Saving Seafood

France to Announce Sanctions Amid Fishing Dispute With UK

October 21, 2021 — France will announce potential sanctions over energy prices and trade “by the end of the week” in its fishing dispute with the United Kingdom, the government spokesman said Wednesday.

France vehemently protested the decision last month by the U.K. and the Channel Island of Jersey to refuse dozens of French fishing boats a license to operate in their territorial waters. Paris called the move “unacceptable.”

France considers the restrictions as contrary to the post-Brexit agreement that the British government signed when it left the European Union.

“We are obviously in a position to take sanctions if the agreement is not respected,” French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said. “There are several types of sanctions that are possible: energy prices, access to (French) ports, tariffs issues.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

UK slows introduction of European seafood, meat import controls

September 22, 2021 — A new timetable for introducing full import controls for animal-based goods, including seafood products, being imported from the European Union to the United Kingdom has been laid out by the U.K. government.

The revised timings will give businesses more time to adjust to new border control processes, the U.K. government said in a press release. The “pragmatic new timetable” will see full customs declarations and controls introduced on 1 January, 2022, as previously announced, although safety and security declarations will now not be required until 1 July, 2022.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Scottish fisheries leaders ask Boris Johnson for help with Brexit woes

August 6, 2021 — At an in-person meeting in Fraserburgh, Scotland, on 5 August, Scottish fisheries leaders urged United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson to help them build back the industry after the Brexit deal.

Scottish Seafood Association Chief Executive Jimmy Buchan told Johnson Brexit and COVID-19 have combined to create a “perilous situation” for companies, with production and export capacity severely reduced, especially due to a related labor shortage.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Scotland wants seafood Brexit taskforce extension

June 14, 2021 — Scotland Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon is urging the U.K. government to continue to help the nation’s seafood sector to work through the challenges posed by Brexit by extending the life of the Scottish Seafood Exports Taskforce.

Speaking ahead of the final meeting of the taskforce on 14 June, Gougeon said she wants U.K. leaders to ensure a forum continues to exist at least until the end of 2021, with an extension allowing issues related to exports to be worked through, and also to prepare for further changes to trade arrangements.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Britain and EU sign fishing deal – but it ‘won’t please everyone’

June 3, 2021 — Britain and the European Union on Wednesday agreed the first ever annual deal on the management of shared fish stocks after Brexit.

In anticipation of a potential backlash from British fishermen, Whitehall sources on Wednesday night cautioned that agreement would not “please everyone”.

Brussels said the new fishing agreement proved that the UK and EU could work together after months of tensions since the UK left the Brexit transition period on December 31.

The European Commission said the new deal created a “strong basis for continued EU-UK cooperation in the area of fisheries” after months of negotiations, which began in January.

The agreement sets out the total allowed catch (TAC) for more than 75 shared stocks in UK and EU waters for the rest of the year.

The TAC, which aims to prevent overfishing, is then divided between the two sides on the basis of quotas agreed in the Brexit deal on fishing on Christmas Eve. Both sides had agreed to use the 2020 TAC until a deal could be found.

Read the full story at MSN

France, UK escalate fight over post-Brexit fishing access

May 6, 2021 — The row between the United Kingdom and France over post-Brexit fishing rights continues to escalate.

On Thursday, 6 May, dozens of French fishing boats set off for Saint Helier, the main port of Jersey, a British Crown dependency, threatening to mount a blockade. In response, the U.K. sent two Royal Navy gunboats to keep watch. Fishing crews set off flares, sounded their horns and displayed banners. The two sides currently remain in a stand-off, and thus far, the protest has remained peaceful.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Brexit red tape likely to see demise of small fishing businesses, MPs told

March 3, 2021 — Small fishing businesses will “probably” go under due to the increased costs of complying with Brexit red tape when sending their catch to Europe, industry experts have warned.

MPs were told that some fishing firms are even looking at relocating parts of their operation to the European Union in order to by-pass costs and bureaucracy, with Brexit changes expected to hit profits by as much as £500,000 per year.

Some businesses have reported requiring more than 70 pages of paperwork to transport one lorry of fish into the EU.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee heard that the combination of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic had caused the “perfect storm”.

“You just could not have written it any worse if you had wanted to for the industry,” said Sarah Horsfall, co-chief executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain.

Read the full story at Yahoo! News

UK seafood disruption support extended to shellfish, aquaculture sectors

February 24, 2021 — Seafood and aquaculture businesses previously omitted from the United Kingdom’s Seafood Disruption Support Scheme are now able to apply for some of the GBP 23 (USD 32.4 million, EUR 26.7 million) financial aid after the government extended the scheme.

The country-wide fund, initially announced on 19 January, is intended to 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

Brexit: UK fishermen fear losing their homes as export ban bites

February 22, 2021 — Since 1 January, the European Union has stopped British fishermen from selling oysters, scallops, clams, cockles and mussels, known as live bivalve molluscs (LBM), that are caught in so-called “Class B” waters.

The government says it is seeking an “urgent resolution”, while the European Commission told Sky News the ban, on health grounds, applies to all third countries and “is not a surprise” to the UK.

The Sailors Creek Shellfish company in Falmouth, Cornwall, has seen 99% of its business disappear.

Read the full story at SkyNews

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