Seafood’s central role in the government’s food strategy has been welcomed in the UK’s fish processing capital.
The sector and the town’s position as the leading hub for the industry was flagged up in the policy paper, released this week by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
It aims to deliver a “prosperous agri-food and seafood sector to ensure secure food supply in an unpredictable world, while contributing to the levelling-up agenda”. The huge impact and response to the Covid pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine were also highlighted, with Secretary of State George Eustice - no stranger to the seafood cluster - laying out plans for “healthier, more home-grown and affordable diets for all”.
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In the strategy, described as the “beginning of this conversation” and building on action already being taken, he said: “Seafood is another potentially lower-carbon and healthy source of protein which can grow sustainably to fulfil its potential within the food sector. We are investing £24 million to support seafood science and innovation as part of the £100 million UK Seafood Fund. This will include funding projects that develop innovation and technology in the seafood space.
“Innovations in aquaculture will also help us boost production in the seafood sector without adding to pressure on fish stocks. The fund also includes at least £65 million for an infrastructure scheme, investing in ports, and aquaculture and processing facilities for the seafood industry, to help support coastal communities.
“The seafood sector is an essential source of employment and part of the community in the Humber and has an important role to play in levelling-up. Grimsby is England’s leading fish processing hub, accounting for around a third of all UK seafood processing jobs. It has a rich heritage in producing and processing high quality seafood that the nation loves, including Traditional Grimsby Smoked Fish.
"The Seafood Grimsby and Humber Alliance represents the region’s seafood and trading processing cluster, which is composed of around 70 companies with more than 5,500 employees and that together support a further 10,000 jobs along the value chain. The Grimsby cluster, working closely with government, will play an important role in ensuring the sector can take advantage of new trade deals, adapt to climate change, and increase uptake of skills training to ensure the cluster has the right people to continue to provide quality seafood to the UK and beyond.”
It comes after a few days of civic celebration around the 25th anniversary of the Grimsby-held Seafood Chef of the Year competition, with stars of the sector converging on the town, as The Fishmongers’ Company - the liveried sector standard-bearer celebrating 750 years - backs the cluster.
Simon Dwyer, secretariat of Grimsby Fish Merchants’ Association, is a leading figure in the cluster administration.
He said: “We have put a lot of hard work into building bridges with Defra, getting them to understand what Grimsby is about, the cluster, the Community Renewal Fund money we won, and it has resonated with them.
“The NHS recommends two portions of seafood a week, it is sustainable and the more people that eat seafood the better it is for Grimsby.
“We’re currently averaging 1.16 portions a week - if we can improve that it will only be good for us.
“We want to partner with Defra around making seafood as affordable as possible. We want build further links with those behind the British caught fish, and we already are. We bring up fish caught in the South West every week, all types of different species, and we’re becoming a distribution network.
“We’re going to build on this and we appreciate the support from The Fishmongers’ Company and Seafish."
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