The latest round of the UK Seafood Innovation Fund (SIF) has launched today, providing £3 million of additional funding to help tackle challenges across the UK seafood sector.
Taking the total funding made available under the scheme to £19 million, Call 4 will provide 18 months’ worth of funding to successful applicants from the fisheries, aquaculture and supply chain sectors.
Part of the £100 million UK Seafood Fund, SIF launched in 2019 and has since supported almost 100 projects across the UK, spanning aquaculture, capture fisheries, and the seafood supply chain.
Previous projects have focused on consumer habits, market gaps, animal welfare issues and the circular economy.
In Round 4, SIF is looking to diversify the range of work funded and is particularly keen to see ideas aimed at benefiting capture fisheries or the supply chain, as well as aquaculture and other parts of the sector.
Heather Jones, chief executive of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre, sits on the Seafood Innovation Fund steering group. “Building on the success of previous rounds, SIF is again inviting innovative applied solutions to boost the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of the UK’s seafood sector,” she said.
“Applications that address the commercial needs faced by those seeking to farm the seas responsibly, those operating in sustainable wild-caught fisheries, and those who can see ways to improve seafood product quality and shelf-life are warmly welcomed from all quarters of the UK.”
Call 4 runs from 21 September 2022 until 7 December. More information can be found at SIF’s website.
