PRESS RELEASE : £20.8 million funding boost for the Scottish fishing industry [July 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 17 July 2023.
UK Government announces latest Scottish projects to receive investment from the £100 million UK Seafood Fund.
The UK Government today (Monday 17 July) announced the latest Scottish projects to receive investment from the £100 million UK Seafood Fund.
A total of £18.7 million is being awarded to 10 projects across Scotland through the Infrastructure Scheme to improve capability at ports, harbours, processing and aquaculture facilities. In addition, £2.1 million is being allocated to four Scottish projects through the Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) scheme to provide vital research that will inform fisheries management.
Over £74 million in match funding from alternative private or public contributions is supporting these projects.
Funding is also available for the catching sector across the UK to replace or modernise their engines to reduce emissions, improve reliability and enable new technologies to be tested. The scope for the Fleet Modernisation Round is being extended to include all commercial vessels.
UK Government Minister for Scotland John Lamont said:
I’m delighted that almost £21 million UK Seafood Fund investment is being shared across 14 Scottish projects. The fund is a crucial part of our commitment to help level up coastal communities and deliver the Prime Minister’s priorities of growing the economy and creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country.
We are supporting fishing communities across the UK so they benefit from better infrastructure, new jobs and investment in skills to ensure they have a long-term and sustainable future
In total the UK Government is today awarding £45.6 million from the UK Seafood Fund to modernise infrastructure across the sector and ensure we are using the best research for fisheries management, supporting around 1,500 jobs.
The announcement builds on the progress which the UK Government has already made to deliver a thriving fishing sector outside the EU. The UK Government successfully negotiated a significant uplift in quota shares following EU exit, valued at around £101 million in fishing opportunities to the UK fleet this year alone. Meanwhile the UK Seafood Fund is investing £100 million into the long-term future of the UK fisheries sector, helping to drive innovation and supporting job creation.
