Saving Seafood

UK Seafood Disruption Support Scheme opens, meets with criticism from industry

February 11, 2021 — Seafood businesses across the United Kingdom that have been affected by post-Brexit requirements for exporting to the European Union are now able to apply for financial support from the government, with up to GBP 23 million (USD 31.8 million, EUR 26.3 million) available through the new Seafood Disruption Support Scheme.

The countrywide fund, first announced on 19 January, will provide financial assistance to businesses that suffered a financial loss because of delays related to the export of fresh or live fish and shellfish to the E.U. during January.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New seafood task force to tackle UK export problems

February 8, 2021 — A new task force has been set up by the government of the United Kingdom to help resolve export issues that have disrupted Scotland’s seafood sector following the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December, 2020.

The Scottish Seafood Exports Task Force will meet every two weeks with representatives from the U.K. government and the catching, processing, and aquaculture sectors, starting this week.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

UK shellfish sector hit with EU ban

February 5, 2021 — The European Union has put a stop to the import of live bivalve mollusks from the United Kingdom that are not ready for human consumption, plunging the country’s shellfish sector into further uncertainty.

The measure follows on the heels of the challenges caused by new post-Brexit border rules. Historically, U.K. shellfish producers have exported millions of pounds of mussels, scallops, oysters, and other products into E.U. member-states. However, as the U.K. is now a separate country and subject to strict hygiene rules, it is no longer allowed to transport these animals to the E.U. unless they have already been treated in purification plants.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Millions made available for Scotland’s struggling seafood sector

February 3, 2021 — Scotland’s seafood sector is gettting a boost from the government as the industry continues to struggle with both the COVID-19 pandemic and trade issues caused by Brexit.

The new GBP 7.75 million (USD 10.4 million, EUR 8.7 million) funding package offers support to Scotland’s fishermen, seafood businesses, and ports and harbors, all of whom have been threatened by the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus as well as the United Kingdom’s exit from the E.U., the Scottish government has confirmed.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

UK seafood exporters need more than money in wake of Brexit agreement, stakeholders say

January 21, 2021 — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised seafood businesses GBP 23 million (USD 31.5 million, EUR 26 million) in emergency aid this week in an effort to mitigate some of the strain caused by border delays resulting from the new customs and export certification requirements of the Brexit trade agreement.

The offering has received mixed reception, with questions being raised over whether its sufficient enough to support the industry through this difficult period.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Scottish seafood industry seeks government support in wake of Brexit fallout

January 20, 2021 — Scottish Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing has pressed the United Kingdom’s government to increase its support for the Scottish seafood sector as it struggles to come to terms with the challenges of trying to export products to European Union markets following the introduction of the new Brexit trade agreement on 1 January.

U.K. exporters have faced lengthy delays in transporting goods to Continental Europe due to the new customs and export certification requirements laid out by the terms of the non-tariff barriers in the trade agreement. With the COVID-19 pandemic already affecting both national and international trade, and also significantly curtailing the hospitality trade, this latest obstacle has caused considerable additional concern for those moving seafood and other perishable products, Ewing said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

UK government blamed for seafood border disruptions

January 13, 2021 — The inability of the U.K. government to establish a trade agreement with the E.U. well before the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December, 2020, and a failure to include a bedding-in period that would have allowed exporters to adjust to the new demands, are the main reasons why seafood businesses are encountering disruptions at the border, according to Scottish Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing.

On 24 December, negotiators from the E.U. and the U.K. reached an agreement on a new partnership, which set out the rules that have applied between the two parties since 1 January, 2021. It covers such areas as trade in goods and services, fisheries, ensuring a level playing field, internal security, and the U.K.’s participation in E.U. programs, Ewing said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

‘We’ve lost 30 years’: Brexit shatters supply chains for French fish hub

January 12, 2021 — French fishmongers and seafood factories are suspending orders from Britain and battling to salvage just-in-time supply chains, after they were upended by post-Brexit red tape that impedes next-day delivery of salmon and lobster from Britain to Europe.

Importers in Boulogne-sur-Mer told Reuters that deliveries were sometimes being held up because the Latin names of fish species were incorrectly entered on papers.

Other reasons for delays included sanitary certificates missing the required stamps and French agents adopting a zero-tolerance approach to mistakes in the cumbersome process.

The result is a chaotic breakdown in supply chains from the outer reaches of the British Isles to the northern French port of Boulogne, which used to see Scottish langoustine and scallops in French shops just over a day after they were harvested.

Deliveries were taking at least one or two days longer than previously, if they got through at all.

Read the full story at Reuters

Scotland’s Seafood Industry Is Already Reeling from Brexit

January 12, 2021 — By ending a 27-year-old union, Brexit was sure to come with some growing pains. But with less than two weeks under their belt, some in the Scottish fishing industry are wondering if what they’re feeling is more akin to death throes.

As Reuters reported on Friday, the additional red tape caused by the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU has led to major issues for the Scottish fishing industry which has relied on seamless next-day transport of fresh seafood to customers on the European mainland. Since Brexit became official on January 1, shipping Scottish langoustines, scallops, oysters, lobsters, and mussels to places like France, Belgium, and Spain has suddenly been slower and more expensive—and some businesses wonder if their models will remain sustainable.

Due to new paperwork like health certificates and customs declarations, one-day deliveries were reportedly taking three days or more. And DFDS Scotland—a major logistics company for the industry—admitted to a mix of IT and paperwork issues. “These businesses are not transporting toilet rolls or widgets. They are exporting the highest quality, perishable seafood which has a finite window to get to markets in peak condition,” Donna Fordyce, chief executive of Seafood Scotland, told the BBC over the weekend. “If the window closes, these consignments go to landfill.”

And speaking of paperwork, one Scottish exporter told Reuters that paperwork alone could cost him over $800 a day. “I’m questioning whether to carry on,” he explained. “If our fish is too expensive our customers will buy elsewhere.”

Read the full story at Food & Wine

Scottish salmon producers urge government to address Brexit border disruptions

January 11, 2021 — Scotland’s salmon sector is calling on the U.K. government to help resolve delays to exports destined for E.U. markets following the introduction of the new border rules established in a Christmas Eve agreement, with implementation beginning on 1 January, 2021.

According to the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO), dozens of truckloads of fish have failed to leave Scotland on time since the full Brexit regulations came into force, with confusion over paperwork, the extra documentation needed, and IT problems all contributing to the delays and hold-ups.

Read the full story at Seafood Source