WELSH CONTACT DIRECTORY CREATED TO HELP FISHERMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES

Welsh contact directory created to help fishermen and their families. Essential contacts, services and other crucial information included.

A new directory of organisations offering support with safety, health, wellbeing and financial security has been launched to support fishermen and their families across Wales.

The bilingual directory, created for the Welsh catching sector and funded by the Welsh Government, is designed to raise awareness of the wide range of services available and how to access them.

While fishers are often at sea, family members frequently take on the responsibility of contacting organisations, completing paperwork and managing administrative matters on their behalf. The new guide recognises this, ensuring that both fishers and their families have clear, accessible information at their fingertips.

The new guide has been welcomed by Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies. He said:

“Wales has a proud and deeply rooted fishing heritage, and it’s vital that the people who work in this demanding industry, and their families, know that support is there when they need it. This new bilingual directory is a practical, thoughtful resource that brings together essential information on safety, health, wellbeing and financial security in one accessible place. I’m pleased that Welsh Government funding has helped make this a reality, and it’s particularly encouraging to see it already reaching fishermen and their families at Seafit Wales events. I’d also encourage anyone in the Welsh fishing sector to explore the funding available through the Welsh Marine and Fisheries Scheme.

“Our Fishing Animateurs are on hand to help fishermen access that support, and our ambition remains to see sustainable growth across fisheries and aquaculture while ensuring our coastal communities continue to thrive.”

Inspired by the Welsh agricultural sector’s Farmwell guide, the directory is the first bilingual, catching sector-focused contact guide produced in a physical format for Wales. The eight-page booklet is available in both Welsh and English ensuring equal visibility and accessibility for both languages and features a QR code which directs users to an online version hosted on the Fisherman’s Mission website.

The content was developed with input from stakeholders including the Welsh Fishermen’s Association, The Seafarer’s Hospital Society and The Fishermen’s Mission.

Samira Anand, Welsh Industry Engagement Manager with Seafish, which supported the guide’s production, said:

“We know that working in the catching sector brings unique pressures – not just for fishermen, but for their families too. This directory brings together the organisations that are there to help with safety, health, wellbeing and financial security. Having a trusted guide that can be kept at home or on board makes support more visible and easier to access. We hope it becomes a valued, go-to resource for fishing families across Wales and strengthens awareness of the excellent support already available.”

Physical copies can be distributed to stakeholders and will be made available at future industry events, with the wider seafood supply chain and stakeholders encouraged to promote the resource within their networks. The first batch of directories have already reached industry with distribution beginning at recent Seafit Wales events in Saundersfoot and Swansea where fishermen and their families attended to access health and wellbeing services.

The Welsh fishing sector is also currently reminded that funding remains available via the Welsh Marine and Fisheries Scheme with support provided by the Fishing Animateurs to assist fishermen in accessing these funds. The purpose of the scheme is to ensure sustainable growth in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors while also helping coastal communities to prosper.

For further information on this, visit https://www.gov.wales/funding-now-available-welsh-marine-and-fisheries-scheme

For more information, please contact: samira.anand@seafish.co.uk

Image: Seafish