It was great to welcome the Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer to Shoreham Harbour on Monday to celebrate a major coup for the port. He was there to announce a major investment in the Port from the Government as a big beneficiary of the UK Seafood Fund, set up to support the long-term future and sustainability of the UK fisheries and seafood sector.
Shoreham will receive just over £1.2m to redevelop the inshore fishing marina by creating 52 new berths. The objectives of the project are to secure and grow the viability of inshore fishing in the locality, protecting skills, and creating employment for future generations. This is a big vote of confidence in the Port of Shoreham which has never been busier under the leadership of Chief Executive Tom Willis.
We were able to show the minister the excellent new Port Kitchen and then both of us were put to work opening the sluices on the refurbished dry dock which will be well used by boats from Scotland and across the Channel needing to do repairs rather than travel all the way back to their home port. It turned out to be quite a workout on the heavy iron wheels which I think could do with a bit of WD40!
There was further good news which will certainly benefit Shoreham with the launch of a consultation on new Fisheries Management Plans aimed at providing sustainable stocks to benefit UK fisheries now we are not controlled by the EU’s Common Fishing Policy. These will cover crabs, lobsters, bass and scallops amongst others where of course Shoreham is the leading port for landing scallops in the UK. There are also measures to change the wasteful regulations on discards and lifting the licence cap on quotas for small boats, exactly the sort of vessels which will be attracted to Shoreham as part of this investment. So good news all round for our fishermen and for Shoreham and Southwick all round.
