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Pete Bevington
25 November, 2009
MORE than £2 million is being given to the Shetland fish and
fish farming industries and their shore side activities from
the European Fisheries Fund, out of a record £9.3 million
coming to Scotland as part of the third funding round this
year.
Five whitefish boats are receiving over £66,000 towards a
total of £165,000 they are investing in improving their
vessels.
However the bulk of the EFF cash is going towards the salmon
farmers affected by the ISA outbreak off Shetland’s south
west coast.
The government movement control measures brought in after
the outbreak last January is likely to cost the Shetland
industry in the region of £20 million by the end of the next
two years.
On Wednesday the Scottish government announced funding worth
almost £1.2 million towards a variety of projects costing a
total of around £2.2 million, which the industry hopes will
help it emerge from the devastation in a much stronger
position.
David Sandison, chief executive of trades body Shetland
Aquaculture, welcomed the investment, which was agreed early
this year after then environment minister Michael Russell
visited Shetland to see the impact of the disease outbreak.
The announcement came on the day that the last salmon
affected by the disease, which is deadly to fish but not to
humans, was harvested in the control zone.
Fish farmers hope to have fresh stock in the cages next
spring under a new management agreement for the area that
should make it harder for such outbreaks to occur again.
Money was given to Hjaltland Seafarms, the biggest fish
farmer in Shetland, Skelda Salmon, the NAFC Marine Centre
and Shetland Aquaculture. No cash has gone to Scottish Sea
Farms, on whose farm near Hildasay the disease was first
detected by government fisheries officers on 2 January.
The cash is being spent on a series of trials and pilot
projects which could have long term benefits for the
industry as a whole, including improving the accuracy of
biomass calculations, protection measures against seal
predation, trial mooring grids, tests of sea lice resistance
to chemicals, and evaluations of feeding patterns.
Shetland Aquaculture hope to appoint a co-ordinator for
three years to help the local industry develop a management
structure for the whole of the islands, and will fund fish
welfare training courses at the NAFC Marine Centre. |
Mr Sandison said: “The
industry has taken a big hit this year and complied with all
the control measures and this is a way of trying to look
forward again and building on some of the key issues facing
us.
“We have a lot of work to do, and it’s good that we have got
a positive outcome from the government to help us with these
things.”
Shetland Fishermen’s Association chief executive Hansen
Black added that it was encouraging to see white fish
businesses investing in their boats during a tough year,
with expensive quotas and fishing effort coming at a time of
low costs.
Five boats from Yell (Guardian Angell), Burra (Quiet
Waters), Skerries (Renown – a scallop boat),
Scalloway (Valhalla), Whalsay (Venturous) are
all to receive money to help improve their boats and make
them more efficient.
Other cash has gone to:
• Shetland Seafood Auctions for a new £113,070 broadband
auctioning system (£27,136);
• Whalsay Fish Processors, who receive £137,216 towards a
tunnel freezer, defroster and additional bins;
• The Association of Shellfish Growers for four pilot
cultivation projects across Scotland;
• Lerwick Harbour, which receives £51,750 towards the
£69,000 cost of three onshore power outlets at Morrison
Dock;
• North Ice (trading as RH Henderson) to enhance their ice
plant at Cullivoe, receiving £31,504 towards the overall
cost of £42,006;
• Lakeland Unst (Freshwater), at Haroldswick, who will spend
£30,121 renewing their hatchery’s oxygen supply with the
help of £7,530; £92,715 replacing boilers with £27,815; and
£14,964 renewing nets with £2,693 help;
• North Isles Marine, who get £255,000 towards the £1.9
million cost of a new wellboat;
• Olnafirth Seafarm Ltd, who get £15,369 towards mussel farm
improvements costing £85,387;
• Langsound Shellfish, who receive £20,165 towards a new
£56,014 shore station; and
• Demlane Ltd, who are producing a mussel farming
development plan costing £368,184 with the help of £220,910
from EFF.
This week saw the first meeting of the Ministerial Group on
Aquaculture, which is reviewing the containment and
treatment of ISA and wants to help the industry strengthen
for the future.
A full list of beneficiaries can be found at
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Fisheries/
grants-subsidies/awards/EFF
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