The UK Government this week announced the latest Scottish projects to receive investment from the £100 million UK Seafood Fund.
In total, £18.7 million was awarded to 10 projects across Scotland aiming to develop infrastructure and improve capability at ports, harbours, processing and aquaculture facilities. In addition to the Seafood Fund investment, all of the projects also secured over £74 million in match funding from alternative private or public contributions.
The biggest grants, at £5 million each, were awarded to Northbay Pelagic in Peterhead, Mowi Scotland in Ardessie, and Scottish Sea Farms in Barcaldine.
Northbay Pelagic, one of Europe's largest pelagic processors, will use the funding to upgrade its current processing facility with new equipment, aiming to increase processing capacity by up to 35,000 tonnes per year.
Meanwhile, Mowi plans to develop a new state-of-the-art broodstock farm at its Highlands Ardessie site on the shores of Little Loch Broom, Ross-shire, while Scottish Sea Farms will construct a new post-smolt facility at its operation in Barcaldine, Oban, on the west coast.
UK Government Minister for Scotland John Lamont said that the UK Seafood fund is "a crucial part of our commitment to help level up coastal communities and deliver the Prime Minister's priorities of growing the economy and creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country."
"We are supporting fishing communities across the UK so they benefit from better infrastructure, new jobs and investment in skills to ensure they have a long-term and sustainable future," he said.
A further 2.1 million is being allocated to four Scottish projects through the Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) scheme to provide vital research that will inform fisheries management.
In total, the UK Government is awarding £45.6 million from the UK Seafood Fund to projects around the UK, aiming to modernise infrastructure across the sector and ensure uptake of the latest research for fisheries management, supporting around 1,500 jobs in the process.
Funding is also available through the UK Seafood Fund for the catching sector across the UK to replace or modernise their engines to reduce emissions, improve reliability and enable new technologies to be tested. A new round of funding, the Fleet Modernisation Round, is extending its scope to include all commercial vessels.
The announcement comes in the same week the UK government launched its Fisheries Management Plans and other initiatives aimed at supporting the fishing sector in England and Wales.