Delivering against seven priorities to support a thriving UK seafood industr

Seafish reflects on progress and sets out plans for the year ahead

Seafish is reflecting on progress made by working with industry and partners over the past year while also looking to a busy future with an annual plan published for 2024-25 and a levy review consultation underway.

In 2023 Seafish, the public body which supports the UK seafood industry, committed to a five-year corporate plan informed by feedback received from the seafood industry during a strategic review.

The plan sets out seven industry priorities:  Ensuring a safe and skilled workforce,  facilitating and promoting international trade,  responding to the climate change emergency,  improving fisheries management, enabling supply chain resilience, improving data, insight, and innovation and championing industry reputation.

Highlighting achievements made possible by working closely with industry and wider stakeholders, Seafish pointed to a number of key accomplishments:

• The publication of Skilled Worker Visa guides to help the seafood industry navigate the legalities around the employment of migrant workers.

• Safety and skills have been improved with almost 6,000 training places delivered while seafood businesses occupied 43 exhibition spaces at four international trade shows.

• Seafood businesses have benefited from advice given around import charges, plastic packaging tax, extended producer responsibilities.

• Businesses can also now access a carbon emissions profiling tool to help the sector meet net-zero targets.

• Since leaving the EU, the seafood industry has had to adapt to changes in legislation with Seafish, along with DEFRA and the MMO working with 350 fishermen on fisheries management plans.

• Codes of practice have been developed with the shellfish industry on animal welfare commitments.

• An evidence-based response following misinformation being circulated about scampi has been developed.

• Health and safety workshops to support the industry were also welcomed.

Seafish has also published its latest annual plan setting out what it intends to deliver in the 2024 to 2025 financial year.

Seafish CEO Marcus Coleman, said: “Ahead of our corporate plan being developed, the seafood industry gave us clear feedback on where you felt our assistance was needed most. 

“By working closely with industry and wider stakeholders over the past year, we’ve been able deliver outputs with real impacts. This has included practical tools and resources, guidance and training, and opportunities for UK seafood businesses to promote their products to key international markets.

“We know there’s still more work to do to help our UK seafood industry thrive and we’re already underway with delivery of activities in our Annual Plan for 2024 to 2025. 

“Seafish is funded by levy and delivering across our seven priorities isn’t possible without it. 

“We’re currently consulting on proposed changes to that levy system so that we can continue to support the seafood industry across the UK.”

Within their remit of supporting the seafood industry to thrive, Seafish promotes the best of the UK’s industry at international trade shows over the world.

By hosting pavilions at these shows in Europe, Asia and the United States, Seafish provides the platform to help businesses across the sector to network and grow.

It’s just one of the priorities Seafish has been working towards, but one appreciated by Chris Parker from the Wales Seafood Cluster, an organisation which encourages seafood businesses to work together.

Mr Parker said: “Showcasing the range, quality, and provenance of seafood available from the UK, the UK pavilion provides a unified point for UK businesses to promote their businesses under the Great Britain banner, and also offers them the ability to give a much larger impression at a show of that size.”

Further information is available on the Seafish website – visit the Who we are and what we do page to access a copy of Seafish’s annual plan for 2024 to 25.

Three levy related webinars offering more information on the proposed changes have been organised by Seafish.

These will be held on Tuesday, 16 July between 10am – 11.30am, Friday 19 July between 11.30am – 1.00pm and Friday 26 July from 1.30pm – 3.00pm.

Further sign-up information for the webinars, and more details on the consultation, are available at the Seafish levy review webpage.