^{On the 8th of August 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture of Lebanon, under the patronage of Minister Dr. Abbas Hajj Hassan and in cooperation with the Municipality of Byblos, organized the National Day for Fishing and Aquaculture. The aim of this national event was to create exposure for the fishermen to other actors that could play a critical role in the development and diversification of fisheries and aquaculture sector.} 

^{The meeting was opened with the Lebanese national anthem, followed by an explanation of the project given by the Director of Rural Development and Natural Resources Dr. Chadi Mohanna, who stressed the importance of diversifying work in the fishing profession in order to create jobs and attract young people to this sector as well as developing the Public and Private Partnership (PPP) concept in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.}

^{The national event, organized withint the objective of FISH MED NET project, invovles a number of 60 participants, among  members of Parliament, Mayors, spiritual leaders (mufti and bishop), military officers, representatives of International Organizations as FAO, UNDP and WFP, public administration officials, syndicates and cooperatives of fishery, fishermen and aquaculture farmers, as well as media representatives.} 

^{The President of the Fishermen's Syndicate in Beirut and its suburbs, Jean Chawwah, spoke about the cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and fishermen in order to preserve this sector, and he pointed to the need for the state to enact laws that protect the rights of fishermen such as social security. Then, the Mayor of Byblos, Mr. Wassim Zaarour, spoke, welcoming the distinguished guests in the historical city of Byblos, especially in terms of social activities and agricultural development that the municipality is carrying out. He also praised the sovereign role played by the Ministry of Agriculture through securing food security for the Lebanese, especially in times of crises.}

^{The closing speech was given by the Director General of Agriculture Mr. Louis Lahoud, representing Minister Haj Hassan, where he stressed the strong relationship between the Ministry of Agriculture and fishermen, and he noted the long history of cooperation between Byblos Municipality and the Ministry, especially in the celebrations related to the marketing of wine, and he promised that the ministry will work on organizing an annual national day for the fishing sector in order to support and develop this sector in an effort to reach self-sufficiency.}

^{The ceremony concluded with the distribution of certificates to the fishermen who underwent training during the implementation of the FISHMEDNET project. Indeed, a number of 39 fishermen received the certificates for the participation to the 4 training sessions about the 4 modules of diversification identified by FISH MED NET; namely the sustainable coastal tourism; seafood industry; services to community and aquaculture.} 

^{The ceremony concluded with an exhibition of food and craft industries related to the fishing and aquaculture sector.}

^{To discover more on the national event you can watch the video here.}