Fisheries: National Solidarity Fund to tackle climate-related damage receives 3 million in additional funding

To strengthen support for fisheries and aquaculture businesses affected by natural disasters and exceptional weather events. This is the aim of the provision, approved by the Council of Ministers yesterday, 4 August, which reallocates €3 million for the year 2026 to the National Solidarity Fund for Fisheries and Aquaculture, “enabling the measures provided for under current legislation to be implemented in favour of affected businesses”.

This was announced in a statement from the MASAF: According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the scheme will provide further support to operators in the sector who have suffered damage to their crops and production facilities during the period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026, a period characterised by increasingly intense and frequent weather events.

“Fisheries and aquaculture represent a strategic economic, productive and social asset for Italy. Businesses in the sector are facing the consequences of extraordinary atmospheric and meteorological-marine phenomena that are putting production, employment and competitiveness at risk. With this measure, the Government reaffirms its support for those working in the sector, providing additional resources to help compensate for the damage suffered and strengthen the sector’s resilience,” said the Minister for Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida.

“The funds are arriving at a particularly difficult time for the Italian fishing and aquaculture sectors, which have been severely tested by record sea temperatures and extreme weather events. The exceptional heat – according to Coldiretti Pesca – has caused a severe die-off of mussels and clams in several areas of the Adriatic, with water temperatures exceeding 30 degrees, jeopardising the survival of the molluscs and the availability of natural food for many farmed species.” Added to this is the extensive damage caused by the blue crab, whilst the warming of the sea is also affecting blue fish, the symbol of Italian fishing.

“The rise in water temperature reduces the available oxygen,” continues Coldiretti, “and disrupts the production of plankton on which sardines and anchovies feed and jeopardises the survival of larvae during the reproductive phase. The result is slower growth in fish populations, a reduction in their abundance and the migration of stocks to more favourable areas.”