Seafarers UK: Fishing without a safety net

This study was commissioned by Seafarers UK in 2019 and took place prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The intent was to explore the real financial difficulties inherent in earning a living from fishing. It aimed to identify and develop an evidence base of interventions that could support the financial health and resilience of fishers and their families. The research is based on the real financial problems experienced by 431 fishers and their families as identified in the anonymised client and beneficiary data records of three maritime welfare charities: – SAIL (Seafarers’ Advice & Information Line), the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, and Seafarers’ Hospital Society. This analysis was augmented by interviews with fishers and representatives from maritime welfare charities and the fishing industry. Click here to read the report 

Researchers to investigate impact of ‘COVID-shock’ on UK seafood sector 

A research team led by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) has begun to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the UK seafood industry.  The seafood sector incorporates significant processing and logistics operations within the supply chain, which begins with farming and fishing and ends with supermarkets, fishmongers and restaurants.  Analysis of the previous economic crash in 2008 showed huge implications for the seafood sector, which also needed a longer recovery time than other industries. There is also a great deal of uncertainty within the industry over a looming post-Brexit end to the transition period. Now the RiseUp project, led by Dr Sofia Franco from SAMS, will seek to find out the extent of the so-called ‘COVID-shock’ throughout the industry and provide policy recommendations and advice to help government and business improve resilience in the sector.  Please contact the project lead (sofia.franco@sams.ac.uk) if you would like to share your experience of how COVID-19 has affected your business.