Sea Fish Industry Authority
Encyclopedia
The Sea Fish Industry Authority (or Seafish) is a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...

, established in 1981, and charged with working with the UK seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

 industry to promote good quality, sustainable seafood. Seafish revised its mission in 2008. Its new mission is: "supporting the seafood industry for a sustainable, profitable future."

History

Seafish was established in the United Kingdom under the Fisheries Act 1981
Fisheries Act 1981
The Fisheries Act 1981 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.With regards to the sea fishing industry, the Act established the Sea Fish Industry Authority, which was given the duty to promote the efficiency of the industry in the UK, and provided for financial assistance...

 through the amalgamation of the Herring Industry Board
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...

 and the White Fish Authority
Whitefish (fisheries term)
Whitefish or white fish is a fisheries term referring to several species of demersal fish with fins, particularly cod , whiting , and haddock , but also hake , pollock , or others...

.

Seafish has its administrative base in the Scottish city of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 and has its research & development base in Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

, the UK's main base for the fishing industry and frozen food
Frozen food
Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved their game and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing food slows down decomposition by turning water to ice, making it...

. The organisation in Grimsby moved into the new Humber Seafood Institute, run by the Grimsby Institute
Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education
The Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education is a further and higher education college in North East Lincolnshire, England.-Grimsby College of Further Education:...

, on July 2008. It was formerly based on St Andrews Dock in Hull.

Seafish carries out research and projects aimed at raising standards, improving efficiency and ensuring the sustainable development of the industry. As well as supplying training and R&D
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...

, Seafish operates accreditation schemes for fish & chip shop
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular take-away food in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...

s, fishermen
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...

, wholesalers and processors. Seafish has an economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 team which collects, interprets and disseminates data about various UK seafood sectors.

Funding

Seafish is sponsored by the fisheries departments of the four UK governments and is funded by a levy
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

 across all sectors of the fisheries and seafood industry. This levy is due on all first-hand purchases of sea fish, shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...

, and sea fish products including fish meal
Fish meal
Fish meal, or fishmeal, is a commercial product made from both whole fish and the bones and offal from processed fish. It is a brown powder or cake obtained by rendering pressing the cooked whole fish or fish trimmings to remove most of the fish oil and water, and then ground...

 landed in the United Kingdom. This includes imports, which make up more than 75% of UK seafood consumption, as well as the domestic catch landed in the UK, the majority of which is exported.

Economics

Seafish is a source of economic information for industry and policy makers on the fishing, supply and processing industries conducting surveys and analyses of the UK fleet and processing sectors, including trends in costs and earnings and economics impact multipliers. The Economics department also produces strategic analyses such as the 'Seafood Strategic Outlook' and fleet futures modelling.

Research and Development

Seafish carried out research and projects to improve efficiency and seafood quality and obtain best value for money for the UK seafood industry. The 16-strong team is based around the UK.

A number of research and development projects are funded through the Seafish Industry Project Fund. During 2006 and 2007, over £2.5 million has been invested in 47 projects which have funded research and development partnership projects, grant assistance for innovative ideas and bursaries for students.

Seafood Information Network (SIN)

Seafish has created SIN, an information portal for the global seafood industry. SIN is an internet-based data source for business, researchers and service providers. http://sin.seafish.org

Fish & Chip Shop of the Year competition

The Fish & Chip Shop Competition recognises and rewards fish and chip shops for producing the best fish and chips in the UK in an excellent environment. The competition is split into regional finals and is awarded in late January. It was first awarded in 1988. Around 250 million portions of fish and chips are sold per year in the UK.

Seafish Friers Quality Award

An approved inspector checks the fish restaurant for its image, selection of food raw materials, hygiene and cleaning, handling and temperature control, packaging, management systems, and the training schemes provided. If of a high enough calibre, this award is given, which lasts for one year, giving a reasonable indication of inherent quality. The Seafish website allows you to find recognised fish restaurants in local counties and by speciality fish being served.

Retailer of the Year

Each year a main supermarket chain is given this award. Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...

won it in 2009.

Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme

The Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme is a BSi Publicly Available Specification (PAS 72:2006) awarded to individual vessels for vessel operations and traceability in the sea fishing industry. It specifies requirements relating to fishing practices, vessel criteria, crew competence, environmental considerations and record maintenance. It is applicable to the supply chain from the fisherman to the point of first sale. In late 2009 around 500 vessels are involved in the scheme with 325 vessels fully certified covering about 70% of UK landings by weight. The scheme is independently audited by UKAS approved auditors.

External links


Video clips

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK