The JAREAS project, developed by the Cabildo of Fuerteventura with the collaboration of GESPLAN, aims to promote new economic opportunities for coastal communities through international cooperation. The Centro Insular de Juventud hosted the meeting where the project's objectives and action lines were shared.
Participants include the Coastal Action Group, the Regional Federation of Fishermen's Guilds of the Canary Islands, the Chamber of Commerce, along with administrations and entities from the Macaronesian and African regions mentioned.
The island president, Lola García, welcomed the partners, highlighting the "same oceanic reality and a fishing model based on traditional and sustainable methods" that unites the participating territories. She thanked the guilds and fishermen for maintaining this model.
The director of the Internationalization and European Projects department at GESPLAN, Gustavo Viera, stated that the project aims to "boost collaboration with the Macaronesian region and surrounding African countries to improve the traditional fishing sector, ensuring it has a present and, above all, a future with the incorporation of new generations".
The president of the Chamber of Commerce of Fuerteventura, Juan Jesús Rodríguez Marichal, congratulated the initiative, emphasizing the Chamber's role as a "link between the public and private sectors" and its connections with other European and African chambers.
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, Enrique Pérez, thanked the Canary Islands' fishermen's guilds and partner countries for joining the alliance, "which will allow us to highlight our way of life and products".
The president of the Regional Federation of Fishermen's Guilds of the Canary Islands, Lorenzo Brito, explained that the project "can be a very important element for the internationalization of fishing products and to give them the added value they deserve".
Today, the Project Coordination and Governance Body was constituted, and a transnational workshop titled 'Building JAREAS' was held, focusing on defining the project's identity and identifying key stakeholders.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 28, activities will move to the fishermen's guilds in Corralejo and Gran Tarajal, where representatives of the partner entities can gain firsthand knowledge of the reality of Fuerteventura's artisanal fishing, its infrastructure, organization, and main challenges.
The JAREAS project is developed within the framework of the Interreg VI-D Madeira-Azores-Canarias (MAC) Territorial Cooperation Program 2021-2027, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
