The Seafarers UK charity has created a £2 million emergency fund to help merchant seafarers and fishers through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grants are being offered to charities and other organisations providing services to fishers and their families with £500,000 immediately allocated to help fishing communities across Britain.
Seafarers UK chairman Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson CB CVO BA said, “We are working with our charity partners to provide both hardship funding and innovative new projects to support our fishing communities through and beyond the current crisis. Our long history of helping those who work at sea enables us to target effective and meaningful support to where it is most needed.”
Seafarers UK has been providing support to the fishing community for more than 100 years, last year helping more than 40 maritime welfare and youth charities. The COVID-19 grants include £250,000 to provide match funding with The Fishmongers’ Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust for projects to support fish and seafood businesses, £200,000 to The Fishermen’s Mission to provide hardship welfare grants to fishers and their families and £50,000 reserved for organisations working with fishers around the UK.
Guidance to applicants is available at the Seafarers UK website. Individual fishers seeking support should contact SAIL, a dedicated free Citizens Advice facility that receives an annual grant from Seafarers UK.
