The UK government is putting £75 million into rejuvenating Britain’s fisheries with the second and third parts of the overall £100 million Seafood Fund.
This latest injection of cash is designed to route £65 million into infrastructure to modernise UK ports and processing facilities and create jobs, while up to £10 million goes into encouraging new entrants into the processing, catching and aquaculture sectors, alongside training and upskilling current workers.
According to Defra, this will be achieved by offering an improved package of training to people joining the industry and making it easier for people from coastal communities to progress through careers.
A further £1 million will go to promoting UK seafood, with further details of to be set out in 2022.
In response to concerns aired during consultation with the industry, there will also be requirements for UK vessels fishing against English quota to land an increased proportion of catches in the UK. As of 1st April 2022 this requirement rises from 50% to 70% of catches.
There will also be a stipulation for a minimum of 70% of crew on fishing vessels to be UK nationals.
Those vessels failing to meet these landing and crewing requirements will face a quota penalty, rising from 16.5% to 20% during 2022, and the government states that it aims to increase this threshold in future.
