£14m Marine Fund Scotland opened for applications
Bidders have until July 22 to pitch for share of handout
The Scottish Government today opened applications for grants from the £14 million Marine Fund Scotland 2025-26.
It is the fifth year of the fund, which fills the gap left when Brexit ended the opportunity to apply for finance from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Eligible individuals, businesses, and organisations can apply for funding for new projects that will contribute to an innovative and sustainable marine economy, support coastal communities, and help Scotland reach net zero emissions.
Businesses in both the fish farming and shellfish sectors have benefited from the Marine Fund Scotland in previous years.
Net station
Last year, Vonin Scotland Limited, the Scottish subsidiary of Faroese salmon farming supplier Vonin, was awarded almost £1.1m towards the £7.24m cost of the second phase of a new net station at Kyleakin, Skye.
Smolt supplier Landcatch Natural Selection Ltd (Hendrix Genetics) was granted £661,000 towards the £4.4m cost of expanding its site at Ormsary, Argyll and Bute, and salmon ova producer Aquagen Scotland Ltd received £308,000 towards the £616,000 cost of a recirculation system at its Holywood facility near Dumfries.
The Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group, which processes farmed mussels and oysters and wild-caught lobster, scallops, and crab at a state-of-the-art facility in central Scotland, was granted half of the £442,000 cost of a recyclable packaging project, and artisanal business Cape Wrath Oysters was awarded £25,900.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) was granted the full £178,500 cost of the Scottish Pavilion that will showcase some of the country’s aquaculture supply companies and institutions at the Aqua Nor trade show in Trondheim, Norway, in August this year.
Apply now
The Scottish Government’s Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon, whose ministerial portfolio includes aquaculture, said that since 2021 the Marine Fund Scotland has awarded more than £55m in grants to 330 projects, facilitating a total of £121m of investment.
“I urge all those with ideas for projects to help marine industries to evolve and flourish to apply,” said Gougeon, who also called on the UK Government to allocate a fair share of its recently announced £360m Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund to the Scottish Government for distribution.
“If this newly announced funding isn’t devolved to Scotland, it will duplicate the current funding programmes, causing stakeholder confusion and dilution of intended benefits.”
Information on how to apply to the Marine Fund Scotland can be found here. The closing date for the first round of applications is July 22, 2025 at 23:59. Any applications received after this will be held for any potential future rounds but the Scottish Government is not guaranteeing that a second round will be held.
