Freedom of Information releases
Public Funding to the Fish Farming Industry
Public Funding to the Fish Farming Industry: FOI release (reference 4847)
Date received
20 October 2020
Date responded
17 November 2020
Information requested
I wish to make a request under freedom of information law and the environmental information regulations. I would be grateful if my request could be acknowledged.
I am aware of a Scottish Government response to a request for information on the financial support given to the fish farming industry, which includes information on support from Scottish Enterprise. The government was responding to a request in February 2019 for "details of financial support by way of (i) grants and (ii) loans, paid to the Scottish fish farming industry by Scottish Government or its agencies for each of the last ten years, broken down by operator." The response, issued in March 2019, provided information covering 2009-2018 and is here:
Scottish Government FOI response
I have also seen a freedom of information response in February 2019 from Scottish Enterprise to the campaigner, Corin Smith, which contains much of the same information, with the addition of a corrected £2 million Scottish Investment Bank payment to Loch Duart Limited in 2012. It is attached.
Can Scottish Enterprise please confirm that the information in these responses is correct and omits no financial support given to fish farming companies in the periods covered? And could Scottish Enterprise also please provide equivalent updated information to 20 October 2020, showing details of financial support by way of (i) grants and (ii) loans, paid to the Scottish fish farming industry, broken down by operator?
If the information is voluminous or otherwise difficult to compile, I would be happy to discuss ways of reducing the costs. I would welcome advice and assistance to ensure that I get a full and accurate picture of the public funding provided to the fish farming industry. I am also submitting similar requests to the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Response
We have reviewed the information supplied and have identified two additional awards:
| Service Start Date | Account Name | Service Product | Total SE contribution to eligible costs |
| 22/05/2017 | Joseph Robertson (Aberdeen) Ltd | Project Support - Innovation | £10,575.00 |
| 28/08/2018 | Dawnfresh Seafoods Ltd | R&D grant | £97,216.00 |
An update to 20 October 2020 is as follows:
| Service Start Date | Account Name | Service Product | Total SE contribution to eligible costs |
| 20/05/2019 | Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group Ltd | Project Support - Innovation | £7,200.00 |
| 31/08/2019 | Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group Ltd | R&D grant | £95,205.00 |
| 06/02/2020 | Youngs Seafood trading as Macrae Edinburgh Livingston | R&D grant | £34,372.90 |
Contact us
For further information contact our communications team, quoting the FOI reference number.