IRELAND ANNOUNCES BREXIT INSHORE FISHERIES BUSINESS MODEL ADJUSTMENT SCHEME

Ireland announces Brexit Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme. Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has announced a support scheme for the inshore fisheries sector to assist inshore fishers in adjusting to the impacts of Brexit on their businesses. The Brexit Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme delivers on a recommendation of the Report of the Seafood Task Force – Navigating Change (October 2021). The scheme will be implemented under deminimis rules and is proposed for funding under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

Announcing the Scheme, Minister McConalogue said:

“The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the UK had significant negative impacts for our fishing industry. Our inshore fishers have been particularly and uniquely impacted by logistical and route to market difficulties as exporters of live shellfish and other highly perishable seafood products. These difficulties have added costs to the business model of our inshore fishers and in reducing the shelf life of these highly perishable products have impacted negatively on the sector.”

“I am announcing today a forward looking support scheme to assist inshore fishers in adjusting their business model to the post Brexit market environment. The scheme will take the form of a suite of four online training modules to be made available by BIM, specifically tailored to the inshore fishing sector, with a payment to owners of inshore fishing vessels to assist them with the costs of undertaking the training and subsequently adjusting their business and marketing plans. The scheme will be open to owners of fishing vessels under 18 metres in length, registered in the polyvalent, polyvalent potting and specific segments. As recommended by the Seafood Task Force, these one-off payments will be €2,700 for owners of vessels under 8 metres in length and €4,000 for owners of vessels between 8 metres and 17.99 metres in length”.

The Scheme will operate from January to March 2022 and will be administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara. Further details will be available from BIM in due course at https://bim.ie/fisheries/funding/

For vessel owners to be eligible, they must demonstrate that they were actively fishing during the period January to June 2021. The scheme will specify requirements in this respect.