Seafish, the UK seafood industry authority, has announced the projects and businesses to benefit from more than £1m allocated by the 2008 Industry Project Fund (IPF). The IPF was instigated in 2007 to support innovation and foster growth in all areas of the UK seafood industry.
Having increased funding from £700,000 in 2007 to £1.2m for 2008 as a result of a large increase in the number of first rate applications from seafood companies, the Industry Project Fund is awarding 34 new projects with funding for 2008.
Successful submissions include a 'Schools Fish Dish of the Year' initiative specifically targeted at 14-16 year old schoolchildren in Northern Ireland, and a long line sea bass project which uses state-of-the-art imitation sand eels as opposed to live bait in Cornwall.
The funding for the bass-lured long lines will not only ensure that boats work significantly more gear and therefore produce higher yields than current line catching methods, but will also help to minimise by-catch and allow for the live release of undersized fish, an important development towards the creation of a sustainable stock of sea bass in UK waters.
Bass fisherman Sam Rush said: “This Seafish funding will provide me with an opportunity for innovation and conservation and enable me to move forward with a responsible attitude towards sustainable fishing."
The Industry Project Fund will also support educational schemes such as a Damage Control course that provides fishermen with the knowledge they need to prevent many flooding incidents and vessel losses.
Paul Williams, Research Director at Seafish, says, “Little is taught to fishermen on how to actually prevent their vessels from sinking during a flooding incident. By giving them the knowledge to save a vessel or at least bide more time for the rescue authorities to attend, we can reduce accidents and loss of life and the costs associated with rescue operations and insurance companies.”
