Grants of up to £40,000 on offer through £100m UK Seafood Fund to
trial greener engine technology, helping to create a safe and
sustainable fishing sector whilst tackling rising fuel costs.
The UK fishing industry is to benefit from an initial £2 million
investment to trial new, greener engines and help create a safer,
more sustainable fishing fleet as the latest round of the £100m
UK Seafood Fund opens today (27 January 2022).
OIder vessel engines are some of the industry’s biggest polluters
and, according to a report
by MARFISH, over half of the boats across the UK fishing fleet
are now more than 30 years old, meaning that the annual energy
use of the fleet is equivalent to that of 110,000 homes.
From today, vessels in the small-scale coastal fleet can bid for
up to £40,000 to trial hybrid and electric engines, and up to
£20,000 to fund replacement petrol and diesel engines that are
more environmentally friendly.
As well as supporting the fishing industry to deal with rising
fuel costs, the trial aims to gather new data and evidence to
help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve efficiency and
reliability, and help the fishing industry to reach net zero.
Fisheries Minister said:
Our small-scale fishing fleet is vital for food security, the
economy, and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
This trial could help make vessels safer, more reliable, and more
cost efficient as well as helping the fishing sector make the
transition to net zero.
I encourage all those eligible to apply so we can gather the data
we need to move towards a greener fleet that will benefit the
fishing industry and our environment.
Katy Ware, Director of UK Maritime Services
said:
We fully support this scheme to trial new, greener engines in the
fishing industry and will assist owners participating in the
scheme to ensure that the engines are safely installed.
Everyone taking part will be making a significant contribution
towards achieving net zero in the fishing industry.
This round will be administered by the Marine Management
Organisation (MMO), more details on how to apply can be found on
gov.uk.
This latest round of applications to modernise and improve the
small-scale fishing fleet is part of the £100m UK Seafood Fund, a
landmark government investment supporting the long-term future
and sustainability of the UK fishing and seafood industry.
Overall, at least £65 million in grant funding is available
through the infrastructure scheme to fund projects that improve
the UK seafood sector supply chain. This includes investment in
fleet modernisation and improved capability at ports, harbours,
processing and aquaculture facilities.
£20 million has already been awarded in Round 1 of the scheme for
projects including the expansion of processing facilities for
popular British fish like Scottish salmon and Cornish sardines,
alongside money to bring an ageing dry dock back to life. In
December last year, the Government confirmed a further £30 million
will be made available for infrastructure projects as the latest
round of funding opened for bidding.
There is also up to £10 million in funding available through the
Skills and Training scheme, the second round of which will be
open to applicants shortly. The scheme will fund training
projects and facilities for workers in the seafood and
aquaculture industry, and recreational angling sector.
