Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Vladimir Joković will request the formation of a working group from representatives of the ministries of maritime affairs, finance, economic development and the Coastal Zone, in order to solve the problems of fishermen in the Bay of Kotor.
This is the epilogue of today's meeting between representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Association of Fish Producers.
This Association and the fishermen, 119 of them, sent several requests to the Government in mid-August, stating that they do not have sufficient support from the Ministry of Agriculture, ports for docking and mooring ships, loading and storing heavy equipment. They requested the establishment of a fishing port in Meljine next to the "Lazure" marina, as well as compensation for cruisers and speedboats that have been chasing fish in Boka for years.
They had previously announced a blockade of the Bay of Kotor, but they gave up on it due to the announcement of this meeting. The fishermen are asking the Ministry to connect them with all institutions in order to receive financial assistance, lower fuel prices, lower VAT on equipment, fleet renewal, berths...
DON'T MISS IT
"I will send a request to everyone on Thursday to the Government to resolve this in the best possible way. We will see what the other ministries say. Every request will be addressed to the ministries with the utmost seriousness, we will seek opinions and a commission, or rather the formation of a working group, to resolve all problems," said Joković.
They did not give up on the blockade of Boka.
The president of the Association, Marko Kise, stated that they have been struggling to reach a meeting for three years, and that they have not given up on blocking the bay - until the requests for the establishment of a fishing port in the "Lazure" marina and the problem of cruisers are resolved. He emphasized that he hopes to have more information within 14 days, and that they believe that this deadline is sufficient for concrete progress...
"We will dam the bay if it is not resolved. In the port of Lazure, 116 berths must be provided for fishermen and 50 commercial berths, they have commercialized everything. We are asking the state to resolve this and take over its port," he stressed.
Joković stressed that they have solved the problems of fishermen in Ulcinj and Bar, and will solve them in Boka Bay as well, while Kise stated that he wants them to be taken seriously because they will block the port. Kise added that the problem has not been solved for years, that there is a problem with the overhaul of wooden boats and that repairs are expensive in existing marinas.
They suggested that the Government contact the shipyard in Bijela, so that repairs can be carried out there on cheaper terms. The fishermen also requested the formation of a guarantee fund, so that they could access money more easily, because as Miško Marić stated, young people do not have real estate as collateral and 300 thousand euros at their disposal...
Joković asked why such a fund would exist and stressed that the money should be available to everyone, so that there would be no discrimination. He also stressed that fishermen have one of the lowest loan repayment rates at the Investment and Development Fund, and that they were the greatest risk for the allocation of money.
He also emphasized that the problem of the "Lazure" port should be resolved by the Special State Prosecutor's Office, which is currently handling the case based on the fishermen's report, and that the contract there was signed by the Maritime Administration and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
State Secretary at the Ministry Krsto Rađenović stated that they are not to blame for the fishermen's problems and that other departments decide on this, which the fishermen agreed with.
Kise pointed out that they want a reduction in VAT to seven percent for the purchase of fishing equipment, 10 percent of cruise ship turnover to be paid to the Ministry, as well as ten euros from speedboats that travel the bay and chase fish.
Deadline about two weeks
The fishermen also stated that they are seeking financial assistance for fishermen who have been harmed by the algae bloom. Savo Ćetković from the Association stated that they want to do business through accounts, reduce the grey economy and sell fish at the landing site, access to their own boats...
Kise stated that they want the Ministry of Agriculture to be their link with other departments, in order to resolve the situation, and that they want steps to be taken within two weeks. Joković emphasized that they will submit proposals and added that they do not know if they will be able to do everything in 14 days, but that they will initiate everything legally possible.
Ćetković asked if they could have two meetings a year with the Ministry to work on solving the problems of fishermen, which the department representatives approved.
After the meeting, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that they would urgently send all requests to the necessary addresses and inform fishermen about the feedback.
"Joković emphasized that he would mediate between fishermen and the institutions that are the addressees of these requests, and announced that he would also consider forming a guarantee fund, a commission, and an agricultural fund whose members would be representatives of all agricultural branches, as well as fisheries. In this way, legitimate representatives would represent the interests of the groups," they stated.
They claim that Joković reminded that the Ministry is always on the side of its users, and that the Directorate of Fisheries has shown exceptional results in cooperation with fishermen as well as the temporary closure of Chapter 13, which will take place this fall.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
