Marine organisations and fishing businesses across the north-east have today been given a boost of £1.6million.
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon announced the latest round of awards from the Marine Fund Scotland during a visit to Peterhead Fish Market today.
A total of £7.4million has been split across the country, with 33 successful applicants from Aberdeenshire and Moray getting a share of £1.6m.
Among the projects that will now progress are improvements to Macduff Harbour’s slipway, the replacement of navigation lights at Buckie Harbour and a feasibility study for a fish market at Macduff.
Fund has had ‘positive impact’ on sector
During her visit to Peterhead, Ms Gougeon also spoke with some of those working in the seafood industry.
She said the Marine Scotland Fund – which replaced the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund following Brexit – has had a “positive impact” and helped a “wide variety” of different projects across the sector in its first year.
“We’ve been able to fund a variety of projects which have totalled around £14m,” she said.
“Some examples are a new vessel slipway in Macduff and we’ve helped a new entrant enter the fishing industry by helping them either purchase a vessel or a share in a vessel.
“We’ve helped the North East Fisherman’s Training Association as well, whether that’s with equipment for IT or safety training.
“We did also pass regulations this year which can expand the range of things that we can fund looking into next year. We’ll be analysing the outcomes of this year of the funding and looking to see how we can adapt that.”
Support in the north-east
Macduff Harbour will receive £102,000 as part of a wider project to ensure it is a fully operational port serving the fishing industry and community. The money will be spent improving vessel access at the harbour slipway.
The North East Fisherman’s Training Association, which offers up to 1,000 training course spaces per year, will receive £14,700 for IT equipment and safety training equipment, including life jackets and survival suits.
Moray Council will be awarded £16,694.25 to put toward the replacement of navigation lights at Buckie Harbour, while Aberdeenshire Council will receive £22,905 to cover a study on the feasibility of a fish market at Macduff.
The Marine Fund Scotland will also award money for businesses to create entry positions and to support individual young fishers entering the industry.
“Like a lot of industries, you want to see new people coming in and to see they can have a future in the industry as well,” Angus North and Mearns MSP Ms Gougeon said.
“That’s obviously something we’re keen to encourage and something that I hope to continue to fund into the future, so that we can help people get that first step in the door and in their career.”
Speaking directly to the industry
The rural affairs secretary was shown around the Peterhead Fish Market by chief executive of Peterhead Port Authority, Simon Brebner.
She then attended an open round-table discussion with stakeholders from the seafood industry, where the challenges of the last few years – including the “massive” impact of Brexit and the pandemic – were discussed.
Ms Gougeon said: “From the known tariff barriers that we see, the increase in certification and bureaucracy that people face in exporting their goods, the increase costs, we know it’s had an absolutely massive impact.
“While the Marine Fund Scotland can’t mitigate against all of that, we do want to try and use the funds that we have to support the industry in any way that we can as well.
“There are so many pressures facing the industry at the moment, so it’s really important to hear those and speak to the industry directly – to hear what their concerns are and how we can help support them.”
Moving forward, a focus on sustainability will be “absolutely vital” across the marine sector.
She added: “If we want our marine industries to continue into the future, sustainability has to be at the heart of that. In relation to food production, it is important that our fishing, and the catch of that, is done in as sustainable a way as possible.
“Part of that as well is ensuring we look after our marine environment on which so many industries depend on and on which they’re based.”
