The UK government has committed nearly £3 million of funding to 17 new projects under the UK Seafood Fund (UKSF), as part of enabling a resilient and sustainable fishing industry equipped for the future and helping level up coastal communities across the union. The 3 August announcement comes as further rounds of the UKSF, which has been extended to 2025 to allow for more ambitious and transformational projects that take longer to deliver, open for applications.

The £100 million UK Seafood Fund is divided into four components: science and innovation, infrastructure, skills and training, and exports support. The 17 successful projects under Round 2 of the Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) scheme, part of science and innovation include: Cefas’s project in the Farn Deeps Nephrops to test innovative new trawls that have the potential to reduce bycatch; and the Holderness Fishing Industry Group’s project, in partnership with the University of Hull, to reduce the impact and assess the hidden costs of lost fishing gear.

New rounds opening:

Fisheries and Industry Science Partnerships

• Round 3 of FISP, which is now open for applications, sees increased funding available of up to £1 million for two-year projects and new eligible funding areas, allowing for a wider variety of more ambitious projects to receive support.

Skills and Training Scheme

• Round 1 of the Skills and Training Scheme is also now open, with up to £5 million now available to invest in training to develop and improve courses to upskill the industry in essential skills.

Infrastructure Scheme

• Round 2 of the Infrastructure Scheme, which seeks to build capability across the UK fishing sector supply chain and will provide funding to March 2025, will open in September.

Further information on all of the UKSF’s schemes can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-seafood-fund

Top tips for applicants:

For those thinking of applying, here are some top tips from previously successful FISP applicants:

• Start with a question you wish to investigate and use organisations, such as Fishing Animateurs, to help find an academic or industry partner. 
• Make sure your project aligns with knowledge gaps or needs and aims to meet objectives within the Fisheries Act and Joint Fisheries Statement.
• Develop and write your application together. Proposals generally do better when both the academic and research partner are involved throughout the whole process.
• Don’t get overwhelmed and deterred by the submission process: there are organisations and potential partners that can help, including the Fishing Animateurs and the FISP team at Defra – If you’ve already started an application on Bravo but are struggling to complete the process you can request a call back. 
• Give yourselves plenty of time to complete the required paperwork and create a check list to ensure all boxes are ticked.
• Ensure you pick partners and consortium members that you can work well with and enjoy the project delivery.