involvement of women in the development of local life and international cooperation among fisheries regions; to give additional encouragement to forming networks of women engaged in fishing and other parts of the sector and international cooperation between networks; and to restructure the fishing sector in order to ensure the increase in income of people engaged in fishing to the Estonian average level.
To enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the Strategy seeks to ensure coordination between fishing capacity and fishery resources; to pay attention to in-service training and retraining of fishermen; to restore fish spawning grounds in various regions; to modernise the fishing fleet and introduce newer vessels and more modern and selective fishing gear; to support the development of fishing ports; to encourage fishermen to get organised and undertake joint activities in the framework of producer organisations; to establish that a commercial fisherman should hold a professional licence; to elaborate strategic guidelines for recreational fishing; to prepare, together with local governments and their associations, national and regional water management plans; to increase production volumes through efficient fish farming enterprises; to promote the application of new technologies and gathering related know-how; to support the farming of novel species and species in high demand in the market; to encourage forming producer organisations among fish farmers; to provide support for growing and keeping broodstocks (breeder fish) in fish farms and for producing eggs and juvenile fish; to strengthen the competitiveness of fish processing enterprises; to promote activities related to exploring new markets; to incorporate fisheries-related databases into an integrated system; to observe the movements of fishing vessels via the fishing vessel monitoring system; to increase controlling frequency of trawl fishing at sea; and to enhance control of fishing and first sales in cooperation with the Veterinary and Food Board, Environmental Inspectorate, Tax and Customs Board and Ministry of Environment of Estonia.
Implementation of the European Fisheries Fund during the programming period 2007-2013 will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture of Estonia. The Ministry will act as a management authority, attestation body and audit body all rolled into one by dividing the corresponding responsibilities among competent departments. It will also establish the distribution of functions and the process of cooperation among other government agencies. For the purposes of monitoring, the Monitoring Committee will be set up and led by the Minister of Agriculture. It will include representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Finance, fisheries sector, European Commission and representatives of the implementing body as well as environmental organisations.