£18m EFF funding for Fraserburgh

This announcement has led to the Fisheries Secretary reminding local fishermen that they can still apply for a share of the 2016 fund.

Mr Lochhead said: “This £18 million funding has enabled investment of nearly £30m in Fraserburgh making a real difference to the fishing industry locally."

“I would strongly encourage groups in the fishing and aquaculture industries to apply for a share of money from the European and Maritime Fisheries Fund,” he added.

The £18m funding was spread across many projects at Fraserburgh, including the recent grant for the modernisation of operations at the harbour.

Approximately £10.6m from the fund was used for the harbour deepening project to improve operational efficiency and safety, and the mains power project to provide hook ups for vessels and additional capacity to side processing businesses

As well as this, £3.6m of funding was used for processing and marketing, £1.9m to create 113 fishing vessel modernisation projects and £460,000 for Whitelink Seafood to help create a new shellfish processing facility

“The fishing and aquaculture industries make a vital contribution, providing jobs and sustaining services, in many coastal communities around Scotland,” added Mr Lochhead.

He concluded: “The European and Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) provides funding to support fishermen, sustainable aquaculture, the processing sector and the communities that depend on them.”