Finland needs to increase its local fish production in a sustainable way to meet the growing demand for fish. At the same time, we must protect the environment and meet the environmental goals. The fish farming development programme (Veke) aims to grow the industry by balancing business needs and environmental protection. It also looks for new methods and ways of working for a more profitable production. Each year, companies and other stakeholders in the industry are asked for feedback on how Veke should be developed. This feedback helps to keep the programme up to date.

To balance growth and environmental goals, we need to predict and measure the effects fish farming has on the marine environment. Veke is working on new methods to do this, including studying the environmental impact of raising young fish both on the coast and in inland or island areas. In open sea areas, information about local conditions like wind and waves helps companies plan their daily operations. In the programme, Finnish Meteorological Institute aims to study possibilities on developing early-warning systems focused to the needs of fish farming activities.

The project is led by Natural Resources Institute Finland and includes partners from Finnish Environment Institute, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finnish Food Authority, Finnish Fish Farmers’ Association, Metsähallitus (the state forest agency), Livia college, University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä. For more detailed information on the other activities in the programme, see our partners website (in Finnish) (https://www.luke.fi/fi/projektit/veke). The project is fully funded (100%) by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), also known as Euroopan meri-, kalatalous- ja vesiviljelyrahasto (EMKVR), with 50% coming from the EU and 50% from national sources.