Docapesca and Lotaçor sign partnership to modernize the fishing sector

Docapesca – Portos e Lotas and Lotaçor – Serviço de Lotas dos Açores signed a Collaboration Protocol that aims to strengthen cooperation between the two entities and boost the modernization of port and fish market infrastructures in Mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Region of the Azores.

Valid for two years, renewable, this protocol symbolizes a milestone in the cooperation between Docapesca and Lotaçor.

The protocol provides for the implementation of joint initiatives in key areas, such as the operation of port infrastructures and fish markets, the safety and maintenance of facilities and equipment, the certification and quality of fish, and the commercial dynamization and strengthening of the sector's competitiveness.

To ensure compliance with the established objectives, “a Working Group will be created comprising representatives from both companies, responsible for developing an activity plan, identifying opportunities for improvement, monitoring the progress of this partnership and promoting the exchange of good practices and technical knowledge”, reveal the public companies.

Lotaçor belongs to the public business sector of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and its mission is to carry out all first sale operations of fish and respective control, creating, through the operation of fish auctions and refrigeration and freezing facilities and/or equipment, the necessary conditions for the production, distribution and marketing of fish from the Autonomous Region of the Azores, as well as supporting the fishing sector and respective ports and fishing centers of the nine islands of the archipelago.

This agreement with Docapesca “underlines the importance of strategic collaboration between companies to promote efficiency, food safety and good environmental practices in the fishing sector, contributing to the competitiveness and sustainability of the sector”.

Docapesca – Portos e Lotas is a company in the State Business Sector, supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Finance, which is responsible, in mainland Portugal, for the management of fishing ports and the organization of the public service for the first sale of fish, as well as port authority duties in the areas under its jurisdiction, which include support infrastructures for recreational boating, shipyards and other activities related to the Professional Fishing and Aquaculture Sector.