Share

Council seeks to help seafood sector maximise value

Financial support worth £19,000 for the Aberdeenshire seafood sector to improve businesses and products has been agreed by councillors.

Aberdeenshire Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee (ISC) heard the area’s seafood sector operates in a unique and challenging environment and day-to-day management issues often leave insufficient time for product and market development to enhance value.

Council officers compiled a proposal with Seafood Scotland (SFS) to offer financial support to fish processing businesses in Aberdeenshire to help them achieve accreditation standards and expand their range of potential market opportunities.

A report before ISC last week said ongoing restrictions on catching effort will necessitate sectoral growth, to be derived from increasing the economic contribution of the fish processing sector.

Following approval by ISC last week, up to 23 individual fish processing companies in Aberdeenshire will be supported up to a maximum of £1,500 per business, match-funded by Seafood Scotland.

This will enable them to engage the services of an external adviser to raise operating standards to achieve accreditation under the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or Safe and Local Supplier Accreditation (SALSA) over a 2 year term.

Such support will account for around 30% of the total costs of meeting the higher standards, with the balance of around 70% to be met by individual fish processing companies.

The project will be delivered by Seafood Scotland and focused on processors in Buchan and Banff and Buchan.

The total council contribution is £30,000, of which £11,000 has already been approved from Regeneration funds, leaving a balance of £19,000 to be contributed from Economic Development resources.

The project will contribute to a number of Aberdeenshire Council’s Economic Development priorities, including encouraging businesses to be more market-focused and add value, work with partners to strengthen the market for Aberdeenshire fisheries and help businesses to develop new products or enter new markets.

The committee heard that enhanced profitability will help safeguard existing jobs and may lead to new employment opportunities in fisheries-dependent communities.

All participating companies will be surveyed to establish the benefits derived, such as gross value added, value of new markets, the number of jobs retained/created, and to identify where future support may be directed.

ISC chairman Peter Argyle said: “We have to work with the local seafood industry to try to ensure the value of the catch leaving Aberdeenshire is as high as possible.”

Vice chair Jill Webster said: “We hope the local industry will appreciate what we’re trying to do here and take up the offer of assistance to bring added value to the area’s catch.”