17th September 2026
A new funding announcement for fishing vessels in England has highlighted an interesting difference between the support available to fishermen on either side of the Scottish border.
The UK Government announced on 15 September that England's Fisheries and Seafood Scheme has been expanded to provide grants towards new engines and gearboxes on fishing vessels.
For a small-scale coastal fishing vessel installing a new petrol or diesel engine, the grant can cover 65% of eligible costs. For other vessels the contribution is 50%. If the vessel moves to an electric or hybrid engine, the contribution can rise to 90%, regardless of the size of the vessel or business.
The scheme is being administered by the Marine Management Organisation and is part of the wider Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund. The Government says the intention is to help fishing businesses modernise, improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
So what happens in Scotland?
Scotland has its own funding programme, the Marine Fund Scotland 2026-27, and Scottish fishing businesses can apply for support. The fund covers a broad range of activities connected with commercial fishing, including improving vessel safety, developing fishing techniques, reducing carbon emissions, innovation, training and economic development.
But there is an important catch.
The Scottish guidance specifically says that Marine Fund Scotland will not support direct engine replacements or upgrades. That means a fisherman wanting to replace a diesel engine with another diesel engine, or simply upgrade an existing diesel engine, cannot use the fund for that purpose.
There is an exception, but it is quite different from the English scheme. Scotland will consider applications for testing novel engine technologies as part of a study or trial to establish their feasibility and impact. The grant rate for this type of project can be up to 40% of the additional cost compared with a diesel engine replacement.
In other words, a Scottish fisherman cannot simply say: "My engine needs replacing and I would like help towards the cost."
The project would have to be part of a qualifying trial of new technology.
That distinction is particularly relevant because fishing-boat engines are expensive pieces of equipment and, unlike many forms of investment, replacing one is often not optional. Engines wear out. A vessel still needs to operate safely and economically whether the owner is ready to invest several tens of thousands of pounds or not.
The Scottish fund can nevertheless support other investments. The guidance identifies commercial fishing, inshore fishing and projects designed to improve vessel safety as potential areas for support. Projects can also seek funding for developing or adapting fishing gear and techniques where there are benefits such as reducing carbon emissions, improving selectivity or reducing impacts on biodiversity.
Some innovative gear projects can attract up to 100% funding where they provide a wider collective benefit, while adaptation of vessel fishing techniques can receive up to 40% in the circumstances set out in the guidance.
There is also support for young people entering the industry. A new entrant under 40 can apply towards the purchase of a first fishing vessel or share in a vessel, subject to detailed conditions. The maximum grant rate is 40%, with a maximum grant of £75,000 per application and £150,000 in total for multiple applications relating to the same vessel.
However, the Scottish fund does not provide a general subsidy for buying fishing vessels. The guidance says construction or purchase of a fishing vessel is excluded except where it involves a first-time purchase by a qualifying young fisher. Routine maintenance is also excluded, as is ordinary replacement of fishing gear and creels.
This leaves Scottish fishermen with a rather different funding landscape from their English counterparts.
It would be wrong to describe the Scottish system as providing no support to fishing. Marine Fund Scotland is considerably broader than simply replacing engines and can support safety, innovation, environmental improvements, training and projects intended to strengthen the fishing industry.
But on the specific question of replacing an existing fishing-boat engine, the difference is quite stark.
An English small-scale coastal fisherman can now seek a 65% contribution towards a new petrol or diesel engine, while an electric or hybrid engine can attract a contribution of up to 90%. A Scottish fisherman looking for a straightforward engine replacement cannot currently make the same application under Marine Fund Scotland.
The Scottish Government's approach appears to be aimed more at encouraging innovation and testing new technologies rather than subsidising conventional engine replacement. That may make sense from a decarbonisation perspective, but it does not necessarily solve the immediate problem faced by an owner whose existing engine is approaching the end of its working life.
There is also an interesting possibility here. The Scottish guidance says that information from trials of novel engine technologies may be used to guide decisions in future years about funding engine replacements or modifications.
That suggests the door is not permanently closed. The current Scottish policy could change if the trials produce useful evidence about what technologies work in real fishing conditions.
For fishermen around places such as Wick and Scrabster, therefore, the important question is not whether Scotland has a fishing grant scheme. It clearly does.
The more specific question is whether Scotland should now consider extending that scheme to provide some assistance with engine replacement, particularly where the new engine delivers measurable improvements in fuel efficiency, safety or emissions.
England has now made that option available. Scotland has not.
For an industry operating in increasingly challenging economic and environmental conditions, that difference is likely to be noticed.
Sources:
UK Government – Fisheries and Seafood Scheme engine and gearbox announcement
Scottish Government – Marine Fund Scotland 2026-27 guidance