Twenty-six projects have been awarded between GBP 24,900 (EUR 28,813, USD 35,172) and GBP 250,000 (EUR 289,296, USD 353,111) in the latest GBP 3.3 million (EUR 3.8 million, USD 4.6 million) round of funding from the UK Seafood Innovation Fund.
Created to support innovative ideas designed to improve the sustainability and resilience of the U.K. fishing, aquaculture, and seafood sectors, the fund has issued GBP 7.6 million (EUR 8.8 million, USD 10.7 million) to 57 projects over the past two years.
“We were overwhelmed with the number and diversity of applications we received to our second funding call. Through a highly competitive process, we have funded a brilliant group of innovative projects that we hope can make a significant contribution to the future sustainability, profitability and efficiency of the U.K. seafood sector,” UK Seafood Innovation Fund Steering Group Chair and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation at the University of East Anglia Fiona Lettice said.
The latest projects to receive funding include 10 focusing on innovation in aquaculture, eight tackling the future of U.K. fisheries, and six aiming to improve seafood processing and the supply chain.
Other projects are investigating sustainable energy for the fishing and aquaculture sectors, challenges in the underdeveloped seaweed market, and seafood product traceability.
U.K. Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis said the fund is playing an important role in ensuring the country has a profitable and sustainable fisheries industry for generations to come.
“These projects highlight the diverse range of innovative ideas from all across our fishing, seafood and technology industries. I look forward to seeing these exciting projects come to life,” Prentis said.
The UK Seafood Innovation Fund is administered by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), for the U.K. government.
