Funding for projects in the field of sustainable fisheries

As part of the Horizon Europe program, the European Commission is launching a call for proposals aimed at developing fundamental scientific knowledge and applied tools for the sustainable management of key migratory fish species in the context of climate change and human impacts. The initiative aims to improve the effectiveness of conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of migratory marine and diadromous fish species through the development of scientific knowledge, management tools, and cross-sectoral coordination.

Participation in the programme is open to a wide range of organisations across research, public, business, and civil society sectors.

Who can participate:

• research institutions, universities, and research centres;
• national and regional public authorities;
• specialised organisations in fisheries, aquaculture, and environmental protection;
• businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in marine resources, bioeconomy, and environmental technologies;
• civil society and non-governmental organisations;
• international consortia from EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.

Participation format:

• participation is allowed only in consortium format;
• project teams must include experts in social sciences and humanities.

Key points:

• Total call budget: €14 million;
• Applicants must demonstrate stable and sufficient financial resources to implement the project and co-finance their share;
• Organisations involved in multiple projects must prove their capacity to implement all of them.

Financial capacity assessment:

• The check is based on documents submitted via the Participant Register (e.g. financial statements, business plans, audit reports);
• The assessment relies on financial indicators and also considers additional aspects (such as dependency on EU funding, deficits or revenues in previous years);
• It is typically carried out for the coordinator when the requested grant is ≥ €500,000 (with exceptions).

Exceptions:

• public or international organisations;
• low-value grants up to €60,000.

Additional conditions:

• If needed, the assessment may also cover other applicants or affiliated entities;
• If financial capacity is guaranteed by another legal entity, that entity will be verified.

If financial capacity is insufficient, the granting authority may:

• request additional information;
• apply an enhanced financial responsibility regime;
• provide pre-financing in instalments or no pre-financing;
• request replacement of the applicant or reject the proposal.

Main areas:

• research on life cycles of key migratory fish species;
• analysis of climate change and anthropogenic impacts;
• development of methods to assess the effectiveness of conservation and management measures;
• reduction of fish mortality caused by human activities (fisheries, infrastructure, pollution);
• improvement of data collection and coordination systems across regions and countries;
• assessment of ecosystem services and socio-economic benefits;
• development of practical tools for public authorities and end users.

Programme focus:

• commercially important migratory and diadromous species;
• particular attention to endangered species and local populations;
• farming-related aspects of migratory species may also be considered.

Подати заявку на участь можна за посиланням.

Key steps:

• Proposals must be submitted electronically only via the EU Funders & Tenders Portal;
• Submission is accessed through the relevant topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section;
• Paper submissions are not allowed.

Application requirements:

• The proposal must be complete;
• All mandatory parts, annexes, and supporting documents must be included.

Within the Horizon Europe programme, proposals are assessed using a standardized evaluation and scoring framework.

Main criteria:

• Excellence — clarity and relevance of objectives, level of innovation, and soundness of methodology;
• Impact — credibility of pathways to achieve expected outcomes and impacts, quality of dissemination and exploitation measures;
• Quality and efficiency of implementation — quality of the work plan, risk management, resources, and consortium capacity.

Scoring system:

• Each criterion is scored from 0 to 5;
• Minimum threshold per criterion: 3 points;
• Overall threshold: 10 points (sum of all three criteria);
• For Innovation Actions, Impact is weighted by 1.5 in ranking.

Two-stage evaluation:

• At the first stage, only Excellence and Impact are evaluated;
• Threshold for each: 4 points;
• Overall threshold depends on budget and number of proposals (typically 8–8.5 points).

Additional notes:

• Only proposals that pass both individual and overall thresholds are considered for funding;
• Evaluation also considers open science practices, gender dimension, stakeholder engagement, and consortium quality;
• The same core criteria apply across action types (RIA, IA, CSA, CoFund), with specific adaptations.

Applications under the programme must follow a structured format and include all required components.

Core components:

• Part A (online form) — administrative data on participating organisations (coordinator, beneficiaries, affiliated entities), summary budget, and call-specific questions;
• Part B (PDF document) — technical description of the project (downloaded, completed, and re-uploaded in the system).

Supporting materials:

• mandatory annexes and supporting documents, uploaded via the submission system (mainly in PDF format);
• other formats may be accepted if allowed by the system.

Financial section:

• for lump sum grants, a detailed budget table must be prepared;
• the budget must comply with eligibility rules (especially for procurement and subcontracting without conflicts of interest).

Confirmations and declarations:

• the coordinator confirms the mandate to act on behalf of all applicants;
• confirmation that the application is complete and accurate, and all participants meet eligibility requirements;
• before grant signature, participants must sign a declaration of honour.

Additional notes:

• applicants may be requested to provide further documents (legal validation, financial capacity, bank account validation, etc.);
• non-compliant proposals will be rejected.

In Horizon Europe, reporting requirements are defined in the grant agreement and are directly linked to payments.

Key provisions:

• Reporting and payment arrangements are set in the grant agreement, including deliverables, reporting, and payments;
• After signature, the consortium typically receives pre-financing (usually up to 160% of the average funding per reporting period).

Reporting process:

• Periodic reports are required and form the basis for interim payments;
• The number of reports depends on the project duration;
• A final report is submitted at the end to determine the final grant amount.

Financial adjustments:

• If previous payments exceed the final grant amount, the difference must be recovered;
• Payments may be reduced if any consortium member has debts towards EU bodies;
• A portion of pre-financing (5–8%) is deducted for a mutual insurance mechanism.

Additional notes:

• There may be multiple interim payments linked to reporting periods;
• Detailed reporting obligations, deliverables, and payment terms are specified in the grant agreement and related documents.

Key requirements:

• Procurement must be organised without conflicts of interest, including when using external experts;
• Providers cannot be beneficiaries in the same actions where procurement (PPI/PCP) is implemented;
• Calls for tender must be competitive and transparent, in line with EU principles.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR):

• IPR ownership is generally assigned to the party generating it;
• The allocation of rights and obligations (including IPR) must be clearly defined in tender documents;
• Procurers receive usage rights, but not necessarily exclusive ownership.

Procurement procedures:

• Disproportionate qualification or financial requirements must be avoided;
• Proposals are evaluated based on best value for money, not only lowest price;
• Functional/performance-based specifications should define the problem, not prescribe a solution.

Transparency and access:

• Tender notices must be published EU-wide (at least in English);
• All offers must be evaluated using the same objective criteria;
• Calls must remain open for at least 60 days.

Regulatory framework (PCP/PPI):

• Procedures must comply with Horizon Europe rules and state aid principles;
• PCP involves phased R&D procurement with risk-benefit sharing;
• PPI focuses on procuring innovative solutions that are already tested but not yet widely deployed.

Additional provisions:

• Open market consultations are required prior to launching tenders;
• Accelerated procedures due to urgency are not allowed;
• Participation must be open to EU Member States and associated countries (per applicable agreements);
• Projects must include preparation and execution stages with defined deliverables and milestones.