Shellfish Businesses Will Collapse Entirely And Permanently With Post-Brexit EU Ban, Government Warned
04 February
Parts of the UK s shellfish market face being lost forever if the European Union ban on live shellfish exports from most British waters remains in place, an industry figure has warned.
Speaking to the Scottish Affairs Committee on Thursday morning, the Clyde Fisherman’s Association s Elaine Whyte said that the indefinite ban, which PoliticsHome first revealed, was a massive issue that required political intervention from the government. You could be losing live markets entirely and permanently and there s no way around that at the moment, Whyte told MPs on the committee.
| UPDATED: 12:12, Tue, Feb 2, 2021
Link copied Sign up for our columnists plus the most commented stories driving conversation
SUBSCRIBE Invalid email
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters.
Sometimes they ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer.
Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
The bombshell comes as a time of ongoing uncertainty for the fishing industry, with one established exporter saying the decision was likely to “destroy any hope we had of the future”. As a rule, shellfish such as oysters, mussels, clams, cockles and scallops are not suitable for human consumption in their pure state, and require purification in the EU before they can be distributed to supermarkets, restaurants and bars.
| UPDATED: 23:02, Tue, Feb 2, 2021
Link copied Sign up for our columnists plus the most commented stories driving conversation
SUBSCRIBE Invalid email
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters.
Sometimes they ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer.
Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
During a time of uncertainty for the fishing industry, the bombshell comes after an established exporter claimed the EU’s decision was likely to “destroy any hope we had of the future”. Now Express.co.uk is asking whether the Prime Minister should cut the EU’s fishing quota?
Around this time, the cost of Christmas begins to show up on credit card statements. This year, a new demand will be popping through the national letter box – the cost of Brexit. As parts of the UK are already finding out, the Prime Minister’s promise to “Get Brexit Done” has become, “Get done by Brexit”. Schadenfreude is never a noble sentiment, but there must be some who feel the Scottish fishing industry should have been more careful in what it wished for. Although Aberdeenshire voted overall to remain, a majority of those in the Banff and Buchan constituency voted to leave the EU. Largely due to the presence of Fraserburgh and Peterhead, the latter being the UK’s largest white fish and pelagic port.
Exclusive: EU Says A Post-Brexit Shellfish Export Ban Is Indefinite, After Government Claimed It Was Only Temporary
01 February
The European Union has told the UK shellfish industry that thousands of tonnes of oyster, mussel, clam, cockle and scallop exports are banned from the bloc indefinitely.
British fishers, who had been told by government to expect the ban to last until spring, are warning this will be a fatal blow to their businesses.
PoliticsHome reported last month that wild shellfish caught in most UK waters that were not ready for human consumption shellfish known collectively as live bivalve molluscs (LBMs) had been barred from entering the EU.