The Programul pentru Acvacultură și Pescuit 2021-2027 (Aquaculture and Fisheries Program 2021-2027) has opened the session for the processing of fishery and aquaculture products, with a budget of 3,930,351 euros and grants of up to 1.5 million euros per project. The deadline was February 20, 2026.
The fishery products processing sector is one of the smallest in terms of European fund allocation, but also one of the least crowded in terms of the number of applicants. The budget of 3.93 million euros for the entire session means, at a maximum grant of 1.5 million, that only a few large projects can be funded.
The co-financing rate was 75%, meaning the company had to cover a quarter of the investment value from its own sources or through credit. This is a better rate than in many regional schemes, but lower than in the PAC (Common Agricultural Policy) components for small farms.
Eligible applicants were processors of fishery and aquaculture products. The program is managed by the General Directorate of Fisheries within the Ministry of Agriculture, acting as the Managing Authority, and submissions were made during the window of January 20 - February 20, 2026.
The applicant's guide had been published since February 2025, nearly a year before the session opened. This is a good practice that gave companies time to prepare documentation, unlike calls where the guide appears only two weeks before the start.
The Programul pentru Acvacultură și Pescuit has an ongoing package of approximately 53 million euros for aquaculture farmers and processors, of which this action is only one component. Companies in the sector should monitor the Ministry of Agriculture website for other interventions.
The Romanian fishing and aquaculture sector faces a structural problem: domestic production covers only a small fraction of consumption, and most fish on the market is imported. Investments in processing aim to increase locally retained added value, but they face limited availability of domestic raw materials.
For companies considering such an investment, the practical recommendation is to prepare the file long before the next session opens. The applicant's guide is usually published several months in advance, and the most time-consuming elements are the sanitary-veterinary authorization, environmental permits, and the technical design of the processing line, which are impossible to obtain within a one-month window.
Key Facts
- Budget: 3,930,351 EUR
- Grant: maximum 1.5 million EUR per project
- Co-financing: 75% funding rate, the remaining 25% borne by the company
- Eligible applicants: fishery and aquaculture product processors
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