King's Lynn firm says Government's £10m fund for fishing industry is a ‘lifeline'

The director of a Lynn shellfish company has described plans to support England’s fishing and aquaculture sectors with £10 million as a “lifeline”.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made the announcement on Friday that more than 1,000 businesses will receive direct grants through a fisheries support scheme which will run for up to three months.

Following the announcement, Neil Lake, director of John Lake Shellfish, said “everything is a help”.

He added: “It seems as if it’s a lifeline for the industry at the moment.”

Mr Lake said Lynn is one of the biggest inshore ports where around 40 vessels make up the Fisher Fleet.

But Mr Lake, who has eight vessels, said a lot of boats are “tied up” at the moment.

“In King’s Lynn, the only two jobs that are viable at the moment at this time of the year are fishing for shrimps and whelks,” he said.

But as shrimps have to be peeled in Morocco, and it is not possible to transport them there at this time, they are being put in freezers.

“It’s not ideal when you have got to pay for freezing,” Mr Lake said.

“It has a knock-on effect as the price then goes up.”

Meanwhile, whelks are usually sent to Korea but as they cannot buy them at the moment, sales have “collapsed”.

Mr Lake said: “It is all slowly grinding to a halt, so anything the Government can come up with will be very helpful.”

While it is a quiet time of year for them, Mr Lake said it is looking like it will be a late start to the season for them.

And, although Mr Lake is grateful of the Government’s announcement that there will be support for businesses like his, he believes something had to be done to protect the fishing sector for future trade talks.

“The Government says it’s going to back the fishing industry in trade talks, so if they want an industry left to pick up the pieces when it’s all done, then they need to support us.

“One could argue that they had to do something.”

In making the announcement on Friday, Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “This £10 million scheme will provide a lifeline for more than 1,000 fishing businesses so they can continue to maintain and operate their boats during this challenging time, which has seen falling prices and lack of demand for fish from the restaurant industry.

“We are continuing to work closely with the fishing and aquaculture industry to ensure that they are supported and can get back to their vital role of providing fish for the table while contributing to the economy of many of our coastal communities.”

And Tom McCormack, chief executive of the Marine Management Organisation, said: “We’ve continued to stay closely engaged with the fishing industry and are very much aware of the difficulties many fishing businesses have been facing with the downturn in markets for fish and shellfish.

“We absolutely acknowledge the importance of our fishing industries and share concerns about these current impacts – it is our problem too.

“The data we collect from the fishing industry has proved timely and incredibly valuable in helping to quickly evidence the current situation and to target where financial support is most needed.

“We will be reviewing as we go, and will continue to engage with and listen to industry to ensure we’re supporting our fishing industry in the right ways.”