Ministerial Decree adopting the fifth three-year plan for fisheries and aquaculture 1997-1999.

The present Decree concerns the approval of the fifth three-year plan with a view to promoting the rational exploitation and the enhancement of the marine biological resources through the equal development of maritime fishing and aquaculture in marine and brackish waters. The plan gives priority to the modernization of the sector, to the promotion of market competitiveness, to the protection and enhancement of aquatic resources and to the renewal of the productive and human resources. An introductory report reviews the results achieved as a consequence of the implementation of the previous plan with respect, inter alia, to fish stocks, fishing effort, external trade, etc. Furthermore, it considers the consequences of the implementation of the national policy within the international and European Community framework. The first part consists of five titles, concerning, inter alia: (a) the rational management of the fishing fleet, which is deemed to be fundamental for the conservation of the marine resources; (b) the fishing effort, which is considered both in the meaning of "activity" (i.e. number of days in which fishing activities have been actually carried out), and in the meaning of "capacity" (i.e. gross tonnage); (c) an assessment on the living resources of each species; (d) the impact of fishing activities and aquaculture on the aquatic environment; (e) the various aspects of aquaculture, e.g. rearing of fry, shellfish culture, mariculture, pisciculture. The second part concerns: (a) a report on the fish products processing industry; (b) an analysis of the characteristics of the various sectors by species (processing of tuna, sardines, anchovies, clams, etc.); (c) the definition of the objectives and the relevant interventions to be carried out. The third part establishes a budget and states the percentage of the funds available to be allocated in favour of the sectors concerned.