At our “Fishing Crews Today and Tomorrow” event on 26 October 2022, we heard from a variety of speakers on the challenges of recruiting and retaining fishing crew, the work being undertaken in the industry to address this, and ways in which government could support the industry to deal with workforce shortages.
Attendees heard from:
Harry Wick - CEO - Northern Ireland Fish Producers' Organisation
Carole White - Research Fellow - University of East Anglia
Jaime Taylor - Filmmaker - Postcode Films
Karl and Jenny Price - Fishing Vessel Owners - Bridlington
Sarah Ready - Female Fisherman - Two Brothers Fishing
Andrew Crook - President - National Federation of Fish Friers
A full recording of the online event can be found here:
Following the presentations, Parliamentarians and attendees put their questions to the panel. Written summaries of all questions and answers are provided below. Please note that these answers reflect the views of the panelists, rather than the APPG Secretariat or its Members.
Questions from MPs
How do we provide fishers with comprehensive support for the administrative and regulatory element of their work? (Liz Saville Roberts MP)
Harry Wick recommended looking at the “corporate model” in use at one of Northern Ireland’s fishing ports, where the fleet has taken advantage of economies of scale to jointly finance a manager, thus reducing time and capacity demands on skippers and enabling them to have time off when not at sea.
Regarding the above suggestion for a corporate model, could there be a role for state projects or support in this? (Liz Saville Roberts MP, Daniel Zeichner MP)
Harry Wick felt that this type of change needed to come from the industry rather than from government, but that government support could help to accelerate such change. Sarah Ready added – and Jenny Price agreed – that the UK fishing fleet comprises a diversity of boats and businesses, and that smaller vessels would still struggle to afford a model like the one in use at one of Northern Ireland’s fishing ports. He added that crew needs to be available, to give confidence for expansion.
In a similar vein, Alistair Carmichael MP said that different solutions would be appropriate to different parts of the country; for example, the strength of Shetland’s fishing industry is due to its well-established and supported shareholder system, which in turn is enabled by having a fleet that is large enough. Ultimately, such adaptations will need to be driven by industry. He added that in the short term, it is critical that the industry is able to rely on a migrant labour force. Medium- to long-term solutions should include changing the perception among schools and career advisors that fishing is not a viable career choice.
Liz Saville Roberts MP added that the Welsh Fishermen’s Association - Cymdeithas Pysgotwyr Cymru (WFA-CPC) has recently completed a New Entrant Feasibility Study which provides useful information on the issue.
Is there no state support available for the type of work that Jenny and Carl Price have been doing to raise awareness of fishing careers? (Daniel Zeichner MP)
Jenny Price provided the examples that the secondary school local to them do not suggest fishing as a career to its students, while many people living in Bridlington are unaware that it is the biggest shellfish port in Britain in terms of landings. She recommended targeting engagement at schools in areas with fishing industries, and to make it easier for young people to obtain work experience in the industry.
Have the members of the industry here spoken to other industries such as farming and building, which are experiencing similar problems? Noting that schools are nervous about work experience taking place in more dangerous workplaces, are there suggestions for how to promote the fishing industry in schools? (Sheryll Murray MP)
Harry Wick said he had spoken to thousands of schoolchildren, although the schools themselves are significant barriers to encouragement of fisheries careers because they judge success by high grade rates and how many students go on to higher education. Liz Saville Roberts MP agreed with this.
Carole White said that the Marine Conservation Society has had success in Norfolk with funding local fishermen, and a local teacher in a coordinating role, to go into primary schools to speak to children aged 9–11 years. However, secondary schools have less flexibility with the curriculum and so find it more difficult to accommodate this type of activity.
Jenny Price said that she had once been invited to speak at a secondary school, but only children considered to be less academic were invited to the session by the school, even though such activities could and should be open to all students.
Could Andrew Crook expand on his recommendation for VAT reform to help fish and chip businesses? (Daniel Zeichner MP)
Andrew Crook explained that in the hospitality sector, there is little VAT on the inputs it purchases but VAT on everything it sells, while the VAT threshold currently in place incentivises less reputable businesses to carry out bad practices such as not declaring all their turnover. Reforming the threshold would create a more level playing field and hospitable environment for rule-abiding businesses.
Government support and action
Could funding be made available - e.g. from the £10 million Skills and Training Scheme (part of the UK Seafood Fund) - to incentivise skippers and owners to employ apprentices/new entrants, as a way of alleviating some of the financial risk for those who might otherwise chose to work alone? Covering some of the basic costs for mentoring would enable skippers to build new entrants’ skills without compromising their own need to earn a living.
Liz Saville Roberts cited the WFA-CPC New Entrant Feasibility Study which gives an estimated figure of £4,500 over three years to train a new entrant.
Jenny Price said that rather than a scheme to fund apprenticeships, one measure that would be helpful would be to have funding for people to do their Sea Survival course (a prerequisite for any kind of work on a fishing boat), which costs £200. This constitutes a financial risk for skippers if they fund the cost of the course but the person decides after a period of work experience or training not to continue.
Carole White responded that she had been informed that government funding cannot be used towards mandatory courses, and that it might not be a good use of funding given that – at least in the experience of the Eastern Seafish Training Association – a large proportion of people taking the Sea Survival and further courses do not pursue a career in the industry. Carole was aware that some 18-month apprenticeships with support from skippers are being developed, although this requires a great deal of investment of time and money. She highlighted that it could be worth exploring Chris Ranford’s (Cornish Fish Producers Organisation) suggestion of using the Skills and Training Scheme to support this.
Harry Wick said that the Northern Ireland Fish Producers' Organisation (NIFPO) has a system where trainees have their courses and first few weeks at sea paid for, thus mitigating the risk to the boat owner and trainee themselves if they choose to drop out. If they continue, the NIFPO funds skipper courses and provides contributions towards deposits for boats, as well as buying licences off retiring fishers. However, this system cannot solve the issue of people not wanting to enter the industry.
Should there be more industry-wide financial support that eases the path into the industry, for example, a percentage levy?
Sarah Ready said that any such support should be targeted at smaller vessels and businesses, as these often struggle more than larger fishing companies and tend to have fewer resources to pursue grants.
Carole White said that while financial barriers are the largest, there are also important “relational” ones, with new entrants from outside the community sometimes dropping out because of a lack of support from other fishermen. She added that it was important not to underestimate the learning, experience, and social capital which takes time for fishermen to accumulate, and for this reason, long-term apprenticeships should be favoured over shorter ones.
Jenny Price agreed that more financial support to ease the path into industry would help, particularly if it could be used to fund the training courses which are necessary for new entrants. Harry Wick said that it would be important to be certain that this type of mechanism would work, before implementing it.
Industry action
Is there an opportunity in training skippers in managing, retaining and cultivating crew? There is a lot of “crew churn” in some ports, with some skippers keeping the same crew for 20 years, others just months.
Jenny Price said that it is important for crew to fit well together, given the close working environment and long shifts involved in fishing, with this sometimes being the reason for “crew churn”; while another reason may be that some crew wish to only work in the summer and seek other employment during out-of-season periods. She added that if the industry could be supported to diversify into different fisheries during harder months, thus ensuring more constant income for crew, this could reduce crew turnover.
Sarah Ready said that it is more of a struggle for skippers to retain crew when they cannot guarantee a set working schedule or a steady stream of income, which may be due to variation in fish catches, or bad weather preventing smaller vessels from going out to sea. Some skippers and fishing businesses pay a subsistence to crew during weeks when vessels cannot go out to sea, but not everyone can afford to do this.
Carole White suggested support of research into why crew do not stay, with learnings passed on to skippers. However, she noted that crew turnover may only be an issue if there is a shortage of labour, and that in some “boom and bust” fisheries such as whelk, it may suit skippers to have short-term crew.
Harry Wick said that there is an opportunity to focus on skipper management style, but that other variables are at play, including the provision of steady wages, work-life balance, and the comfort of the boat itself.
Is the catch share system a barrier or an opportunity for recruitment? Would a guaranteed wage and catch related bonus be more appealing?
Sarah Ready said that at least in the case of smaller vessels, a guaranteed wage and catch related bonus system would be unaffordable due to the vagaries of weather and catches. She noted that the share fisherman status is a unique self-employed status with a number of barriers, including that it is not possible to claim benefits on a par with many other occupations.
Carole White said that a guaranteed wage plus bonus could be best for young people who need a stable income, although the rewards of a catch share could be more of an incentive in high-value fisheries less affected by bad weather. She added that in Norfolk, there is a system where young crew are paid a wage, and can invest in their own gear; they are then allowed to keep the profits from whatever they catch with this.
Jenny Price said this proposed system would be difficult for many skippers, given the amount of additional administration which would be needed, and the risk of being out of pocket, for example if a crew member was paid over the winter while the boat was in port before leaving in the spring. Harry Wick added that the catch share system can act as an incentive when the rewards are high, but as a disincentive when they are not, although on the whole a guaranteed wage with bonus would be preferable.
Education and promotion of fishing careers
Regarding Harry Wick’s point during his presentation that a career in fishing might attract the same kinds of people attracted to a navy career, what is the fishing industry getting “wrong” exactly?
Harry Wick said that the key difference is the respect of peers which a navy career is now more likely to entail. In the past, groups of friends often went into the fishing industry together, and being able to work alongside peers provides a strong psychological driver for young people.
How much of the difficulties with recruiting young people out of school is due to their schools focusing on pushing them towards university?
Sarah Ready said that as a profession, fishing requires a set of skills that suits practically-minded individuals, and knows of many fishermen who left school without formal qualifications but have gone on to be successful business owners and company directors. Jenny Price added that in addition to pupils who go to university, schools should showcase ex-pupils who have found success without a university education.
Harry Wick said, by way of illustration of the issue, that schools had in the past been reluctant to allow him to come and speak about careers in the Royal Navy because this would reduce their numbers of pupils going on to university. He added that even young people who were less academic and could have been recruited straight into the Royal Navy are encouraged to first take a college course. Harry expressed the view that “practical intelligence” is undervalued by the education system, despite being perhaps the most important quality in a successful fisherman.
Fishing and other professions in the fisheries sector require a sophisticated skillset and have the potential for entrepreneurship too. How can this be communicated when promoting these careers?
Sarah Ready said that entrepreneurship is an essential part of a fishing business’s ability to remain resilient through what is often a “rollercoaster” of weather, fish movements, mechanical issues, and crew turnover. Fishing business models also need to diversify or adapt fishing gears and practices as needed. She added that there are many role models within the fishing industry who could help the industry to promote and market its career opportunities. Carole White added that showcasing case studies and success stories from around the country within training courses could help to inspire young people.
Jenny Price said that the promotion of fishing careers to schoolchildren should include their parents, who could act as a source of encouragement to young people seeking to enter the fishing industry.
Harry Wick said that the communication would need to depend on the audience. However, in all cases, the prestige of the profession should be emphasised. He added that current public perceptions of fishing pose a significant challenge.