Signed Contract TATHE and NewCytech Business Solutions Ltd
Executed today, in the presence of the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mr. Kostas Kadis, the signing of the Contract between the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFA) and the company NewCytech Business Solutions Ltd, a member of the LOGICOM Group, for the development of a Unified Fisheries Management System, aiming to further improve the productivity and efficiency of TATHE, particularly in relation to fisheries issues. The Agreement was signed on behalf of TATHE by the Director, Ms. Marina Argyrou and on behalf of NewCytech Business Solutions Ltd. by the Managing Director, Mr. Andreas Dermosoniadis. The ceremony was also attended by the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (MDAE), Mr. In his statements after the signing of the Agreement, the Minister said the following. Therefore, we could not fail to move towards using the tools offered by technology to improve our own work as well. All the more so when we are talking about the work of a department such as the CCAMLR, which has as its very important mission the protection of our country's marine environment, the management of fishing activity, the support and control of our fishermen and, more generally, the promotion of sustainable blue-green development. We believe that this project will help the CCAMLR to carry out its mission in a much more efficient and rational way".
According to the Minister, the project has an implementation period of 22 months, while the provision of maintenance, technical support and infrastructure services is foreseen for a period of 10 years. The total cost of the project amounts to €5.4 million and will be co-financed under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 2021-2027. "This project is included in the projects listed in the EXANDAS system, i.e. included in the projects announced by President Anastasiades as part of his governance programme. With the signing of today's Contract, we are moving from announcement and planning to implementation", Mr. Kadis added.
Addressing the Contractor Company, the Minister expressed his sincere thanks for the interest shown and the certainty that the planned schedules will be met. "I am sure that you will also confirm, through the implementation of the System, that this is a very important project, which will raise the level of operation of the TATHE several steps higher," the Minister concluded.
For his part, the Managing Director of NewCytech Business Solutions Ltd., Mr. Andreas Dermosoniadis, thanked the Ministry of Public Works, the CIF and the Department of Information Technology Services of the Republic of Cyprus for the confidence they have shown in his company by awarding such an important contract. "The Project involves the establishment of the Cyprus Fisheries Management System, which will ensure the existence of control mechanisms for the fisheries resources in the maritime area of Cyprus but at the same time will ensure that the Republic of Cyprus complies with the Rules and Regulations of the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy. From the company's side, I want to assure you that we will do everything humanly possible to implement and deliver the project within the timeframe", he concluded.
Among the activities that will be automated and handled more efficiently by TATHE and at the same time will be more user-friendly for the users of the system, which will be the fishermen themselves, are:
- Electronic issuance of Fishing Licences (commercial/amateur).
- Collection and validation of all fishing data in electronic format.
- Maintenance and control/management of fishing capacity.
- Maintenance and control/management of fishing capacity.
- Monitoring and management of fishing effort, restrictions on licences and authorised fishing gear, management of overall fleet capacity and ensuring that vessel activity is recorded by tracking their position.
- Application of technical measures (minimum landing sizes, gear specifications, closed fishing areas, restrictions on authorised catches, etc.).) and regional management plans, as well as monitoring of allocated quotas in the case of fish species subject to management measures.
- Enforcement of legislation on fishing activities through controls and inspections, handling of infringements and enforcement of sanctions.
- Effective cross-referencing of data on fishing activities and geographical location of vessels through a common information collection model.
