Dear Colleagues,
UK Seafood Fund and fisheries negotiations
I am writing to inform you about the second and third components of the UK Seafood Fund, which we are launching today. This will complete the delivery of the £100 Million committed to the fishing industry by the Prime Minister in December 2020.
Infrastructure
The Infrastructure component will invest at least £65 million into modernising current infrastructure to accommodate increased fishing quota and adapt to new trading conditions. Projects will have to demonstrate that they will strengthen the seafood supply chain, as well as increase environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The scheme will be run competitively over several rounds.
Information and documentation on the Infrastructure component can be found at the following link - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-seafood-fund-infrastructure-scheme
Skills and Training
The Skills and Training component will invest up to £10 million into the sector
to address skills gaps within the seafood industry. This will provide opportunities for people in coastal communities up and down our country. It will help address immediate recruitment and retention issues while also looking to the long term by upskilling fishers in sustainable fishing techniques and supporting them to tackle future challenges, such as our planned increase in Offshore Wind.
Information and documentation on the Skills and Training component can be found at the following link - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-seafood-fund-skills-and-training- scheme
Both components will invite bids from across the UK using the powers in the UK Internal Markets Act. My officials have been working closely with counterparts in Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish administrations to help design the scheme.
We are also dedicating £1 million to seafood promotion activities; further details on that scheme will be announced in the new year.
Bilateral annual fisheries consultations with Norway and the EU
In addition to the funding announcements, the UK has concluded bilateral annual fisheries consultations with both the EU and Norway. The resulting deals provide much needed stability for the UK industry and sets a good platform for our continued future relationship with both the EU and Norway on fisheries management.
The discussions with Norway mark the start of a new arrangement between us, in which both parties permit some access to each other’s waters and exchange a number of fish quotas in the North Sea and the Arctic. The UK fishing industry will gain access to 30,000 tonnes of whitefish stocks, such as cod, haddock, and hake, in the North Sea, providing a welcome boost for 2022.
Under a separate arrangement, Norway has allocated the UK 6,550 tonnes of cod around Svalbard. In total, that means the UK can fish over 7,000 tonnes of cod in the Arctic, estimated to be worth around £16 million and 1,500 tonnes more than in 2021.
The consultation with the EU allowed us to reach an agreement on catch limits for 69 fish stocks and other fisheries management measures for 2022. Their total value is approximately 140,000 tonnes, and worth approximately £313 million. As in previous years, the UK negotiated this year’s catch limits and quotas taking full account of sustainability principles. The agreement also includes new and continued commitments by the UK and EU to work together via the Specialised Committee on Fisheries across a range of issues.
These announcements mark continued progress for the fisheries sector across all parts of the UK and we expect it to be welcomed by the industry. Brighter expectations for the future of the industry continue to build.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to discuss any of these matters further.
