Seafish secures a seal of approval from industry and a strong steer on future priorities
There is an overwhelming need for us to continue our work for the seafood industry. The endorsement comes from a recent consultation with the seafood industry and Government into the future of Seafish.
Through workshops and an online survey in summer 2021, we posed questions on our function, form and funding to determine our strategic direction. This included questions on the levy system which was last reviewed in 1999.
Our purpose at Seafish is to give the UK seafood sector the support it needs to thrive.
The Strategic Review has given us a fantastic opportunity to ask industry and Government how we can work in partnership to achieve that aspiration.
We are pleased to say the Strategic Review has given us a strong steer and mandate going forward and a renewed sense that industry need our support now more than ever.
The consultation led to three clear outcomes:
- There is an overwhelming need for Seafish to keep supporting the seafood industry to thrive.
- There was a clear steer on the highest priorities for industry right now. There was also acknowledgement that the organisation is currently spread too thin and needs to focus on where it can have the most impact.
- Industry acknowledged that, to move forward with purpose and ambition, Seafish needs to be funded to deliver the support industry needs. This includes a reform of the Seafish levy over the next few years.
Subject to ministerial approval from across the four administrations, we are starting to implement a set of recommendations made by our Board. These will support the development of the Seafish 2023-2028 Corporate Plan.
The recommendations cover changes to the work we will do and our structure to ensure it’s set up to deliver. Based on industry feedback, we will focus on six areas:
- Workforce issues
- Reputation of the industry
- Climate change
- International trade
- Innovation and insight, and
- Fisheries Management
To give industry more support with its priorities, we have taken the decision to stop our consumer marketing through Love Seafood from 1 April this year.
We also want to take this opportunity to thank the seafood industry for taking the time to give us their views. We will share more details on the recommendations soon and we want to keep the conversation open as we start to shape the future of Seafish.
Levy reform will require legislative change which can take years although we will start the process later in 2022. There will be further consultation with industry on any proposals.
All enquiries and feedback on the Strategic Review should be sent to seafish@seafish.co.uk.