Fisheries and Seafood Scheme: Guidance Overview

The recreational sea angling community is among those applicable to funding under the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme which has earmarked £18 million over the next three years for England’s seafood sector. It is open to individuals, clubs, businesses (including charter boats and sea angling coaches), and collaborative partnerships from the recreational sea angling community.

The following provides an overview of the scheme with key information on general guidance. For further information and guidance please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/fisheries-and-seafood-scheme

The scheme is administered by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of Defra. The MMO has a team ready to provide advice and support to potential applicants. The Angling Trust advises all potential applicants from the recreational sea angling community to make full use of this service. Queries can be directed to [email protected]

If you have any queries about this funding opportunity or would like to submit a bid you can also contact Hannah Rudd, Policy & Advocacy Manager at the Angling Trust ([email protected]) who will gladly assist you.

Scheme Overview

At least £6 million in funding has been secured every year until 2025 to support projects that enhance the marine environment and develop the sector sustainably.

Funding will be available for recreational sea angling that addresses the following outcomes:

• Creating a more sustainable and resilience sector, including health and safety equipment
• Improving participation through co-design and co-management
• Achieving good environmental status through the conservation and restoration of the marine environment
• Supporting net zero through reducing emissions within the industry

Examples of projects that can be considered for funding include improvements to the resilience and sustainability of shore-based facilities, health and safety and marine conservation projects such as litter and habitat improvement. Additional funding rounds will also be announced for a defined period later in the year. Projects that would negatively affect or increase the exploitation of fish stocks will not be considered. For further information on projects that would and would not be applicable please visit the website.

For the first time, the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme will now support multi-year projects which can be completed up until the end of February 2025 alongside single-year projects. All projects will be assessed for value for money, benefits to be delivered, affordability and deliverability.

Match Funding

It’s important to note that this scheme is facilitated through matched funding by applicants. Please refer to the guidance documents to see the latest rates that apply.

The amount of money you can apply for will depend on:

1. Your business or organisation type:

• Small scale coastal fleet organisations can receive up to 80% funding;
• Public bodies, producer organisations, fishermen’s associations and cooperatives can receive up to 75% funding;
• Micro-entities can receive up to 60%;
• Small or medium-sized enterprises can receive up to 50% funding;
• All other private applicants can receive up to 30% funding

A micro-entity is a business that has any two of the following characteristics: a) a turnover of £632,000 or less; b) £316,000 or less on its balance sheet; or c) 10 employees or less.

A small business is a business that has any two of the following characteristics: a) a turnover of £10.2 million or less; b) £5.1 million or less on its balance sheet; c) 50 employees or less

An SME is a business that has any two of the following characteristics: a) turnover of less than £36 million; b) £18 million or less on its balance sheet; and c) 250 employees or less

Ineligible Projects

You cannot get funding for:

• Anything that negatively affect fish stocks that are in an overfished condition;
• Activities that would negatively affect the exploitation of fish stocks;
• Operations that increase the fishing capacity of a fishing vessel, or for equipment that increases the ability of a fishing vessel to find fish, except where they meet legitimate public policy goals such as improved safety or sustainability;
• Fishing for fish stocks managed by a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation or Arrangement to which the UK not a member or cooperating non-member of the Organisation or Arrangement;
• Fishing or fishing-related activities conducted without the permission of the flag State where required and, if operating in another State’s waters, without permission of that State;
• Building, purchasing, importing or acquiring fishing vessels,
• increasing the capacity of fish holds;
• Carrying out exploratory fishing;
• The same type of equipment for the same vessel if you have already received support through the scheme;
• Transferring ownership of a business;
• Statutory or mandatory undertakings – items and services that are statutory or mandatory requirements of law and bylaws cannot be funded;
• Preventative or scheduled maintenance costs;
• Maintenance and mandatory costs for any vehicles;
• Purchasing or leasing of vehicles that are not used exclusively to provide a direct contribution to the project;
• Your business’s operating costs, unless the MMO has told you otherwise in your offer letter;
• The re-payments of loans on any item(s) you have purchased; *The costs of any item(s) bought with a loan until the loan is repaid (this does not include leased items if your offer letter allows funding for them);
• Any costs that have been fully or partially funded through an alternative grant;
• Any costs that you could recover in part or in total by making a claim on an insurance policy or by seeking compensation or damages;
• The cost for any items purchased prior to receiving acknowledgement of receipt of your funding application by the MMO.

Applications

The information required to process an application will depend on the value of the project and what is being funded.

The following must be provided:

• Copies of your photographic identification documents (driving licence / passport) or two recent utility bills, only for sole traders/individuals.
• The past three years of your financial accounts (audited or non-audited);
• If your organisation is less than 3 years old, you only need to provide the accounts for the financial years you have been in operation;
• If your organisation is less than a year old, you will need to provide a cash flow forecast for a minimum of 5 years (Please contact the Grants Team at the MMO for a template);
• If your organisation is currently loss making, you will need to explain carefully in your business case or application form the steps you are taking to make your organisation financially viable, including the contribution you expect your project to make to this.
• A letter signed by all partners to show proof of authority for joint applications from partnerships;
• Company or charity and Value Added Tax (VAT) Registration numbers, if applicable to your circumstances;
• Organisation headcount numbers, if applicable to your circumstances;
• Suitable quotes (see below for more detail)
• A business case for any project £30,000 and above. Please contact the Grants Team at the MMO for a template
• If your total project cost is £150,000 or above we recommend that you contact the grants team prior to applying, as you will also be asked to provide a cash flow forecast ( Please contact the Grants Team at the MMO for a template). A full financial and economic appraisal will be conducted on your evidence and you may be asked for further information. Your project will be assessed by a panel of experts. More information on panels, including deadlines and dates will be published on our website.

Quotes

You must provide quotes for all goods and services that are part of your project in order to verify the costs and to demonstrate value for money.

Quotes supplied must include:

• a detailed and itemised breakdown of costs,
• the supplier’s address, phone number and a contact name,
• the supplier’s VAT number, if they are VAT registered and they have included VAT on the quote,
• the supplier’s company registration number, if they are a limited company,
• date of quote.

The quotes and tenders you submit must:

• come from suppliers that trade independently of each other and do not share any ownership,
• be from the last 3 months and be valid,
• be comparable in terms of the quality, size, quantity, and type of product, if you are using multiple quotes to show you will get value for money when buying a product,
• come from independent companies – and not from suppliers you are related to or that your business is linked to.

Quotes should be sent by:

• Email, showing the email trail from supplier to applicant;
• Electronic copies/scanned images of publicly accessible catalogues or websites which contain the specification of the item.
• The original signed quote by post or electronic copies/scanned images
• Documents that prove you have issued a formal tender, scoring and decision- making details.