Questions and answers on CLLD : area selection criteria.
Date: 2015-07-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Subjects: aquaculture, fisheries policy, fishing area, fishing industry, fishing regulations, user guide

Area Selection Criteria 

Questions and Answers on CLLD

The  EMFF  Regulation  (art.  18  (g))  requires  that  the  Operational  Programme  should  contain  “a  list  of  criteria 
applied for selecting the fisheries and aquaculture areas” (section 5.1.2 of the OP Template). The purpose of this 
requirement is to explain the main focus of Union Priority 4 by indicating which areas Managing Authority envis-
ages as most appropriate for the application of CLLD and why.

This set of questions is intended to help the MA in defining this focus and describing it in the OP. The following 
questions are addressed:

1.  What should I write in the OP about criteria for selecting the fisheries and aquaculture 

areas?

2.  What kind of criteria could I use?

3.  Why can I not provide a fixed list of areas in the OP?

4.  Can large ports (over 150 000 inhabitants) be considered eligible?

5.  How can I take regional differences into account?

6.  What considerations should guide the definition of criteria for designating  

fisheries areas?

1.  What should I write in the OP about criteria  

for selecting the fisheries and aquaculture areas?

According to the EMFF Regulation (Art. 3.2.5), a fisheries and aquaculture area is “an area with a sea, river or lake 
shore, including ponds or a river basin, with a significant level of employment in fisheries or aquaculture, that is 
functionally coherent in geographical, economic and social terms and is designated as such by a Member State”.

The MA could in principle designate all the fisheries and aquaculture areas as eligible for CLLD, but most MAs 
would focus EMFF funding on those areas where the application of CLLD would bring greatest benefits for fish-
eries communities, in relation to the challenges these areas face and their potential for growth and creation of 
jobs. In the OP the MA will have to specify which criteria it will use to make this policy choice. The intention is 
not to present a list of areas in the OP, since the definition of precise boundaries should be left to the local level 
(see  below),  but  to  explain  what  factors  would  be  taken  into  account  in  determining  whether  a  given  area  is 
eligible for CLLD or not.

  FARNET Questions and Answers on CLLD – Area Selection Criteria

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2.  What kind of criteria could I use?

Area selection criteria could include:

 > Criteria describing the size and importance of the fishing and aquaculture sector (employment, numbers and 

size of boats or ponds, nature and type of fishing, landings/production size, value…);

 > Criteria describing the character of the area: coastal, estuary, river or lake, protected areas, maximum and 

minimum population sizes, population density, population decline, remote areas;

 > Criteria related to the coherence of the area of intervention – the possibility of having areas separated by 

lakes or dotted along a coast, the coverage of larger ports and settlements (see below).

In formulating these criteria the MA should use the information provided in the context indicators (required for 
section 2.2 of the OP Template).

Example: UK area selection criteria (2007-2013) include:

 >

 >

Low population density

Fisheries in decline

 > Small fishing communities

 > At least one active fishing port (England)

3.  Why can I not provide a fixed list of areas in the OP?

The guidance to EMFF OP Template, provided by the Commission to complement the Implementing Regulation 
771/2014, makes it clear that Managing Authorities should not present a closed list of areas in their OP. The list of 
criteria  should  be  used  to  identify  the  types  of  areas  that  are  eligible  for  support,  but  not  the  exact  areas 
themselves.

By definition, Community-Led Local Development is a bottom-up process, whose success depends upon being 
able to forge effective alliances between local actors who share a set of common goals. This requires negotia-
tions at local level to secure the real commitment of key organisations and stakeholders spread across the terri-
tory. The definition of the exact boundaries of the area will be the outcome of these negotiations. The criteria 
for designating eligible areas should not try to predetermine this or impose artificial solutions that may turn to 
be unworkable on the ground.

4.  Can large ports (over 150 000 inhabitants) be considered eligible  

for CLLD?

In some countries most fishing employment and most job losses in fisheries occurs in large ports. If the MA con-
siders that CLLD could be an effective tool to deal with the challenges in those areas, then this could be allowed. 
However, this exception must be accepted by the Commission in the Partnership agreement and must be justi-
fied in the Operational Programme, including an explanation from the MA on the method that will be used to 
avoid the dispersion of funds if such a large area becomes eligible.

  FARNET Questions and Answers on CLLD – Area Selection Criteria

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5. How can I take regional differences into account when drawing out the

criteria for identifying fisheries areas in my OP?

The challenges facing fishing and fishing areas can vary enormously within a single country. As a result, each 
region in a regionalised country may decide to use different criteria. In principle this is possible, as long as this 
approach  is  justified  in  the  OP  and  the  whole  section  does  not  exceed  7 000  characters.  A  possible  solution 
would be to present (in an annex to the OP) a table setting out the general criteria  and  the specific  regional 
ones, if needed.

6. What considerations should guide the definition of criteria for

designating fisheries areas?

When  developing  criteria  for  identifying  eligible  fisheries  areas,  the  MAs  need  to  bear  in  mind  the  following 
points:

 > What am I trying to achieve with CLLD in fisheries areas and who am I trying to support? For example, are
fishing communities the main target, or just an important part of broader coastal development? Do I want to
support the whole fishing community or only those facing the most difficulties?

 > How  many  resources  are  available  for  UP4  and  how  many  FLAGs  can  be  financed?  Countries  with  limited

resources in relation to the potential areas may wish to establish more focused area selection criteria.

 > What impacts will the criteria have on different parts of the fishing community or activity of the FLAG? For
example, criteria based on the number of boats may favour small scale fishing; those based on landings may
favour larger scale fishing; population limits may exclude large ports with the most fishing employment or
crucial markets for fisheries products.

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Editor: European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Director-General.

Disclaimer: Whilst the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is responsible for the overall production of this document, it is not responsible for 
the content nor does it guarantee the accuracy of the data.

  FARNET Questions and Answers on CLLD – Area Selection Criteria

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