The conference took place in Vukovar, bringing together about 40 experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Slovenia and Croatia. It was organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) and Vukovar's Leopold Ruzicka Polytechnic.
"The EU imports 65 percent of its needs for fish from other countries. The European Parliament has adopted an EU fisheries development programme earmarking about 300 million euros for Croatia until 2020. We are now using some 5 million euros from the first tender and very soon we will be able to use the remaining funds. Whether we will use them or not is up to us," said the head of the HGK Fisheries and Fish Processing Department, Milan Bozic.
The Assistant Agriculture Minister for Fisheries, Ante Misura, said that the preparation of a national strategic plan for aquaculture for 2014-2020, which is a requirement for the use of EU funds, was nearing completion. "We have secured more than 50 million euros for next year and it will be possible to use these funds as soon as the operational programme is approved," he said.
The conference warned that the legal status of fish farms remained one of the main problems, including the problem of getting a long-term lease on fish farms. It also noted that freshwater fish farming was subject to as many as eight different fees.
Organisers said that the aim of the conference was to draw attention to the importance of connecting industry, science and state administration in order to strengthen the position of fisheries and fish processing on the market and direct science towards applied research.