Lisbon, April 15, 2026 (Lusa) – Portugal’s agriculture minister, José Manuel Fernandes, warned in parliament on Wednesday that he would not accept any extensions to the deadlines for emergency financial aid following the recent severe weather, saying that delays were always his responsibility.

“I will not accept deadline extensions. What I can do is issue another call for applications. Any subsequent delays are always my responsibility,” he said, while updating the parliamentary committee on Agriculture on measures put in place due to bad weather.

In particular, regarding aquaculture, he said that only six applications were currently being prepared and that none had yet been formally submitted.

The aquaculture sector in Portugal has suffered losses of at least €1.5 million, the same amount as the support provided by the Government, the Secretary of State for fisheries, Salvador Malheiro, indicated in February in Norway.

The agriculture and the sea ministry have allocated €1.5 million through the Mar 2030 programme to assist aquaculture companies in replacing equipment lost in the storms.

Applications are open until 30 April, and the funding rate is 60% for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 50% for those not falling into this category.

The government has provided €3.5 million in extraordinary support for the fisheries sector to offset the impact of the storms, particularly regarding the forced suspension of fishing operations.

In this context, 511 applications were approved and €245,000 was paid out to 56 applicants.

In total, 1,268 applications were submitted.

“Not the entire sector came to a standstill. Turnover at fish auctions in January 2025 was €14 million, and in January 2026 it was €8 million,” he said.

In response to MPs, he also confirmed that over 900 kilometres of forest tracks had been cleared.

PE/MYAL // AYLS

Lusa