The beneficiaries of the Programme
The beneficiaries of the SFP Programme are all ACP countries (Africa, Caribbean & Pacific) and overseas countries and territories (OCT) of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom which are heavily involved in the fishery sector and potential exporters of fishery products to the EU. The non-exclusive list of countries and territories concerned can be found here.
Though all these countries are in principle eligible for the Programme, priority is given to:
- those countries authorised to export seafood products to the EU, where a critical issue has been identified (by the Food and Veterinary Office - FVO - or others), which would risk the country being delisted and commercial ties and markets being lost;
- those countries which stand a good chance of being listed and have a good capacity for improvement;
- those countries whose the request came to the Programme Management Unit first and whose government has a demonstrated commitment to SPS processes.
Initial focus is normally given to the Competent Authorities (CA) and inspection services in order to reinforce their control capacity for fishery products.
The SFP Programme provides also support to all other stakeholders contributing to the health control of fishery products:
- Testing laboratories and technical institutes;
- Processing companies and exporters of fishery products;
- The small-scale fishery sector.
The ultimate beneficiaries of the Programme are the consumers of fishery products.
