Seafish has created critical worker certificates that can be issued on request for fishermen and other key workers in seafood businesses to use when travelling to and from work or in the course of their work.
‘There’s no doubt that the restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19 are having a huge impact on fishermen and seafood businesses across the country. It’s unlikely that there will be any let up in this soon, so this initiative forms part of our work to help maintain the fabric of the UK seafood sector in these challenging times,’ said Simon Potten, Head of Safety and Training at Seafish.
‘There isn’t a legal requirement for critical worker certificates to be carried but we’ve created them following requests from industry. If required, they can be used to help individuals demonstrate that they are a critical worker making a necessary journey. We’ve had a lot of interest in these certificates from fishermen and other seafood businesses already, with over 1500 requests so far. We are processing applications as quickly as possible to support the businesses and individuals working hard to feed the nation.’
Certificates for fishermen, skippers or vessel owners can be issued to individuals who have completed the mandatory fishermen’s basic safety training and who are listed on Seafish’s fishermen’s training database.
Onshore fish and shellfish businesses can request a template certificate which they can complete and issue to key workers. Seafish will only be able to issue these to businesses that are known to it, such as levy payers, businesses which have undertaken Seafish-approved training in the last two years or which have another relevant pre-existing relationship with Seafish.
For further information visit the Seafish website.
