POLAND
FLAGs of opportunity
Helping communities become sustainable Poland has allocated 32% of its European Fisheries Fund (EFF) budget to Axis 4, making it the EU member country with the largest allocation, accounting for roughly 40% of the total Axis 4 budget or EUR235m.
Fishermen prepare their gear in Piaski harbour.
W
ith a EUR 235 million budget from the EFF, Poland is well ahead of runner-up Romania, which has only EUR 75 million. An additional one-fourth of the support comes from national funds making the total budget EUR313 million. Axis 4 funds are managed by fisheries local action groups (FLAGs), partnerships between fishery actors and other local public and private stakeholders in a region. Together, they design a strategy that addresses the specific needs for economic, social, and environmental welfare, which can then be implemented through a variety of initiatives. The advantage of this bottom–up approach is that the application 34
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process is managed by those who know the people, the community and, more importantly, their needs. A central body in Warsaw could never know the different needs of different communities. People are helped in the application process by locals and do not need to travel long distances to apply. This makes it possible for more people to apply. Poland’s 48 FLAGs cover almost a quarter of its territory, with about one-fifth of them situated on the coast and the rest distributed inland. Eurofish magazine had the chance to visit two FLAGs in northern Poland to get an idea of the issues that were important to the communities and the opportunities that the FLAGs provide.
Vistula Lagoon FLAG The Vistula Lagoon is a shallow freshwater lagoon located in northern Poland on the Baltic Sea, roughly 90 km long, 10–19 km wide, and up to 6 m deep, with an average depth of around 2 m. The Polish–Russian border runs right across it, so that the surface of the Polish part of the bay amounts to about 340 km2, with approximately 500 km2 remaining on the Russian side. The lagoon is fed by several rivers and is connected to the Baltic Sea by the Strait of Baltiysk, on the Russia side of the border. An agreement signed between Poland and Russia in 1956 allowed
the free movement of vessels on the Vistula Lagoon without the need for documents or visas. It also granted access of passage to the Baltic Sea; however, this has periodically been revoked, most recently in 2005. This has been so problematic that the idea of building another passage on the Polish side into the Baltic Sea, so easing its dependence on Russia, has been considered. The investment would, however, be great and could cause ecological disruptions, such as unbalancing the lagoon’s freshwater ecosystem as a result of the inflow of brackish waters from the Baltic.
Border issues The border between Poland and Russia, however, also provides www.eurofishmagazine.com
05/12/13 1:03 PM