New UKSF FISP round now open

The fourth and final round of the Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) scheme, part of Defra’s £100 million UK Seafood Fund (UKSF), is now open for applications.

The FISP scheme has been established to fund data collection and research to support sustainable fisheries management. All projects must involve a partnership between research organisations and a member of the UK seafood industry.   As in the previous round, the list of eligible research projects has been expanded to include research on wider factors which impact fish stocks, such as offshore wind farms and climate change.

Applicants will again be able to apply for funding for projects with a maximum value of £500,000 per year and the projects must complete by March 2025. Applications must be received by midday on 19 January 2023.

Defra has also announced that over £3.5 million has been awarded to successful projects from the previous round of the FISP scheme. These include the University of Plymouth Enterprise Ltd who with partners including the Angling Trust have been awarded almost £740,000 to collect vital data to inform the management of protected species such as sharks, skates, rays and black bream which are vulnerable to overfishing.

For further details on the FISP scheme, and a list of projects funded in the previous three rounds, visit UK Government’s FISP website here.