Fisheries and Seafood Scheme
Information about the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme
Applies to England
![Fisheries and Seafood Scheme Logo depicting scheme name and image of crab in blue lines](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/604a0b5e8fa8f54021a9fb17/Fass_logo_white.jpg)
Important update 2523 JanuaryFebruary 2024
The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme is expectednow open to re-opendeliver inits February,final year of funding, providing valuable grants to match-fund projects over the next year.
SinceUp openingto in£6 2021,million theis schemeavailable hasthrough beenthis incrediblyscheme successfulto withsupport £27projects million invested in overa 1,300variety projectsof supportingareas, England’sincluding:
- Health
catching,andaquaculturesafety - Processing and
processingproduction - Partnerships
- Research
- Business
sectors,diversification.
Applications ascan wellbe assubmitted projectsfor thatsmaller areprojects improvingthroughout the marineyear, environment.
Thewhile fundprojects isvalued dueat £150,000 or more will need to re-openbe submitted in the comingspring weeks to deliverbe itsreviewed finalby yeara allocationpanel.
Applications can be submitted now and will continuebe toapproved supporton projectsa infirst-come, afirst-served varietybasis ofuntil areas,the includingbudget healthis andexhausted. safety,All processingclaims and production,payments partnerships,must researchbe made between April 2024 and diversification.31 March 2025.
Port and harbour infrastructure projects should now apply to schemes under the national national UK Seafood Fund.
Support and guidance
Full guidance is available below and our Grants Team is on hand to help guide you through the application process. They can offer advice on initial plans, or review expressions of interest before the submission of a full application. Contact us using the details below.
About the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme
The scheme,Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS), administered by MMO on behalf of Defra, delivers investments to safeguard the long-term sustainability, resilience and prosperity of the seafood sector across England.
ThroughSince theopening scheme,in MMO2021, the scheme has investedbeen in:
Moreincrediblythansuccessful800withhealth£27andmillionsafetyinvestedrelatedinprojectsoverproviding1,300equipment,projectsPPE,supportingvesselEngland’smodificationscatching, aquaculture andtrainingprocessingcourses.Businesssectors,diversificationasandwellstrategicasbusinessprojectsdevelopmentthatplansCommissioningareresearch.
FullThis detailsis willthe befinal announcedyear soon.
Aboutof the Fisheriesscheme, and Seafoodgovernment Scheme
Thefinancial Fisheriesguidelines anddictate Seafoodthat Schemeall deliversclaims investmentsand topayments safeguardmust thebe long-termmade sustainability,between resilienceApril 2024 and prosperity31 ofMarch the2025. seafoodAny sectorexpenditure acrossbeyond England.this date will not be eligible for reimbursement.
Aims of the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme
The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme provides financial assistance for projects that support the development of the catching, processing and aquaculture sectors, and for projects that enhance the marine environment. The scheme is available to applicants whose organisation and/or vessels are registered in England.
The scheme will provide funding for a range of projects that deliver the following high-level outcomes:
- Creating a more sustainable and resilient
sector;sector - Boosting the demand for English seafood and accessing new
markets;markets - Improving participation through co-design and
co-management;co-management - Achieving good environmental status through the conservation and restoration of the marine
environment;environment - Supporting net zero through reducing emissions within the industry
Who can apply for funding?
NewThis areasis the final year of the schemescheme, willand begovernment openedfinancial forguidelines applicationsdictate forthat aall definedclaims periodand ofpayments timemust throughbe fundingmade rounds.between TheApril dates2024 ofand these31 fundingMarch rounds2025. willAny beexpenditure announcedbeyond inthis duedate course.
Whowill cannot applybe eligible for funding?
reimbursement.
To be eligible for this scheme you must be one of the following:
- An individual or business engaged within commercial or sea fishing, aquaculture or processing or an organisation or business engaged within recreational sea fishing;
- A public body or local authority in a local community that has a focus on fishing, aquaculture or processing activities (including trust ports and local authority ports, and public bodies, using funds for environmental improvements or the management of fisheries);
- A university or research institute;
- A new entrant to the industry or unemployed individual that could benefit from knowledge or skills in fishing, aquaculture or processing activities.
You will be required to declare if you have received funding from other Governmentgovernment financial support schemes and, if so, what for. This is to prevent any duplication of funding and to ensure rules around maximum thresholds of support are complied with.
If you are an applicant engaged in recreational sea fishing it is suggested that you contact theour MMO Grants Team before making your application so that we can best advise you on how to complete your application form whilst additional IT development takes place.form.
If you are a business, you will need to declare which of the following categories you fall under (definitions can be found in the general guidance document)
micro-entityMicro-entitysmallSmall businessmedium-sizedMedium-sized businesslargerLarger enterprise.
You will be required to provide a level of match funding for your project. Please refer to guidance documents below to see the latest rates that apply.
Who cannot apply for funding?
You cannot apply for and receive funding if you:
- Have been convicted of fraud under any other fisheries scheme;
- Have been found to have committed a serious violation of conservation or management measures within the preceding 12
months;months - Are listed by the flag
State,state, the subsidisingParty,party, the FAO or a relevantRegionalregionalFisheriesfisheriesManagementmanagementOrganisation,organisation, orArrangementarrangement for IUU fishing in accordance with the rules and procedures of thatState,state,Party,party, organisation, or arrangement and in conformity with internationallaw;orlaw - Have been convicted of an offence that the MMO considers to be a ‘serious infringement ’ or fraud, in the 12 months
beforeprior to applying.
Please read the Guidance on Inadmissibility and fraud here.
What activities the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme can support
You must review the relevant guidance note for the project you are seeking funding for. These set out what you can and cannot apply for. The detailed guidance notes cover:
- Fishing related activities including energy improvements on a
vessel;vessel - Diversification and new forms of
income;income - Support to improve the resilience and sustainability of a shore-based
facility;facility - Support for cooperative activities, building capability and advisory
services;services - Achieving good environmental status through the conservation and restoration of the marine environment
- Health and
safetysafety.
If we consider that you can afford your project without the scheme’s support, your project will not be approved.
As a minimum, all projects will be assessed for value for money, benefits to be delivered, affordability and deliverability.
It is your responsibility to ensure that:
yourYour project is technically viable and complies with all relevant health and safety legislation, other project specific safety requirements, and all other legal requirements;- Items purchased with scheme funding meets all necessary legal requirements. If items purchased subsequently becomes obsolete or illegal, then this is at your own risk. There can be no refunds or claims against the scheme;
allAll relevant legal requirements of the project are complied with.
What activities the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme can’t support
You cannot get funding for:
- You cannot get funding for: Infrastructure (measure 28) has been removed from FaSS as support for infrastructure is provided through the UK Seafood Fund for the commercial catching sector to make port infrastructure improvements
- Anything that negatively affects fish stocks that are in an overfished
condition;condition - Activities that would negatively affect or increase the exploitation of fish
stocks;stocks - Operations that increase the fishing capacity of a fishing vessel, or for equipment that increases the ability of a fishing vessel to find fish, except where they meet legitimate public policy goals such as improved safety or
sustainability;sustainability - Fishing for fish stocks managed by a
RegionalregionalFisheriesfisheriesManagementmanagementOrganisationorganisation orArrangementarrangement to which the UK is not a member or cooperating non-member of theOrganisationorganisation orArrangement;arrangement - Fishing or fishing-related activities conducted without the permission of the flag
Statestate where required and, if operating in anotherState’sstate’s waters, without permission of thatState;state - Building, purchasing, importing or acquiring fishing
vessels,vessels - The transfer of fishing vessels from England to other
States,states, including through the creation of joint enterprises; increasingIncreasing the capacity of fishholds;holds- Carrying out exploratory
fishing;fishing - Pulse
trawling;trawling - The same type of equipment for the same vessel if you have already received support through the
scheme;scheme - Transferring ownership of a
business;business - Direct restocking, unless explicitly provided for as a conservation measure or in the case of experimental restocking and undertaken by a recognised scientific or conservation
institution;institution - Statutory or mandatory undertakings – items and services that are statutory or mandatory requirements of law and bylaws cannot be
funded;funded - Preventative or scheduled maintenance
costs;costs - Maintenance and mandatory costs for any
vehicles;vehicles - Purchasing or leasing of vehicles that are not used exclusively to provide a direct contribution to the
project;project - Interest on a
debt;debt - The purchase of land or housing that’s worth more than 10% of your project’s total
expenditure;expenditure - Your business’s operating costs, unless
theletter;letter - The re-payments of loans on any item(s) you have
purchased;purchased - The costs of any item(s) bought with a loan until the loan is repaid (this does not include leased items if your offer letter allows funding for
them);them) - Any costs that have been fully or partially funded through an alternative
grant;grant - Any costs that you could recover in part or in total by making a claim on an insurance policy or by seeking compensation or
damages;damages - The cost for any items purchased prior to receiving acknowledgement of receipt of your funding application by
the
Please contact the MMO if you are unsure of your projects eligibility for funding.
HowThe toapplication applyprocess
Expression of Interest (EOI)
You may wish to submit an ‘expression of interest’ form to see if a project is eligible before completing an application form or responding to a funding round. It is not essential but may help you understand whether your project is likely to fit the criteria for funding.
Please see our additional guidance for support on how to Lodge an Expression of Interest
Making an application
All applicants applying to the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme must read the general guidance document as well as the project specific guidance before applying.
You can apply for funding onlineonline. You using the Fisheries and Seafood Support E-system. You may need to complete more than one application if your project has different elements within it. You should read the associated guidance for each part of your application.
Please note IT improvements to the FaSS online application and claims system are ongoing.
You will need the following information to hand in order to complete the application:
- The appropriate guide for completing your application
form;form - Your business details such as your accounts, business registration number and VAT registration number.
If your application is successful, you will need to be able to pay for your entire project up front - you can then claim the costs back from MMO.
Expression of Interest (EOI)
You may wish to submit an ‘expression of interest’ form to see if a project is eligible before completing an application form or responding to a funding round. It is not essential but may help you understand whether your project is likely to fit the criteria for funding.
Please see our additional guidance for support on how to Lodge an Expression of Interest
After you apply
We will contact you within 5five working days to confirm receipt of your application. After this you can begin work on the project, but this is entirely at your own risk. The items, suppliers and costs must be the same as in your application: any deviation will make the costs ineligible.
We will assess your application within 8eight weeks of its receipt and notify you if any further information is required. Once we have all the required information to allow us to make a decision, we will contact you to tell you if your application has been successful or not.
If approvedapproved, you must update us on the progress of your project when you make a claim for payment.
You can also find further detaildetails in the the post-application guidance document.
All guidance notes are located in the the main guidance page
Apply Now
Apply now using the Fisheries and Seafood Support E-system.
Important Documents
Successful Applicants
Details of the projects that have been awarded a FaSS funding can be found here:
More information
Grants Teamteam
Marine Management Organisation
Lancaster House
Hampshire Court Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 7YH
Telephone: 0208 026 5539
Last updated
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Update 23 February 2024
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Update 25-01-24
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Transparency initiative update
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Update 25/08
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Successful applicants update
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Updated to reflect revised guidance for 13 April 2022 Launch
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Health & Safety update
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Document updates
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Updated 11
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New file
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Additional guidance provided on 'Lodging an FaSS Expression of Interest'
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Page updated with SOP7 Payment Details Form
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General Document update
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First published.