Guidance

Payments to the aquaculture sector from the Fisheries Response Fund (FRF)

Updated 6 May 2020

1. Payments to the aquaculture sector from the Fisheries Response Fund

This section relates to payments for aquaculture businesses.

The Fisheries Response Fund is administered by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of Defra.

The fund has been set up to provide immediate assistance with the ongoing production costs of aquaculture businesses, specifically shellfish and trout farms in England – producing food for direct human consumption. In addition, the fund supports the fixed business costs of English registered fishing vessels.

Aquaculture businesses are a valued part of England’s food industry, providing jobs and supporting the food supply chain. They also contribute to the economy, through exports and the hospitality trade.

The aquaculture sector has been adversely impacted by the downturn of export and domestic markets during the Covid-19 pandemic. The cyclical nature of aquaculture farms means there is minimal opportunity to reduce ongoing production costs to offset the loss in sales.

Payments made under the fund covering fisheries and aquaculture business costs will not be made twice for the same business activity.

Eligible businesses may also apply for other government assistance. More information is available.

2. Payments to aquaculture businesses

Payments made under the fund are to assist active trout or shellfish farms with their ongoing production costs.

Eligible businesses will receive one payment covering two months. Fund payments may be extended to a third month, dependent upon a review of industry and market conditions. Payments will be made directly into the bank account nominated in each business’s application form.

Payments will be made under s98 of The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 and the Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework for UK Public Authorities.

The normal tax treatment is expected to be applied to grants provided under business support schemes launched in response to COVID-19. This means any payments received under the Fisheries Response Fund for the catching and aquaculture sectors should be reported to HMRC as a part of the business income in the tax return for the business.

3. How payments are calculated

Businesses will be categorised into funding bands, according to the number of full-time equivalent employees (FTE), as recorded in 2018, from the latest validated records available from the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI). This data has been selected as the best available verifiable data for the sector, providing an indicator of scale and business performance.

Where businesses have farms that produce both trout for human consumption and restocking trout, the FTE band will be calculated in proportion to the production of their direct table trout output, based on 2018 data.

Businesses that opened or expanded their employee FTE number in 2019 should contact the MMO. These businesses will be required to provide verifiable evidence of production volumes and FTE employee numbers in 2019.

Where a business runs more than one farm, the recorded total number of FTE employees will be apportioned pro-rata across each farm.

Fund payment amounts are based upon average ongoing production costs per number of FTE employees, published in the latest available data from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) (2016) and increased to account for inflation.

4. Amounts payable

The table below indicates the amount payable per band, for each type of farm.

Band FTE	Month 1	Month 2	Total
SHELLFISH
0 output / 0 FTE	£0	£0	£0
0.01 – 0.49 FTE	£1,388	£1,388	£2,776
0.5 – 1.49 FTE	£2,776	£2,776	£5,552
1.50 – 2.49 FTE	£5,552	£4,448*	£10,000*
2.50 – 3.49 FTE	£8,328	£1,672*	£10,000*
3.5 + FTE	£10,000*	£0*	£10,000*

Band FTE	Month 1	Month 2	Total
TABLE TROUT
0 output / 0 FTE	£0	£0	£0
0.01 – 0.49 FTE	£3,166	£3,166	£6,332
0.5 – 1.49 FTE	£6,332	£3,668*	£10,000*
1.50 + FTE	£10,000*	0*	£10,000*

*The maximum amount payable in total is £10,000 per farm.

5. Eligibility criteria

To qualify, eligible businesses must:

• Be an active shellfish or trout farm in 2018
• Be located in England and produce shellfish or trout for direct human consumption
• Have a Fish Health Inspectorate authorisation number for the business
• Have a Fish Health Inspectorate authorisation number for the farm
• Businesses may apply for or already be in receipt of government support already announced, provided they do not exceed the temporary state aid framework limit (see exclusions)

6. Exclusions

• Farms that only produce trout or other fish to restock lakes
• Shellfish hatcheries, or businesses involved in the supply of juvenile fish or juvenile shellfish for aquaculture, or purifying shellfish prior to consumption (depuration)
• Farms that supply ornamental fish, or research bodies
• Aquaculture businesses that have already benefitted from the Fund will not be paid twice for the same business activity
• Other aquaculture fish for human consumption such as tilapia, sturgeon or carp

Because the fishing industry is a sector that has benefitted from other state aid funding, this fund is subject to the temporary state aid framework, which may mean some projects and organisations may not be applicable.

This applies if your undertaking has received other forms of support provided under the temporary state aid framework including the: Fisheries Response Fund (FRF), the Domestic Seafood Support Scheme (DSSS), Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF), Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILs), or Bounce Back Loans, and the total amount of benefits you have received from all schemes has exceeded €120,000 (around £105,000). Note this includes the value of the fees and 12 months interest received from the CBILS or Bounce Back Loan, not the amount of the loan.

7. Application Process

Recognising the need to move rapidly MMO will email or call eligible trout and shellfish aquaculture farms registered with the Fish Health Inspectorate from Wednesday 6 May 2020.

The email will contain an application form which should be completed, signed, and returned to MMO by email along with other required supporting documents, including identification and banking information, by 22 May 2020.

Eligible businesses will receive payment directly into their nominated business bank account. MMO aims to process payments within 24 hours of approval of the application form.

8. More information?

Further information available at www.gov.uk/mmo. To allow the grants team to work as quickly as possible through all applications, please avoid contacting them unless you have a query on a live application.

Fisheries Response Fund
Telephone: 03300 416579
Opening Hours: 9-7 Mon-Fri, 9-1 Sat
Email: fisheries_response_fund@marinemanagement.org.uk