Shellfish growers and trout producers will receive a share of £800,000 of funding to help make improvements to their businesses to mitigate the impact of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The grants from the European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to 11 aquaculture businesses include nearly £100,000 for phase two of the expansion of Seaforth Mussels on the Isle of Harris and around £200,000 for new specialist trout harvesting equipment at Dawnfresh Seafoods Ltd in Lanark. This investment for small aquaculture businesses is in addition to hardship payments of up to £27,000 which were launched as a direct response to COVID-19 last month. Read more |