Rick Stein has honoured the staff and directors of Seafood Cornwall Training for their service to the fishing industry by presenting them with a liferaft donated by Viking during the Newlyn Fish Festival. Simon Cadman, Director; Sarah Crosbie, Manager and Emma Thomas, Course Administrator, were delighted to receive the liferaft from Rick Stein.
Since the not-for-profit, Seafood Cornwall Training Ltd opened its doors in February last year; the company has trained 415 fish industry employees and issued 974 certificates for courses. Based in Newlyn, the Seafish Approved Training provider has assisted the Cornish fish industry across Cornwall, through the provision of fishermen’s basic safety training, 16.5m skipper’s ticket courses as well as short courses to add value, improve food safety and skills throughout the industry.
Rick Stein commented, “I’m really pleased to be supporting Seafood Cornwall Training. It’s important to recognise the work that Simon, Sarah and Emma have put in to help provide local fishermen with the dedicated skills training they need to improve safety and efficiency at sea, which in turn has helped develop the Cornish fishing industry as a whole.”
Director Simon Cadman, Senior Fisheries Officer for the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee explained, “I have been involved in the development of training since the formation of the Objective 1 Fisheries Task Force, ten years ago, which identified training as a key part of their strategy to develop the fishing industry. Fishing is a highly skilled and sometimes dangerous profession and therefore it is vital that all fishermen have access to local, specialist skills training to improve safety and efficiency at sea.” “With the support of the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee I have been pleased to assist with the business of Seafood Cornwall Training. We have an important and worthwhile fishing industry in Cornwall, and we must ensure skills are continually developed to assist the sector to continue on successfully and safely.”
Sarah Crosbie, Manager at Seafood Cornwall Training, commented, “We have been working hard to ensure Seafood Cornwall Training is a success and it is great to be honoured by Rick Stein for our work. Since the launch of the dedicated training and resource centre last year, we have helped over 400 fishermen and businesses access funding and gain certificates in courses they would otherwise have had to travel out of the county to achieve. The two liferafts kindly donated by Viking for sea survival training will ensure Cornish fishermen have practical experience of the very latest lifesaving equipment available.”
Barrie Durant, General Manager of VIKING Life-Saving Equipment Ltd, Southampton, who unfortunately couldn’t be at the festival, commented, “On behalf of "Viking Life-Saving Equipment Ltd" I have donated two new training liferafts to Seafood Cornwall Training. These liferafts are manufactured to the latest international standards and will be used in sea survival courses to train fisherman. We acknowledge the work that Seafood Cornwall Training is doing and we are pleased to support them as we also endeavour to save lives at sea every day, in this our company’s 50th anniversary”.
However, the story doesn’t end there, with the dedicated support of the staff and directors, Seafood Cornwall Training has amongst other things, hosted Net to Plate events for school children and students and raised awareness of the fishing industry through educational outreach work. In the last year, the company has secured grant funding for training and equipment through working in partnership with Seafish, South West Food and Drink, Cornwall Council, the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation, Penwith Community Development Trust and Cornwall Works. Although fellow director, Newlyn Fishermen, David Stevens, couldn’t be at the presentation as he was away fishing, he commented, “It’s excellent that the hard work of Seafood Cornwall Training has been honoured by Rick Stein. It’s really important that the fishing industry has a strong skills base and Seafood Cornwall Training has been able to develop courses tailored to meet the industry’s needs. When I was asked to get involved I was really happy to support anything that helped young entrants join the fishing industry and helped the sector develop.”
Paul Trebilcock, Chief Executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation and a director of Seafood Cornwall Training, explained, “There has always been a clear need for local provision of training for my members and all Cornish fishermen. It’s essential that fishermen have access to training and advice and that it’s available when they want it. An increase in skills across the sector helps the industry as a whole.”
To find out more about Seafood Cornwall Training visit http://www.seafoodcornwalltraining.co.uk/
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