The Priority Project Supporting the Control of Fisheries Activities was successfully completed

By: STA Date: 2023. 12. 07. 09:00

The National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) successfully conducted the “Priority Project Supporting the Control of Fish Farming Activities”. Through the program, Nébih contributes to complying with the rules of the common fisheries policy, to the establishment of an efficient fisheries inspection system that meets EU expectations, and to improving the competitiveness of the fishing and aquaculture sectors.

Nébih – in connection with the Hungarian Fisheries Management Operational Program – aims to support fisheries management inspections. In the process, the food chain safety analysis system was modernized and the electronic administration of customers was simplified. The primary goal of the project entitled “Implementation of the EU control, inspection and enforcement system” was to create an IT system that supports the control of fish farming activities. In addition, it also provides a uniform inspection system, thus helping the efficient and legal performance of state fish guards, professional fish guards, and other participants in the fish farming industry. For the high availability operation of the new professional system and the implementation of IT security, it was essential to replace and expand the outdated IT devices that perform data backups and data storage. The outdated fish management IT system was replaced by a complex Fish Management Expert System, which is connected to the horizontal IT systems operated by Nébih. With the implemented development, the inspectors can access the up-to-date data registered by Nébih about the players in the fish farming sector in the system. The database is constantly being expanded based on the results of the investigations, thus laying the foundation for the more effective work of the fisheries management authority.

With more effective IT support for fish conservation, it is expected that the number of detected violations will increase, and with accurate knowledge of fish stocking and catch data, the fisheries authority can make a more informed decision. In addition to all this, Nébih also placed great emphasis on the education of the persons performing the inspection.

The training of those performing fisheries control, the sector’s actors and the public’s information all contributed to the IT system providing assistance in official and supervisory work. During the project, the experts got to know the fisheries management problems of countries with similar characteristics (landlocked), their solution methods and their systems for supporting control. Nébih’s employees participated in programs and professional study tours promoting data exchange and data analysis, and incorporated their experience into domestic audit work. The project was financed in the form of a non-refundable grant from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the domestic central budget appropriation, and lasted from April 2017 to December 2023. Thanks to the project with a total support of HUF 311.18 million, the EU control, inspection and enforcement system, the protection of domestic fish stocks and the support of fair fish management actors have become more efficient.

Nébih