UK Seafood Fund: Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships scheme

Find out the funding available through the Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) scheme and how to give feedback before applications open.

This guide is for people interested in applying for the Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) scheme. Eligible applicants are:

• sole traders engaged within commercial sea fishing
• or an organisation or business engaged within commercial/recreational sea fishing, aquaculture or processing
• universities or research institutes

The FISP scheme is part of the UK Seafood Fund.

About the UK Seafood Fund

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will manage the £100 million UK Seafood Fund to invest in the long-term sustainability of the UK fisheries and seafood sector. The funding ends on 5 April 2024.

The UK Seafood Fund is divided between:

• science and innovation
• infrastructure
• skills and training

Defra will publish details of funding for infrastructure and skills and training when they are available.

About the FISP scheme

The FISP scheme and the existing [Seafood Innovation Fund](https://www.seafoodinnovation.fund/) share the funding allocated to the science and innovation part of the UK Seafood Fund.

Apply for funding

To get funding, you must either bid competitively for a contract or apply for a grant.

Approximately £10 million will be available in contracts of up to £300,000. Grants of up to £20,000 to develop research proposals will also be available.

FISP will collect data to improve and share knowledge of fisheries and aquaculture to support sustainable fisheries management. This will be done through collaboration between the fishing and seafood industry and research institutes.

Applications for the FISP scheme must include a partnership between the UK seafood sector and a research institute.

The FISP scheme will open in October 2021.

Defra will publish more guidance once the fund is open. In the meantime, you have the opportunity to attend an early engagement event and give feedback about the scheme.

Additional information:

Attend an early engagement event

Defra is hosting an event on MS Teams at 2:30pm to 4:00pm on 23rd September to explain:

• the scheme objectives
• how the funding works
• suitable project examples
• the application process
• funding timelines

You will get the opportunity to ask questions before the event using the BRAVO messaging system. Defra will share more information after the event on BRAVO. BRAVO is Defra's e-tendering system.

Give feedback

Defra is seeking feedback on the funding proposals. If you register for the early engagement event, you can preview and comment on the documents that:

• explain the scoring criteria for a bid
• set out the specification for the scheme, such as who is eligible to apply

You will need to register on BRAVO to attend and give feedback. Fill in the feedback form on BRAVO to give your views.

Register on BRAVO

1. Go to https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk/.

2. Click 'Register now'.

3. Accept the terms and conditions and click 'Continue'.

4. Enter your organisation and user details.

5. Make a note of the username you chose and click 'Save'.

You will receive an email with your unique password, which you should keep secure.

If you need help, email …@bravosolution.co.uk or telephone: 0800 368 4850.

Join the early engagement event

1. Go to the FISP early engagement page on BRAVO.

2. Select the 'log in or register to participate' button in the top right-hand corner.

You will be able to:

• access the event
• get information such as scoring criteria and project specification
• give feedback

There is a limit to the number of people that can join the call. Please restrict the number of attendees from your organisation to a maximum of 2 people.