ORGANIZATIONAL AND ECONOMIC MECHANISMS OF ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS IN THE AQUACULTURE SECTOR
Authors: IERMAKOVA O.A. , MUSHKA D.S. 
Published: March 2024

Topicality. The role of aquaculture in the agricultural structure of Ukraine is difficult to overestimate. During the times of independent Ukraine, the production volume of this industry has been decreasing every year. There are many reasons for this trend - imperfect fisheries management strategies, low level of investment attractiveness, high level of shadow market share and corruption, weak support from the government, high share of imported goods on the market, etc. Due to the invasion of russia into Ukraine, the problems became even more. The question of attracting investment in the aquaculture sector is very urgent, as an opportunity for the development of this industry, as a tool for restructuring the fishery and improving the legislative framework with the aim of better regulating the activities of this industry, as well as increasing the level of import substitution of fish in the country's market. A successful approach to attracting investments in the fishing industry of Ukraine and its regions can help solve problems not only of an economic nature, but also of a social nature (ensuring food security).

Aim and tasks. The purpose of the work is to study the current state of the aquaculture industry in Ukraine and to develop recommendations for increasing the level of investment support for this industry.

Materials and methods. The article uses a general analysis of the given problem. As an information base, the article uses scientific works of prominent scientists, articles and theses that are in the public domain, as well as interviews and articles of journalists on the given topic. Also, statistical data of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine were used to reflect the situation in the industry in practice.

Research results. The article indicates the role of aquaculture in the economy of Ukraine, describes the current state of the fishery industry based on statistical data and open sources of information. The current state of aquaculture, compared to other years, is seen as an opportunity to grow to a higher level of profitability and production volumes that were already achievable thirty years ago. Examples of the implementation of laws and support from local governments in the field of aquaculture are given. In order to understand possible ways to improve the state of investment provision of the fishing industry, this research provides the experience of other countries in investing in aquaculture, the features of investing in the blue economy in the EU, and the experience of private companies. Recommendations are given on possible measures to attract investments in the fishing industry. It is also described the procedure for implementing the mechanism of investing in an enterprise or industry.

Conclusion. Based on the data indicated in this research, it is concluded that the aquaculture industry is currently in a state of crisis. It was concluded that Ukraine currently has opportunities to attract investments in the aquaculture industry, but state guarantees for investors and protection of their funds during the war are needed.