The Report of the Seafood Task Force – Navigating Change (October 2021) - recommended 16 support schemes at an estimated cost of €423 million, collectively designed to address the impacts of Brexit and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on our seafood sector and coastal communities.
Since the publication of the Task Force Report, many of the recommended schemes have since been launched. The first of these was a Brexit Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme which ran from October to December 2021.
It made available supports of €4,600 up to €88,700 per month depending on vessel size for vessels to tie-up for a calendar month.
Vessels in the Rockall squid fishery could tie-up for two months at these rates. In total, some 179 vessels availed of this scheme at a cost of €10 million.
I introduced a new fleet tie-up scheme in May 2022 and it will operate until November this year. To further assist the fishing fleet in these difficult times, I am allowing each vessel to receive aid for two months in 2022.
Already, some 67 vessels availed of the scheme for the month of June, with a further 43 approved for tie-up for July.
For the inshore fleet, a Brexit Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme operated over January to March and was availed of by 771 inshore fishing vessel owners at a cost of €2.6 million to assist in adjusting their business to the post Brexit environment.
In addition, a Brexit Inshore Marketing Scheme is under way and is investing €600,000 in 2022 in promoting stocks of interest to inshore fishers to support prices at the quayside.
Separately, a €45 million Brexit Processing Capital Support Scheme is open for applications at present, with the aim of supporting the seafood processing sector to engage in transformational change, mitigating the effects of Brexit, and assisting the sector to move further up the supply chain to produce higher value seafood products. Grants of up to 50% for capital investment are available.
For coastal communities, a €25 million Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme is open for applications and aims to counter the adverse economic and social consequences of Brexit on businesses operating in the blue economy in our coastal regions. The scheme offers aid of up to €200,000 for capital investments and also offers aid for training and mentoring.
Additionally, a €35 million Brexit Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme is well underway, with grants of €32 million approved for local authorities to renew important local infrastructure that will facilitate both fishing activities and the growth of our blue economy.
In recent days I announced a €20m Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Growth Scheme that will offer grants of up to 50% for capital investment in aquaculture enterprises to mitigate the impacts of Brexit on the sector, while benefiting processors impacted by the TCA quota reductions by developing an alternative source of fish raw material supply for them and benefiting coastal communities impacted by Brexit with additional local sources of employment.
I also announced a Brexit Fisheries Cooperative Transition Scheme that will provide liquidity aid to fisheries cooperatives impacted by the TCA quota reductions through the reduced landings by member vessels in turn reducing their commission on sales. The scheme will provide aid of 7.5% of the reduction in turnover in 2021 up to a limit of €250,000 per cooperative.
A further two schemes recommended by the Seafood Task Force are awaiting a Decision of the European Commission on the State Aid Notifications submitted to the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP).
I anticipate making further announcements on these schemes shortly. These include the recommended whitefish decommissioning scheme and the off-register capacity buyout scheme.
