Seafish is a non-departmental public body tasked with supporting the UK seafood industry. Our primary sponsor is Defra although we also work across all the devolved administrations.
The Seafish Board is made up of seafood industry and independent non-executive members. It meets quarterly and is responsible for setting the strategic direction of Seafish and for monitoring and assessing performance. The Board works closely with the Seafish CEO and the Executive team.
We are a small NDPB with around 85 staff, but we are spread right across the UK. We are the only organisation that operates across the UK and across the seafood supply chain (covering fishing, processing, trading, importing, exporting, retail and foodservice).
Our seven priorities are listed below:
• A safe and skilled workforce: Safe and attractive place to work and ensuring that businesses can access the skilled labour they need.
• Supply Chain integration and resilience: Investing in research, analysis and supply chain initiatives that are designed to protect and enhance the reputation of the industry
• Climate Change: Enabling the seafood sector to adapt to the impacts of climate change on the seafood supply chain while mitigating its contribution to the UKs emissions profile AND supporting the industry to demonstrate how it can contribute to the blue economy to build consumer confidence in seafood as a low carbon protein.
• International Trade: Support industry and government to develop and deliver solutions to seafood trade challenges and opportunities.
• Insight and innovation: Providing data, analysis and advice to increase business prosperity and resilience, and to encourage innovation throughout the seafood supply chain.
• Fisheries Management: Facilitating collaborative initiatives between industry, government and the research community to support improved fisheries management outcomes, that in turn deliver benefits across the seafood supply chain.
• Reputation: Enabling the seafood industry to respond to the reputational and societal issues that can act as a barrier to consumers choosing seafood.
These key priorities underpin and inform our work programmes and projects.
The seafood sector is dynamic and challenging in equal measure. There is always something new to discover and no two days are the same. At the same time, it is an industry full of driven and inspiring people with an endless devotion to seafood. As an apprentice to our Board, we are sure you will come to enjoy it as much as we do.
We consider this initiative an incredible opportunity to build capability and to create a diverse pool of future non-executive talent that organisations like Seafish can draw on.
Diverse representation is a vital element in any organisation and is something that the seafood industry can benefit from working more towards. The opportunity to increase diversity across Seafish is also a priority for the organisation and participating in this apprenticeship initiative will be a key step in that journey.
We also welcome the opportunity to bring new skills and perspectives to our Board table to inform our discussions and to enhance decision making.
We continue to support this apprenticeship wholeheartedly and would be delighted to have an apprentice join us for another year.
Location of Board and Committee Meetings
Board meetings are normally held in-person in Grimsby, Edinburgh, London, and one coinciding with a stakeholder visit (Newlyn in 2025). Remuneration Committee (RemCom) meets online. Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) meets online with one face to face meeting per year in Edinburgh.
Frequency and timing of board/committee meetings
Board meetings are held quarterly. The Board convenes the afternoon before the Board meeting for a strategic planning session. The actual Board meeting takes place the following day from 9.30- 2.30pm.
We routinely include stakeholder visits alongside Board meetings – these can be to fish markets, fish processing businesses or retailers.
RemCom and ARC meetings are typically three hours and take place during office hours.
Date of Board Meetings (January – December 2025)
Board meetings: 17-18 March
20-22 May
23-34 September
fourth one tbc.
Committee of the Boards and meeting dates (January – December 2025)
ARC (tbc): likely 26/27/28 February
w/c 30 June
w/c 1 September
w/c 10 November. RemCom (tbc): first meeting February
second meeting w/c 27 October.
Security checks
No
Payment of travel expenses
Yes
