A new three-year Quality Assurance Initiative, aimed at sustaining the high standards of freshness and quality within the Northern Ireland fishing industry, has commenced and will be carried out from 2004 until 2006.

The Quality Assurance Initiative is targeted at three separate areas of the fishing industry: fishing vessels, port markets and processors and will be managed on behalf of the Northern Ireland fishing industry by Northern Ireland Seafood. It aims to increase the quality of produce for the consumer population in Northern Ireland, as well as promoting the Northern Ireland fishing industry throughout the UK and the European Union.

The programme is designed to assist the entire industry in Northern Ireland through the following measures:

• Benchmarking the quality of fish landed by vessels
• Supporting and implementing the existing code of best practice for the port auctions
• Assisting the processing sector to attain the Seafish Quality Processor Award

It is hoped to encourage greater integration and collaboration between producers, processors and others in the fish processing and supply chain to develop quality assurance structures and strategies.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland funds the initiative through the EU Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) and forms part of the Northern Ireland Programme for Building Sustainable Prosperity.

The organisations involved in the implementation of the initiative are the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation with members in the major ports of Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie; the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority with responsibility for Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie; and Northern Ireland Seafood, with Fish Processing members throughout Northern Ireland. The programme is available to all Northern Ireland registered boats, port auctions and all Northern Ireland seafood processors.