Enlarge image
Fishing cutter in the German Bight
Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt / dpa
For the German fishermen on the North Sea and Baltic Sea, higher sums from a federal aid program are possible to relieve increased fuel costs.
In view of the ongoing crisis, the maximum permissible aid per company will be increased from 35,000 to 75,000 euros, the Ministry of Agriculture announced.
The reason given was that the previous maximum limit, especially for larger companies and ships over 40 meters in length, was not sufficient to cushion the increased costs.
A spokesman said that the increase in the maximum sums per company is intended to help maintain the German fishing industry in this difficult situation.
The ministry is thus making full use of the leeway that results from the changed European framework conditions.
The total volume remains at ten million euros.
According to the ministry, the state-owned Thünen Institute has calculated that even with the higher maximum amounts per company, this is sufficient for all authorized fishing companies to benefit.
There will be no cuts in individual aid.
The aid program for fisheries, which are particularly affected by the consequences of the Ukraine war, was launched on July 11th.
If fishermen have already applied for or received aid, they would not have to submit a new application, the spokesman explained.
The Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food will take the new upper limit into account in ongoing application procedures and, if necessary, send new notifications for applications that have already been processed.
Specifically, depending on the type of cutter and larger fishing vessel, lump sums of 450 euros to 35,000 euros are planned.
If a fishing company has several ships, the lump sums per vessel will be added up to the new upper limit of 75,000 euros.
dab/dpa