From the harbours and quays of England and Wales, small fishing boats head out each day with limited time, tight margins, and growing pressure to modernise. Many inshore fishers know they can access grants to help them in their working lives, but the administration involved can feel overwhelming. The Fishing Animateur project exists to change that.
Delivered by Cornwall Rural Community Charity, the project works directly with fishing communities to unlock funding for safer boats, safer harbours, and more resilient livelihoods. A small team of Animateurs act as an agent on behalf of fishers and fishing organisations. They take on the complexity of grant applications so fishers can focus on their work at sea.
The support is centred on two main funding streams: The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme in England and The Welsh Marine and Fisheries Scheme. Both offer significant support but require detailed applications, business cases, and compliance checks that can be difficult for small operators to navigate alone.
Someone in your corner
For Rob Poole, who leads the Fishing Animateur team, the need for that support was obvious from the beginning.
“It started with a fisherman walking into my office and saying he could see the grant, but he couldn’t work out how to get it,” he recalls. “I filled the forms in, he got the money, and then his friends came in too.”
That informal beginning has since grown into a national service supporting hundreds of applications each year. The team works across England and Wales, primarily with the under-10 metre fleet, helping fishers develop ideas, gather quotes, complete applications, and manage the process through to payment and delivery.
Risk and reward
Every application starts with a conversation about risk at sea.
“The first thing we ask is: what life jacket are you using? Do you have a personal locator beacon? We always start with safety. Then we build the project around what they want to achieve.”
That focus on safer working practices runs through every stage of the project, from vessel upgrades to harbour improvements such as cranes, pontoons, and fuel access. It is a practical approach shaped by years of direct engagement with fishing communities.
Many fishers are not working behind desks or laptops. Some have limited or no email access, relying instead on phone calls, post, or family members to manage communication.
“About a third of our customers don’t have internet access. So, we become their connection. We’ll take the digital process and make it analogue for the fishers - by phone, by text, by post, whatever it takes."
That hands-on approach has had a clear impact. In the last financial year, Rob’s team has helped unlock millions in grant funding across England and Wales, with dozens of applications in progress at any one time. In Wales, where early rounds of funding saw very low uptake, applications have increased dramatically since the service began working directly with communities.
“We’ve gone from under 10 applications to over 100 in a round. That’s what happens when people feel they can actually access the system.”
The team also works closely with younger fishers entering the industry, as well as those trying to adapt to a rapidly changing sector.
“There’s a real need to bring young people in. The average age in fishing is over 50 now. If we don’t support the next generation, we lose something vital.”
Teamwork in action
Collaboration is central to how the Fishing Animateur operates. They work with The Seafarers’ Charity and other charitable partners to ensure that funding, welfare, and community support work together rather than in isolation.
For Rob, that partnership model is essential to making the system work.
“Without The Seafarers’ Charity, we wouldn’t be doing this today. They’ve opened doors, built connections, and helped bring people together. It means fishermen trust what we do.”
In many ways, that trust is the project’s most important outcome. Behind every application is a small business, a family, and a way of life shaped by the sea. The Fishing Animateur project is helping to ensure that those stories can continue.
