Langstone Harbour Board is delighted to announce that we have been awarded £233,000+ in grant funding, under DEFRAs UK Seafood Fund: Infrastructure Scheme. Total investment will be £311,000+ over the next 12-month period. We aim to improve the UK seafood sector by providing increased capability for fishers at port and resilience to smaller scale fishing fleets. Over the lifespan of the project, we will provide access to a safe pontoon to land catch, eight new commercial grade moorings, and a regionally significant maintenance facility.
The funding is allocated to three key projects – upgrades to the Eastney pontoon, lift-out facilities for vessels up to 47t and 8 commercial moorings suitable for vessels 10 to 24m. It is anticipated that these will help the 20 small sustainable commercial fishing vessels who use Langstone Harbour thrive and is anticipated to save over 200 tonnes of CO2 per year. The Solent fishing fleet has experienced a decline for several reasons, including the closure of fisheries for the protection of sensitive habitats and suspension of fisheries due to concerns regarding stock.
Langstone Harbour Board are looking forward to using the opportunity offered by the DEFRA fund as a step-change to our support of commercial fishing vessels and other small commercial vessels.
If you wish to get in contact with the Harbour Board regarding this matter, please contact admin@langstoneharbour.org.uk
Supported by DEFRA.