On 19 May, the UK Government announced a new twelve-year £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund to drive growth and boost the sector for the future. Defra has indicated that the fund will see investment in new technology and equipment to modernise Britain’s fleet, deliver new training and skills, and promote British seafood exports across the world, among others. The Government has committed to work with the industry to target investment where it matters most.
Committed to supporting two industries vital to the UK’s coastal communities – sustainable and thriving wild capture fisheries and shellfish aquaculture – the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fisheries and the APPG for Shellfish Aquaculture welcome the announcement of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, and its aim to drive growth and boost the sector by investing in the industry and coastal communities more broadly. We also welcome the Government’s commitment to work with industry to target investment where it matters most, and the assurances provided by the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs on the same.
Together covering a diverse range of segments, sectors and geographies, and focusing on both shared challenges and unique complexities, both the APPG on Fisheries and the APPG for Shellfish Aquaculture work to ensure that the voices of our coastal industries are heard in Parliament. Across our individual activities, which typically cover a range of thematic challenges, funding presents a cross-cutting theme.
Both APPGs recognise that a long-term strategic approach to supporting and investing in UK fishing, shellfish aquaculture, seafood and coastal communities is crucial not only to ensure a viable future for the coastal communities and the long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems, but to long-term domestic food security and meeting commitments on climate and biodiversity.
Understanding that the particulars of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund are still to be devised, to ensure the fund can support a diverse industry, vibrant coastal communities and healthy marine ecosystems, alongside being strategic and long-term, it will need to be:
Cognisant of what has and what has not worked in the past
Accessible to a broad range of stakeholders, large and small
Entail a degree of flexibility in order to respond to a shifting seascape
Coupled with a cross-departmental, long-term strategic plan for the sector’s future.
To support this and illuminate industry priorities, while at the same time reflecting on past funding for the sector, the APPG on Fisheries and APPG for Shellfish Aquaculture will co-host an open parliamentary seminar on 25 June outlining industry needs across the following themes: People, Food, Nature, Resources and Community.
Bringing together parliamentarians, policymakers, and sector professionals, the session will explore what an effective, targeted fund might look like, and on steps needed to ensure the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund becomes an effective vehicle for investment in the future of our fishing and seafood communities.
APPG on Fisheries Co-Chair, Melanie Onn MP said, “From catching to processing, the value of the UK’s fisheries sector is not easily quantified but integral to communities around this nation’s coasts. We welcome the announcement of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, and the assurances received from the Minister that the fund will be devised with the sector to target investment where it matters most. Since the reformulation of the APPG on Fisheries last autumn we have heard from industry of investment needs relating to addressing skills gaps, infrastructure needs, and more broadly towards future proofing the industry and fisheries. It is vital that sector voices are heard so that the fund is set up to effectively support the future of our communities.”
APPG for Shellfish Aquaculture Chair, Caroline Voaden MP said, “As the Member of Parliament for South Devon, home to both fishing and shellfish aquaculture communities, and Chair of the Shellfish Aquaculture APPG, I am pleased to see the Government providing much-needed support to these vital sectors. Shellfish aquaculture is an industry of the future. Sustainable, beneficial to the marine environment and an asset to coastal communities, which deserve far better than the neglect they have endured in recent years. I look forward to seeing the full details of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund in due course, and hope to see shellfish aquaculture businesses from across the country flourish as a result.”
APPG on Fisheries Co-Chair, Alistair Carmichael MP said, “The UK’s fishing and seafood industry has a vital role to play in sustainable food supply and the resilience of regional economies, with potential also – if strategically supported – to contribute to regeneration, the national economy and to meeting our wider commitments on sustainability. Investment in the sector is part of this, but this must be coupled with a broader long term strategic plan for the sector. We look forward to hosting representatives of the industry and related sectors on 25 June, and hope that Defra will take this opportunity also to engage with and listen to the needs of our fishing industries and communities.”
The APPG on Fisheries and APPG for Shellfish Aquaculture will host an online parliamentary seminar, Investing in UK Fishing, Shellfish Aquaculture and the Coast, on Wednesday 25 June, from 10:00 to 11:30am. Register at the link here: https://loom.ly/293nmg4