Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted in Part
Priority should be given to projects driven by active fishing communities during the Fund’s 12...
Recommendation
Priority should be given to projects driven by active fishing communities during the Fund’s 12 years of operation. This principle should be embedded in any expanded delivery model or in any new scheme developed, with 26 clear and measurable criteria to ensure support continues to strengthen the fishing sector and the communities that rely on it. Priorities of the Fund from year two onwards should include fleet modernisation that reduces carbon emissions and does not increase fishing capacity beyond sustainable levels as well as the development of place-based fishing advisory services. (Recommendation, Paragraph 10)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states the Fund will support a modern fishing sector and coastal communities, using measurable criteria. It confirms that opportunities for fleet modernisation to reduce emissions and improve operational efficiency are already included in the existing FaSS scheme, but does not explicitly commit to place-based advisory services.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted in Part
The Government is using the Fund to support a more modern, resilient and prosperous fishing and seafood sector, while also contributing to the regeneration of coastal communities. The Fund is intended both to support the sector with the immediate pressures it is facing and to support longer-term growth and resilience across the fishing industry and the communities that depend on it. As we develop the use of the Fund, and invite applications to schemes supported by it, we will use clear and measurable criteria to ensure the Fund achieves its objectives. Regarding the Committee’s recommendation that priorities for the Fund should include fleet modernisation that reduces carbon emissions and does not increase fishing capacity beyond sustainable levels, opportunities to fund this are already included as part of the FaSS. For example, the scheme enables improvements in operational efficiency, including enhancements to vessel hydrodynamics to reduce emissions.
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