Portavogie harbour awarded £2.6m government grant

Portavogie harbour has been awarded a £2.6m UK government grant to improve facilities for fishing boats.

The money will be used to replace and enhance the existing boat cradle and winch that pulls fishing vessels out of the water for maintenance.

It comes from the UK Seafood Fund infrastructure scheme.

The fund is intended to strengthen the UK seafood supply chain and reduce the seafood industry's impact on the environment.

The existing cradle and winch system at Portavogie, on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, is only used at 30% capacity due to the limited range of boats it can support.

The grant will also be used to install solar panels at the harbour.

The money will be delivered via the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority, the public body which manages the fishing harbours and harbour estates of Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie.