Resilience of the UK seafood system to the Covid-19 disruption (RiseUp)

The UK seafood industry is under unprecedented pressure to deliver on national food security during Covid-19/SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, while trying to adapt to remain socio-economically viable. However, no data exists on the systemic impacts to the UK seafood industry, adaptation actions employed by businesses and their potential effects on seafood supply. This compromises the timely adoption of measures to address challenges currently faced by businesses and delays the implementation of changes to increase the UK seafood industry’s resilience to future shocks. RiseUP brings together the expertise of SAMS, the University of Manchester and Seafish to explore pathways to increase resilience at the system and business levels and provide policy-relevant recommendations and stakeholder-specific advice to address challenges. It will collect evidence on the impacts of Covid-19 disruption across the UK seafood industry, how these are managed by businesses and how impacts are propagating trough the supply network. A mix-method approach combines data collection through interviews and surveys; modelling of the industry supply network to explore systemic, particularly unintended, consequences to its resilience; and in-depth case studies to investigate business model adaptation and circularity in selected sectors. The project will provide evidence for decision-making under pressure and uncertainty, to manage the Covid-19 disruption. The project will outline areas for immediate action and inform strategic changes to increase the resilience of the UK seafood industry to future shocks. RiseUP will contribute to understanding the routes to increased resilience, sustainability and security of the UK’s seafood system.