Profitable and sustainable future for UK fishing industry

Flagship Fisheries Bill moves forward as the Lords Minister leads Second Reading in Parliament.

Dawn of a new era: For the first time since 1973, UK to control who may fish in our waters, and on what terms.

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, George Eustice MP, and Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Two weeks after its introduction, the legislation that will give us the powers to implement an independent fisheries policy has moved a step forward. Lords’ Minister, Lord Gardiner, has led the Second Reading of the Fisheries Bill in the House of Lords today.

The Bill will provide the legal framework to ensure that the UK becomes an independent coastal State outside of the EU, and the Common Fisheries Policy. It will also provide the powers needed to manage our fisheries more responsively and responsibly by including strong measures to protect our seas, as well as a new climate change objective recognising the impact of fishing on the health of the ocean.

Lord Gardiner opened the session with a speech setting out how the Bill will enable the UK to create a sustainable, profitable fishing industry, while securing the long term health of British fisheries.

Lords’ Minister Lord Gardiner said:

• The Fisheries Bill gives us the historic opportunity to design our own domestic fishing policy, one that is catered to support our coastal communities best.

• We are also fully committed to securing the good health of our marine environment. The Bill includes strong measures to allow the UK to lead the way on sustainable fishing.

Fisheries Minister George Eustice said:

• This Bill gives us the powers we need to become an independent coastal state and control who fishes in our waters and under what terms.

• Now that we have left the EU there are many opportunities to do things better, to fish sustainably and to get a fair settlement for our fishermen.

The Second Reading of the Fisheries Bill will conclude this evening. The Bill will then go to Committee Stage, with Report Stage and Third Reading following this, before transferring to the House of Commons for further scrutiny.

You can track the progress of the Fisheries Bill and read debates on all stages of the Bill on parliament.uk

Further detail on the Bill is here.

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And you wonder why all the Newlyn fleet were still in the harbour today!

This is the French stern trawler Joseph Roty II, one of the newest and largest in the French fleet...

she works well off shore, often on the west coast of Scotland and Ireland where she has just steamed from since Saturday as storm Ciara blew across Ireland and the UK...

the skipper took this photo looking back aft as he passed Lands End this morning on his way to St Malo to land...

in something similar to This Fishing life, the boat was the subject of a documentary last year, (Hommes des tempetes/Men of Storms) an all too familiar fishing story - two weeks of struggling to find fish, and then, bad weather arrives...

he's not the only French boat at sea, most of the boats on this AIS chart are around 23m long, much smaller than the Joseph Roty II - they began fishing again this morning.

Ciara, after the storm, Monday morning on Newlyn fish market.

Cape Cornwall at the height of Storm Ciara which saw the wind stay over 40 knots for the last 24 hours, the highest gust recorded in the west of Cornwall was 67 knots on the Lizard...

Sennen streets were drenched in spray throughout the day...

so the fish on Newlyn market this morning will be the only fish landed until the end of the week, buyers beware!..

after a nightmare of a trip, hake from the Ajax made good money this morning - no doubt the crew, including young relief skipper Ashley who was airlifted from the boat during the trip after suffering a severe leg injury, will all be tuned in to BBC2's This Fishing Life tomorrow evening when the series focuses on the trials and tribulations of with Brexit looming and the bigger boats in the Newlyn fleet...

plenty of bright red gurnards from the beam trawl landings of the Lisa Jacqueline...

and red mullet...

along with megrim...

and Dover soles...

monk tails...

and the odd bass, no doubt this fish will be on the Trelawney wet-fish counter later this morning...

the Nowell fleet at rest...

plaice...

and megrims also came from the AA as she is often referred to..

buyers busy buying...

their last chance of fish for days according to the forecast...

as the strong winds will keep all but the biggest in the fleet from sailing for a few days yet.

The CatchApp: what do fishermen really think?

Calling all Under10m fishermen.

CatchApp on your mobile device.

The Coastal PO has ONLY received complaints and been contacted by people having real trouble using the MMO's new CatchApp, either from their phones or when trying to report their catches in other ways. 

Despite this we hear that the MMO is telling people (and presumably Defra) that it's all going great, fishermen love it, "you only hear about the moaners", "I was in Rye the other day and all the fishermen there gave it a big thumbs up" and so on.

Are we really only getting one side of the story?

What's the real view of fishermen? Tell us please?

Please take a few minutes to complete this important survey on using the CatchApp.

Scottish Fishing Conference 2020 - Innovation and Act!

Scottish seafood leaders to innovate and act for prosperous, sustainable fisheries 

2020’s Scottish Fishing Conference, delivered by Fisheries Innovation Scotland, will take the temperature of innovation in the fishing industry, spark new conversations, and identify projects to release the un-tapped potential in Scotland’s seafood sector. 

Fisheries Innovation Scotland’s announcement of the Scottish Fishing Conference 2020, and its focus – ‘from innovation to action’ – has been welcomed by Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing MSP. Mr Ewing remarked: “Innovation is key to ensuring a prosperous, sustainable fishing sector in the future and in particular, to help the industry play its part in tackling climate change and in enhancing our marine environment. Scotland’s highly productive seas are the fourth largest in the EU, and it’s important that we find more ways to work together to maintain and enhance our seas for future generations. The Fisheries Innovation Scotland conference offers us all an opportunity to come together and do just that.” 

Fisheries Innovation Scotland (FIS) has opened registrations for the significant two-day conference, to be held in St Andrews University on the 1^st and 2^nd July 2020. The conference theme speaks to a pivotal moment for the seafood industry as it meets, head-on, changes in management, markets and climate, and embraces new technologies to steward fish stocks for a resilient future.

FIS Executive Director, Kara Brydson, comments: “Scotland is rightly proud of its seafood industry and in a time of great change, we must make sure that is true long into the future. It’s important that the Scottish Fishing Conference delivers its aim of taking us through from new ideas to concrete actions. We’re going back to basics of looking at what innovation means to Scottish fisheries, and exploring all the areas where this innovation can make the greatest positive impact for our industry and the people driving it.” 

While discussion on new technologies will be central to many sessions, Ms Brydson emphasises the breadth of subjects the conference will touch upon: “We’ll be covering safety, marketing, finance, data collection and much more. I’d encourage anyone with an interest in the sea, in fish, in tech, in social science – anyone with new thinking to share – to join us.”

Extensive pre-conference research will identify priority areas for change from across the sector, and seek to define what innovation means to fishermen, scientists, academics, environmentalists and supply chain businesses; something that will be explored in greater detail through participatory discussions at the event. And the conference itself will be innovative: delivering highly interactive sessions, including a ‘Shark’s Tank’ – the Dragon’s Den of fisheries entrepreneurship – designed to attract researchers and innovators from outside the seafood world as well as fishers themselves.

FIS Board Members will conduct live, on-stage interviews with leaders from current FIS projects – getting to the heart of science and engineering already boosting the sustainability of Scottish fishing practices.

Elspeth Macdonald, Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, and FIS Board Member, spoke of the appetite for innovation in the Scottish fleet: “Our fishermen are determined to produce the highest quality sustainable seafood. We know the seas we’re fishing in are changing, and all around us new ideas for fishing, the supply chain, and marketing of products are evolving rapidly. It’s vital we’re open to those new ideas, and we’re leading discussions that produce innovations that may help define our business in the future”. 

RSVPs for the conference are open now. Tickets are free of charge and can be reserved via the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scottish-fishing-conference-2020-tickets-88824838483

A lively conference dinner will be held on the 1^st July at Lower College Hall, St Andrews University, for which tickets will be available shortly, via the registration link. Dinner tickets incur a charge. 

For any questions about the Scottish Fishing Conference, ideas or comments, please contact Mindfully Wired Communications:

•           Harriet Yates-Smith – Harriet@mindfullywired.org
•       Katrina Ryan – Katrina@mindfullywired.org

Westminster Hall - Trouble with CATCH APP?

The recently launched MMO's Catch App, has attracted a huge amount of criticism - one, that it is not for for purpose and two, simply the seemingly outrageous cost reputed to have been £1.8million pounds (given that the brother of a Cornish crab fisherman developed a near identical app for around £800) that works and was already in use and accepted by ICFA and the MMO for shellfish catch returns.

Make your thoughts know to your MP! - Have you contacted your MP yet and asked them to attend and voice your concerns?

WESTMINSTER HALL DEBATE

Sheryl MURRAY MP has secured a Westminster Hall debate next Wednesday at 0930 on the future of fishing. These are not usually well attended unless MPs are contacted by constituents and asked to raise issues. So all of you having CATCHAPP problems this is a great opportunity to email your MP and set out your problems. 

Link below to all MP contacts in case you don’t have. MPs staff always hugely busy so putting Westminster Hall fish debate / urgent in message subject will help staff notice needs swift attention. 

All you need to know about the Catch App from the MMO.

Where an MP has a Parliamentary email (and local one) best to use the Parliament one, or both. This is a broad debate so opportunity to raise issues beyond Catchapp. Short and succinct vs long and rambling will get more response from MPs generally and by all means add list of questions you would like asked of the fisheries Minister, this is the MPs chance to raise them. 

Good luck!

How to contact your local MP representing your fishing interest.


Cornish MPs by port - contact them by phone or email!

Padstow

Fowey and Looe 

Mevagissey 

Newquay

Newlyn, St Ives, Hayle

Brexit done! Seafood Innovation Fund - £10 million up for grabs by the fishing industry.

What is the UK Seafood Innovation Fund?

The £10 million UK Seafood Innovation Fund will support the UK’s fishing, aquaculture and seafood industries to deliver cutting-edge technology and innovation. By supporting ambitious projects with a long-term view, the fund aims to kick-start a step-change in the productivity and sustainability of UK seafood into the future.

Running for three years, this programme administered by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), will share regular calls for applications, offering interested collaborators the chance to bid for up to £50,000 for feasibility studies, or up to £250,000 for full R&D projects.

The programme will support projects that aim to deliver longer-term, cutting-edge innovation across the seafood sector and supply chain. It will also support projects that will take innovative ideas from early-stage research to commercial viability.

From experts in the seafood space – cutting-edge businesses within the fishing, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors – to innovative thinkers in tech, engineering, data science and app development, let’s innovate together.


Who can apply?

The UK Seafood Innovation Fund will run open competitions, and welcomes applications from both inside and outside of the seafood sector. Your idea, technology or product must benefit the sustainability and/or productivity of the UK seafood industry.

The fund is open to all organisations within the EU who have an innovative idea meeting the objectives of the fund. EU organisations can apply as a project lead, or can be part of an application as a subcontractor. Collaborative projects including both seafood sector experts and technology businesses are encouraged.

For more information on whether you are eligible to apply for the UK Seafood Innovation Fund, please read ‘Am I Eligible?’ on our FAQs page.


What is disruptive innovation & technology?

The UK Seafood Innovation Fund is particularly keen to hear from applicants bringing novel innovation and technology to disrupt the seafood sector. These ‘disruptive innovations’ should bring techniques, skills and processes that can improve on current practices and bring significant benefit to the sector.

Disruptive innovations may have the potential to be scaled up and could be applicable to any part of the seafood supply chain – from boat or farm to plate.

If you have an idea and want to check if it is in scope for the UK Seafood Innovation Fund, please feel free to contact us.

Examples of disruptive innovation may include, but are not limited to:


AQUACULTURE
Innovations in feed, biotechnology, health, robotics, logistics, storage.

WILD CATCH FISHERIES
Innovations in gear, bycatch reduction, improving catch recordings, logistics, storage, transport.

PROCESSING
Innovations in robotics, logistics, traceability, packaging, storage.

DISTRIBUTION
Innovations in logistics, traceability, packaging, supermarket storage, selling point tools.

HARVESTING
Innovations in fishing gear around target catch, bycatch avoidance and selectivity, monitoring and reporting of harvesting activity.

FINAL CLIENT
New, intuitive tools for making decisions on purchase or consumption.

CROSS-CHANNEL TECHNOLOGIES
Innovations in traceability, Blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning, satellite technologies, big data and marketing tools.

SAFETY AND WELFARE
Innovations leading to better working conditions for fishers and fish-farmers, or that lead to higher welfare for animals within the supply chain.

CLIMATE CHANGE

In the context of the UK Government declaring a ‘climate emergency’, innovations are required that reduce carbon impacts of aquaculture and fishing, accelerate or enhance best practice in this area, and effectively raise awareness of low-carbon options already available.

The UK Seafood Innovation Fund is also looking to hear from applicants with ideas about how to apply existing technology from other sectors into the seafood sphere. These ‘disruptive technologies’ already exist in other, unrelated sectors. Relevant applications to the UK Seafood Innovation Fund must outline how disruptive technologies could be applied to deliver innovation and benefits to any aspect of the seafood sphere.

Identification and development of disruptive technologies may require:

• ‘Outsider’ perspectives and input.
• Forging new connections between businesses and sectors, making it clear where economic and environmental opportunities lie.
• Collaborative working.
• Our Steering Group

Comprising representatives from the fisheries, aquaculture, academic, regulatory and innovation sectors, the Steering Group provides invaluable advice to ensure that the UK Seafood Innovation Fund supports a breadth of innovative projects. The Steering Group meets regularly to keep abreast with the fund’s progress.

The Steering Group also has a crucial role in reviewing applications to the fund. Once the group reaches consensus, they make recommendations to the UK Seafood Innovation Fund Executive Board about which projects should receive funding.

Meet our Steering Group.

Are you ready to apply to the UK Seafood Innovation Fund?

Read through our FAQs page to find out how to apply.

HOW TO APPLY.