This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Fisheries and aquaculture modernisation
09/03/2004
Fisheries and aquaculture projects across Scotland will
receive funding totalling £6.18 million to improve and
modernise their businesses.
Allan Wilson, Deputy Fisheries Minister today announced
the latest funding to 58 projects through the Scottish
Executive and EU FIFG (Financial Instrument for Fisheries
Guidance) grants.
The awards are expected to trigger associated investment
of some £10 million and create more than 96 full-time and
part-time new jobs in the industry.
The MInister said
"The Scottish Executive is committed to the development
of a viable and sustainable fishing industry in Scotland -
an important sector of the Scottish economy.
"The awards provide much-needed support and amply
illustrate our continuing determination to put the industry
on a sustainable footing and to improve product quality at
all stages of the food chain.
"Most of the aid is for projects located in fish
dependent areas or remote communities whose economies are
heavily reliant on aquaculture and fishing. Employment is a
vital consideration in such communities and was again an
important factor in the assessment of applications
received."
This is the sixth round of awards under the European
Union's latest Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance
(FIFG) which was introduced in 2000 and will run until the
end of 2006.
Applications for the next (seventh) round of awards
under the FIFG programme should be submitted to SEERAD by
31st March 2004.
Some £55 million pounds has been made available to
Scotland (£17 million for the Highlands and Islands area
and £38 million pounds for the rest of the country) under
the EU FIFG programme.
Joint Fisheries Management Groups, involving partners
from the industry, local authorities and the enterprise
network agreed the allocation of funds across the six areas
listed below for which schemes are now in place.
- Processing and Marketing
- Aquaculture
- Fishing vessel modernisation
- Fishing port facilities
- Operations by Members of the Trade
- Innovative Measures
The Fisheries Management Groups will oversee the
administration of the schemes and regularly review funding
allocations in light of experience and demand.
In addition to the FIFG award, there will be a Member
State back-up contribution - normally from SEERAD - of at
least 5 per cent of eligible costs. Precise amounts cannot
be given at this stage, but the minimum contribution for
this round will be in the region of £1.9 million.
Some examples:
Johnson Seafarms Ltd, Shetland is to
receive an FIFG grant of approximately £199,590 to
commission a forward thinking development programme centred
on diversification into other species. They propose
therefore to diversify into cod production. It is hoped
through this development and diversification programme to
secure the long term future of the company, safeguarding
around 40 jobs, creating a further 25 jobs and ensuring the
survival of a major independent local fish farming
operation
The Tannery Fishing Company Ltd,
Peterhead, which operates the M/V Audacious, has
been successful in obtaining a FIFG grant of £147,528 to
undertake a pilot project in conjunction with the Greenland
authorities researching the viability and sustainability of
fishing for deep-water species off the coast of Greenland.
If successful and a sustainable fishery can be developed,
the Greenland Government will consider offering licenses to
EU vessels., including Scottish boats.
Inverawe Smokehouses, Taynuilt award of
£376,184 will help the company to construct a purpose built
smokehouse adjacent to their existing facility. The new
smokehouse will be fitted out with a new range of
processing and smoking equipment which will allow the
company to double throughput. New equipment for recycling
fish waste will ensure that no raw material is disposed of
into landfill, as it is at present. The increased
throughput will allow the company to increase sales to the
delicatessen and food service sectors which have previously
been turned down due to capacity constraints.
Grampian Shellfish Ltd, Laurencekirk, has
an award of £30,548 to allow the company to improve their
facility and invest in new plant and equipment to add value
to their plant. This will allow the company to diversify
into production of a new range of ready to cook/ready to
eat meals.