The Industry Project Fund has allocated more than one million pounds to benefit the industry and taking the advantage of it Seafish has announced the projects and businesses. The IPF was instigated in 2007 to support innovation and foster growth in all areas of the UK seafood industry. The IPF is awarding 34 new projects with funding for the current year so that it could boost the seafood industry in the United Kingdom.
Among many submissions there is a ‘Schools Fish Dish of the Year’ initiative specifically targeted at 14-16 year old schoolchildren in Northern Ireland, and a long line sea bass project which uses state-of-the-art imitation sand eels as opposed to live bait in Cornwall. The funding of projects will not only ensure that boats work significantly more gear and therefore produce higher yields than current line catching methods, but will also help to minimise by-catch and allow for the live release of undersized fish, an important development towards the creation of a sustainable stock of sea bass in UK waters.
Bass fisherman Sam Rush opined that the Seafish funding will provide opportunity for innovation and conservation and enable the fishermen to move forward with a responsible attitude towards sustainable fishing. Paul Williams, Research Director at Seafish, told that the projects will teach the fishermen several ways to save a vessel or at least bide more time for the rescue authorities to attend so that the number of accidents could be reduced.
John Rutherford, CEO Seafish, informed any successful industry constantly looks for new and better ways of doing things and fosters a culture of innovation. The Seafish Industry Project Fund will enable new talent to enter the industry.
