The UK fishermen will now be able to apply for a share in the €243m new European Maritime and Fisheries Funding (EMFF) to mold their businesses according to the modified Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which intends to aid their long-term sustainability and economic growth.
The funds will focus primarily on supporting the commitments to sustainable fisheries and augmenting the competitiveness of the fishing industry and aquaculture sector. The funding secured by the UK government will be open for applications in England from 18 January 2016.
The funding will be used to improve port and harbor areas and support innovation in the processing sector which will provide benefits to coastal communities and businesses.
Fishermen will also receive support as the discard ban becomes effectual with the EMFF funding, which will be used for partial funding of development of fishing gear or in identifying new markets for fish which were previously not considered.
The Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has also asked Seafish to set up an industry expert panel, spanning fisheries chain in England, to provide guidance on using the EMFF funding in the best possible manner to promote economic growth in the sector.
Speaking on the funding agreement, marine and fisheries minister George Eustice said: "These grants, combined with the flexibilities we secured will help our fishermen to adapt to the discard ban, will help us to achieve our ambitions of a profitable fishing industry by protecting our fish stocks for the long-term and safeguarding a healthy marine environment."
The UK's allocation of EMFF funding is distributed to each delegated nation based on parameters such as respective sizes of fleet, number of ports, sizes of industry and previous historical allocations.
Image: UK fishermen get funding boost. Photo: Courtesy of Sura Nualpradid/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.