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SEA FISH INDUSTRY AUTHORITY Minutes of Board Meeting

Held on 2nd December 2014

At Malmaison Hotel, Edinburgh

Present: Elaine Hayes, Chair Jane Ryder, Deputy Chair

Clare Dodgson

Peter Hajipieris Mike Kaiser Stephen Parry James Wilson

Executive: Paul Williams, Chief Executive Janice Anderson, Business Services Director Tom Pickerell, Technical Director Mel Groundsell, Corporate Relations Director In attendance: Chris Lamb (Panel Chair – Supply Chain)

John Goodlad (Panel Chair – Domestic) Brian Young (Panel Chair – Importers) Sam Evans, Defra Robert Matthews, Defra Mike Palmer, Marine Scotland Graham Rees, Welsh Government John Speers, DARDNI

Minutes: Sally Bradley, PA to Chief Executive A. WELCOME

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting including representatives from the Fisheries Administrations.

B. APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Philip Huggon (PH) and Mike Park (MP).

C. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no new declarations of interest.

D. CHAIR’S REPORT (i) Chair’s Meetings

The Chair’s meetings were noted. Professor Ian Roberts, mentioned in the report, should read Professor Ian Boyd.

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The Chair informed everyone that interviews for the new Seafish Deputy Chair were taking place later today and the Seafish Board member interviews would be taking place tomorrow 03/12/14.

E. MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING (i) 10th September 2014

The Chair signed the previous minutes after they were agreed by the Board to be a true and accurate record. (ii) Action Tracker The Board considered the update, set out in the action tracker schedule. It was noted that good progress had been made and all actions were either completed or in hand. There were no outstanding matters of concern.

F. MATTERS ARISING (i) Regional roles and Advocacy Paul Williams (PW) reported that the Executive had discussed the Regional roles but were waiting for the outcome of the Smith Commission Report. The roles will continue to be reviewed going forward in to 2015. (ii) Edinburgh building Options for the Edinburgh building were discussed at the pre Board meeting that took place on 1st December 2014. The Board agreed that low cost capital work to parts of the building can commence. (iii) Marketing Advisory Group PH, via email, expressed that he was keen for the Group to be formed as soon as possible. Mel Groundsell (MG) informed Board members that she will establish a working structure to set the Group up commencing January - March 2015. MG will respond to PH direct to update him of this.

ACTION: MG TO CONTACT PH REGARDING MARKETING ADVISORY GROUP

(iv) Engagement in Brussels PW reported that the Executive are currently reviewing attendance at the Seafood Exposition, Brussels to ensure that there is a sensible complement of Seafish representation. Sally Bradley (SB) is currently collating a list of events for 2015. SB will send details to Board members in due course asking for expression of interests for attendance.

ACTION: SB TO SEND TO BOARD MEMBERS THE EVENTS LIST FOR 2015

G. CORPORATE PLAN 2015/18 (i) Corporate Plan 2015/18 PW introduced the Corporate Plan that had been sent to Board members

along with the Board papers. PW welcomed comments and feedback on the printed version which will be incorporated into the final document. All

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comments are to be sent to PW by close of play on Monday 8th December 2014. After this point further amendments will not be incorporated.

ACTION: BOARD MEMBERS TO SEND COMMENTS ON THE CORPORATE PLAN TO PW BY 8TH DECEMBER 2014

Comments on the Corporate Plan have already been received from Mike Palmer (MP) and Rob Matthews (RM) who have suggested that a brief section, outlining how the work Seafish are undertaking supports Policy, be included in the document. The Board agreed that this would be a useful addition. The Board agreed in principle to the Corporate Plan 2015/18. PW will recirculate the document after the 8th December 2014 after all changes had been incorporated. PW will inform Board members of any significant changes.

ACTION: PW TO RECIRCULATE THE REVISED CORPORATE PLAN 2015/18

(ii) Mission Statement PW informed Board members that the Ethics sub group met on 28th

November 2014 to debate the role of Seafish in this arena. PW will circulate the action points to all Board members. The main outcomes were:

Seafish will undertake a review of the UK seafood industry to: o Look at the potential social issues o Review sources of information currently available and establish how

accurate these are o Review sources of information that NGO’s, Government departments

and other organisations have available for the different supply chains o Look at what Seafish see as the horizon scan (directions of travel for

particular areas)

ACTION: PW TO CIRCULATE ACTION POINTS FROM ETHICS SUB GROUP MEETING

Board members agreed that the Mission Statement in the Corporate Plan

should read ‘Working to support a profitable, sustainable and socially responsible seafood industry.’

(iii) Executive Summary MG tabled the Corporate Plan Executive Summary which is open for

comment and feedback. Again, any comments are to be received by close of play on Monday 8th December 2014.

ACTION: BOARD MEMBERS TO SEND COMMENTS ON THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO PW BY 8TH DECEMBER 2014

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(iv) Horizon scanning A discussion took place about Horizon scanning and a forward plan for longer

term strategic thinking. Horizon scanning had not previously been discussed that fully by all Sector Panels, which tend to have a more business driven, short term focus. The Board agreed that they would like to see views on what the industry and Seafish will look like in 10 to 20 years time. The following meetings and reviews will take place in parallel:

Convene a small group to include the Sector Panel Chairs, one representative from each Panel and PW and/or Tom Pickerell (TP)

Conduct a wider scanning exercise with the Fisheries Administrations, NGO’s and other relevant external bodies

Set up a process and bring back to the Board for their input and set up a Board sub group

ACTION: HORIZON SCANNING MEETINGS AND REVIEW TO TAKE PLACE

(v) Engagement

MG presented the engagement plan for the Corporate Plan. The Board endorsed the Plan in particular with reference to the internal stakeholders (Seafish Staff).

H. Devolution Sam Evans (SE) spoke on behalf of the Fisheries Administrations to give a view on the recently published Smith Commission report. SE confirmed that Seafish had been excluded from the political settlement requiring parliamentary change, however, Seafish would be affected by the following clause in the report: ‘explore whether to revise the current legal and practical arrangements in respect of levy raising (for example, with respect to red meat and seafood) to ensure that Scotland is able to decide at any stage whether to opt into UK arrangements and, if so, receives an equitable share of any UK monies levied.’ SE and the devolved representatives asked that Seafish now give them time for the Ministers to understand what is meant by the clause. Once the administrations understand the definition, the officials will look to engage with Seafish to give direction and to formulate a framework and process in going forward. In particular, they will look to formulate a timetable for change, as far as possible. SE, supported by the other representatives from the administrations, gave a sense of stability to the Board and the organisation, stressing that Seafish should focus on business as usual. Seafish should also continue to work in line with the Corporate Plans, including the engagement plan for 2015/16 and focus on operations whilst the administrations undertake their review on various possibilities of how Seafish will function in the future.

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It is hoped that by the end of March 2015 the administrations will be able to give Seafish a proposition that will outline a timetable of process over the forthcoming months.

TP asked for clarity on recruitment of staff which is currently on hold. SE

informed Board members that in light of the Smith Commission, recruitment is now likely to be seen a more favourable light and that he will refer this back to Defra to seek approval for the hold to be lifted.

The Chair thanked SE and the other representatives from the administrations

for their continued dialogue and input and for the clear steer that it is business as usual for the foreseeable future.

I. RESPONSIBLE FISHING SCHEME (RFS)

TP gave an overview of his paper on RFS updating the Board on questions raised at the last Board meeting. TP introduced external RFS consultant, Mike Platt (MPl), who gave an overview of the progress of the RFS standard. MP notified Board that Phase 1 was now complete, which was producing the standard, and that Phase 2 was commencing, which was translating the standard in to a form recognised by ISO17065. The key points are captured below:

Food Certification International (FCI) are to be the certification body (CB) for the accreditation process

Ethical welfare standards are to be benchmarked against the ILO Convention 188

A public consultation took place on the Seafish website for 60 days. Libby Woodhatch also invited comments from over 1100 stakeholders through UK to comment. There were no fundament objections.

It was hoped that the standard will be formally ISO17065 recognised by UKAS between July – December 2015

Compliance Support Guides will be revised and developed

Chain of Custody (CoC) will be implemented to protect the provenance of fish coming from RFS vessels

Oversight board meeting will take place on 3rd December 2014 The Board raised the following concerns:

To ensure objectivity and show due diligence in partnership with MSC for CoC; were other partners considered?

There must be an appeals process for any vessels that do not meet the required standards. TP confirmed this will be managed by the Oversight Board. MP confirmed there was a robust process.

The Board suggested the phrase “principled pragmatism” as a guideline.

The Board gave a clear steer on a commitment to move beyond the minimum standard as appropriate to the industry

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The Board gave their support for the continuing work with RFS stressing that the focus should be on the UK catching sector before exploring international opportunities. The Chair thanked MPl for his attendance at the Board meeting and the progress thus far.

J. REVISED VALUE FOR MONEY STRATEGY Janice Anderson (JA) gave an overview of the revised Value for Money Strategy which incorporated comments from Board members given at the September meeting and additional advice and guidance from Defra. Mike Kaiser (MK) felt that the review did not emphasise pathways to impact. Jane Ryder (JR), on behalf of the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC), gave assurance that the robust Seafish Project Management system is designed to capture this, and that internal auditors are due to review project compliance shortly. Value for Money will be reviewed in one year’s time. In the meantime if there are any issues or concerns regarding the strategy these will be brought to the Boards attention. The Chair thanked ARC for their contribution in preparing the strategy and to JA for all her hard work and patience.

ACTION: VFM TO BE ADDED TO THE FORWARD PLAN IN ONE YEAR’S TIME

K. MARINE SURVEY The Board agreed that JA should work on a pricing proposal which will be submitted to the February 2015 Board meeting. MP will continue to work with JA on the policy.

ACTION: JA TO PRESENT A PRICING POLICY FOR MARINE SURVEY AT THE FEBRUARY 2015 BOARD MEETING

L. FINANCE

(i) Finance Report JA gave an overview of the draft financial results for the six months to 30th September 2014, and the forecasted results for the year to 31st March 2015. The report shows a significant underspend of £937k, the key reason for which being that the net activity spend is £808k lower than budget. The Executive have asked Heads of Teams (HoTs) to reforecast their budgets to the end of the financial year with realistic targets. If the reforecast is achieved, this would give a year end position of £936k deficit with a £277k underspend.

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The Executive have asked HoTs to look at areas within their work streams as to which projects may require an injection of cash. Stephen Parry (SP) suggested that spend in the Consumption arena should be increased to incorporate professional input from external marketers. The Board also agreed that there is now some flexibility to undertake some Capital works.

ACTION POINT: EXEC TO LOOK AT CAPITAL WORKS

PW reported that HoTs have been informed that they will be judged on their performance in budget control and that they have to improve their performance in this arena. To this end, they will be given further financial training. Board members discussed the monthly levy income graph and questioned the drivers behind the detail. MK offered to take a retrospective analysis of the data with 95% competence limits to see if there is a trend which will be presented at the next Board meeting. JA will ask Tom Pithie (TPi), Levy Manager to liaise with Hazel Curtis (HC), Senior Economist to give a breakdown of the last 10 years and discuss the drivers.

ACTION POINT: JA TO LIAISE WITH TPi AND HC RE LEVY ANALYSIS

JR reminded Board that she has suggested that a separate finance committee be introduced, going forward with the new Board next year. ARCs function has been in areas of financial governance and systems rather than details of finances. The new committee could be tasked with looking more closely at income profiles, risks to income, expenditure and the impact on reserves.

M. Finance Annual Report progress JA gave an update on the annual accounts which PW signed off on 28th November 2014 during an ARC telephone conference. It is anticipated that the accounts will be sent to the NAO on 3rd December 2014 and laid at the House of Commons and Scottish Parliament the following Wednesday.

N. CORPORATE PLAN (i) Operations Report TP presented the Operations report and revised dashboards. TP reported that good progress was being made overall. The dashboards now show any Risks associated with the work streams. These are scored on the same basis as the Risk Register. A score of 15 or above will elevate the risk to the Corporate Risk Register. The high amount of amber scores is mainly down to staff shortages. Chris Middleton (CM) has taken over management of the marketing department, as well as the Communications team. CM has rescored all projects which has also contributed to the increase in amber scores overall.

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There are only a few legacy projects remaining which TP is hoping complete as soon as possible. The Chair thanked TP and the teams for their continued hard work.

O. FISHERIES ADMINISTRATION UPDATES (i) Sam Evans, DEFRA SE gave an update from Defra. The main points were:

Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) landing obligations will soon be coming into force. This will not only affect the catching sector but will affect the whole supply chain including retail.

Demersal landing obligations will come into force from 1st January 2016. The consultation will start from January 2015 to discuss how best it is introduced.

Defra and all the Administrations see a key role for Seafish in helping understand the impacts of the introduction of the landings obligation.

In relation to non quota species Defra are looking at a long term strategic approach to the role of the supply chain and stock assessments. Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) will be legally introduced from 2020

EMFF will not be approved until the middle of next year. Seafish can assist with helping industry apply for funding and looking at the work that can be applied for.

(ii) Mike Palmer – Scottish Government Mike Palmer (MPa) gave an update on behalf of Scottish Government. The key points were as follows:

From a Scottish perspective the state of the stocks is looking positive with a positive outcome hoped from the December Council

Currently reviewing quota management arrangements. Their consultation on quota management closed last week. The results are now being analysed and a new regime that gives stability for long term is hoped to be in place in the near future

Currently working on Marine Protected Areas (MPA) network which will have a big impact on fisheries across the UK

Thanks were given to Seafish for their support with the Inshore Project

(iii) John Speers – DARDNI John Speers (JS) gave an update on behalf of Northern Ireland Government. The key points were as follows:

Fisheries Minister, Michelle O’Neil has recently implemented a fishing Industry task force to look at short, medium and long term actions that may be taken to ensure a more sustainable fishing sector in Northern Ireland. An interim report will be ready at the end of December 2014

A review will take place of the implementation of fisheries science and a series of initiatives for which they will seek input from Seafish

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As a consequence of the landing obligations there will be economic implications. Hazel Curtis and her team have been assisting with reviewing economic implications and will continue to look at the balance of the current fleet in Northern Ireland (NI) and the possible fishing opportunities going in to the future

Thanks to Lynn Gilmore (LG), Seafish for her assistance in issuing 1200 Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) to the fishing industry with the appropriate training. Two fishermen’s lives have already been saved

(iv) Graham Rees – Welsh Government Graham Rees (GR) gave an update on behalf of Welsh Government. The key points were as follows:

On data limited stocks, WG is looking to encourage the industry to feed into the data capture process

The Marine Transition Programme is co-ordinating significant policy and legislative change in the marine environment and includes a project on the delivery of marine planning for which Seafish can assist to ensure fishing activity is properly represented

Assistance required with improving advice and simplifying the language around MPAs

Assistance required to move toward co-management working with industry to manage stocks better under an agreed legislative framework

Assistance required to setting up and improve communications with the Stakeholder Groups

The Chair and PW thanked the administrations for their updates. PW confirmed that Seafish will look at setting up a piece of work to analyse the whole supply chain impact of the landings obligation. It was agreed that Board members will look to hold a discussion about the prioritisation of policy support.

ACTION: PW TO REVIEW WHOLE SUPPLY CHAIN IMPACT STUDY

ACTION: EXECUTIVE AND BOARD TO HOLD A PRIORITISATION EXERCISE

P. RISK REGISTER

PW presented the Risk Register and gave an overview of the new risks which have been discussed at the recent ARC meeting. The risk on Devolution may need to be revised following the Smith Commission. PW is content that Seafish now has an efficient process in place with HoTs noting their risks on the dashboards and elevating those that reached a higher score.

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JR asked that a Risk be added to capture Seafish not seizing opportunities that have been outlined by the administrations today.

ACTION: PW TO ADD RISK ON NOT SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES OUTLINED BY ADMINISTRATIONS

Q. ARC

JR gave an overview of the ARC minutes and an update on key points:

Annual accounts 2013/14 have been signed off by PW

Value for Money strategy revised

Progress has been made on the IS strategy

Implementing low level recommendations from the internal audit

The next ARC meeting will take place in February 2015, after the Board meeting

Clare Dodgson asked for further clarification on the comment in the minutes referring to non-compliance to purchasing procedures needing to be raised as a disciplinary issue. PW confirmed that this was an issue with a handful of individuals who are not adhering to current procedures. JR notified Board members that the Remuneration Committee (RemCom) were meeting on 16th December and will be discussing learning and development of staff which will include robust financial training.

R. BOARD FORWARD PLAN

The Chair gave an overview of the Board meetings forward plan for 2015.The administrations will be invited to the November Board meeting which will take place in Cardiff.

S. AOB

(i) Paul Williams, CEO, appraisal The Chair informed the Board that herself and PHa conducted PWs appraisal on 1st December 2014. An appraisal report will be circulated to Board members once it has been agreed. The Chair thanked Board members for their contributions relating to the process.

ACTION POINT: THE CHAIR WILL CIRCULATE PW APPRAISAL ONCE AGREED

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T. FISHERIES INNOVATION CENTRE (FIS) John Goodlad (JG) gave an update on FIS for which SP is a Board member and JG acts as the Chair. Richard Slaski has been appointed as Executive Director. FIS will be concentrating on three main areas of research which are as follows:

A database of all current fisheries research

Landings obligation

Impacts of bottom trawling

FIS will also be looking at two main projects in the forthcoming year:

Running an annual conference similar to the Oxford Farming

Conference

Running a secondment for young fisherman who are starting out in a

fishing career to visit New Zealand and Canada to look at their

fisheries management arrangements and report back at the new

annual conference

U. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next Board meeting will take place on 3rd February 2015 in York. The meeting closed at 13:45 Signed: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Date: …………………………………………………………………………………………………….