Saving Seafood

New online tool launched for UK seafood trade, tariff data

March 28, 2019 — Seafood importers and exporters in the United Kingdom now have instant access to seafood trade data back through 2010 and current tariff rates, following the delivery of the new online Seafish Trade and Tariff tool.

Launched at the Scottish Seafood Summit in Aberdeen by Arina Motova, interim chief economist at Seafish, the system has been designed through industry consultation to be user-friendly and interactive. Available through the trade body’s website, it allows users to drill down into trade by product and country, giving businesses a better understanding of the U.K. seafood market.

“Having the data just a few clicks away within a self-service tool means businesses can access whatever information they want in their own time and their own way – from enquiries as specific as the volume and value of import and tariff on frozen warmwater shrimp imported to U.K. from India, for example, to obtaining a more general background picture on export and markets they might be considering entering,” Motova said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood import, export guidance issued for “no deal” Brexit

March 23, 2019 — Seafood importers and exporters in the United Kingdom have been told how catch certificates and export health certificates (EHCs) would operate if the country leaves the European Union without a withdrawal agreement in place.

Compiled by U.K trade body Seafish in response to enquiries from the industry, the advice relates to how catch certificates and EHCs will operate in the event of the so-called “no deal” scenario.

According to Seafish, the new catch certificate advice and changes to the EHC system may provide some flexibility for seafood imported to the United Kingdom from the E.U. and also for products exported to the bloc.

A catch certificate and supporting documents will be required, which must be validated by the country of export, for most consignments of wild-caught seafood imported from the E.U. or elsewhere and for direct landings of non-U.K. caught fishery products.

If the seafood imported to the United Kingdom has been stored, then a storage document from the exporter will be required. And if the seafood has been processed, a processing statement from the exporter is required that must be filled in by the processor and endorsed by the authority in the country of processing.

To ensure efficient clearance of a consignment, the original paper catch certificate to the port of entry in advance or at the time of the consignment’s arrival should be provided. If this is not possible, the importer should check with the port of entry, with Seafish advising that some ports may agree to release consignments if they are supplied with electronic catch certificate documents, provided that hard copies of those documents follow.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

EU fishermen to be compensated for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit

March 22, 2019 — In order to help mitigate the impact of a “no-deal” Brexit on European Union fisheries, a new regulation will allow member states’ fishermen and operators to receive compensation under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), the European Council has confirmed.

The contingency measure is one of a series of new legislative acts adopted by the council in preparation for the United Kingdom’s departure from the E.U. without agreements in place about what the future relationship would look like. The compensation would be to offset the temporary stop of their activities in the event of a sudden closure of U.K. waters to E.U. fishing vessels.

These new acts are aimed to limit the most severe damage caused by a “disorderly Brexit” in specific sectors where it would create a major disruption for citizens and businesses, the Council said. The measures are temporary in nature, limited in scope and will be adopted unilaterally by the E.U.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

UK strikes Brexit deal with two of its biggest seafood partners

March 21, 2019 — The United Kingdom has reached a temporary agreement with Norway and Iceland that allows trade to continue unchanged should it leave the European Union without a deal in place.

Through the new arrangements, which mimic those already in place with E.U. member states, zero tariffs remain on established quotas on seafood and agricultural products. A basis for negotiating a permanent agreement was also established.

The agreement is now subject to final legal checks and is expected to be formally signed next week.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Scottish government: Fishing sector must unite to ensure brightest future

March 5, 2019 — A national discussion paper outlining the Scottish government’s vision for the future of fisheries after Brexit has been launched by Scotland Fisheries Secretary Fergus Ewing.

The paper’s key priorities include ensuring that access to Scottish waters and fishing opportunities are not traded away and that fishing quotas are in the hands of active Scottish fishermen. It also supports the principle of a discard ban, but wants stakeholders to put a more workable approach in place and also wants to encourage new entrance to the industry by creating additional licenses and quota.

Furthermore, it wants to press United Kingdom government to introduce a new work permit system to secure sustainable labor supply for the fishing industry.

Ewing launched the paper at a meeting with representatives from the local fishing community in Kirkwall, Orkney. This was the first of a series of meetings across Scotland to allow businesses and communities involved in fishing to have a say in the new strategy.

The minister said that the U.K.’s departure from the European Union will inevitably bringing changes in the way fisheries are managed and nature of the Scottish industry’s relationships with other seafaring nations.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

European Commission investigating potential price-fixing in European farmed salmon sector

February 19, 2019 — The European Commission has confirmed it carried out unannounced inspections on the morning of Tuesday, 19 February at the premises of several companies involved in the farmed Atlantic salmon sector in Europe.

In a statement, the E.C. said it “has concerns that the inspected companies may have violated E.U. antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices.”

The E.C. did not say what sparked its investigation, nor did it identify which companies are being investigated or which sites its investigators visited. However, Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest) and Greig Seafood confirmed to SeafoodSource their facilities were among those visited on Tuesday. Additionally, a Scottish Sea Farms facility jointly owned by SalMar and Leroy Seafood was also inspected, SalMar CEO Olav-Andreas Ervik confirmed to Reuters.

“We have been informed that The European Commission DG (Director General) Competition is exploring potential anti-competitive behavior in the salmon industry. They have performed an inspection today at Grieg Seafood Shetland,” Grieg Seafood Global Communications Manager Kristina Furnes told SeafoodSource in an email. “The salmon market is very competitive and we are not aware of any anti-competitive behavior. We are co-operating with the European Commission DG Competition’s investigation.”

Furne referred further questions about the investigation to the European Commission DG Competition.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Report: UK, Denmark, Ireland quotas well in excess of scientific advice

February 11, 2019 — European Union member states are predicted to fish Northeast Atlantic stocks as much as 312,000 metric tons (MT) above the scientific advice in 2019, according to a new report published by charitable think-tank New Economics Foundation (NEF).

The latest edition of NEF’s annual “Landing the Blame” report states of the 120 total allowable catch (TAC) decisions made at the December 2018 AGRIFISH Council negotiations, 55 TACs or 46 percent were set above the advice of scientific bodies, predominantly the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

“This is continuing the trend of permitting overfishing in E.U. waters with Northeast Atlantic TACs set 16 percent above scientific advice on average – a big increase from the 2018 TACs (9 percent),” the report said. “The earlier negotiations for the 2019 Baltic and deep sea TACs were also set above scientific advice, with five out of 10 and eight out of 12 TACs exceeding advice, respectively.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

No-deal Brexit could destroy Britain’s fishing industry, warns seafood boss

January 31, 2019 — Britain’s fishing industry could be destroyed by a no-deal Brexit, a leading figure has warned.

The UK fishing industry has long been one of the biggest backers for Britain to leave Brussels but Graeme Sutherland, the director of Whitelink Seafoods, said fishing would not survive if Britain crashes out of the European Union.

‘As a company, we export into Europe at a rate of 85-90% of what we produce here,’ he told LBC.

‘We are working on a next-day delivery into France for distribution into Europe. So if we are delayed in any way in clearing customs, in effect, we are going to lose 24 hours on delivery.

‘We need frictionless borders. It has to be that for our industry to survive.’

Read the full story at Yahoo News

Access to UK fishing waters post-Brexit is not up for renegotiation -UK PM May

January 31, 2019 — Access to Britain’s fishing waters is not up for renegotiation in any talks with the European Union over possible changes lawmakers have demanded to the country’s exit deal, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday.

May has said she wants to reopen negotiations on Britain’s Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, something she had previously warned might see other countries also make new demands including over access to British fishing waters after Brexit.

Read the full story from Reuters at Yahoo

Brexit “no deal” contingency proposals adopted to support fisheries

January 22, 2019 — The mounting uncertainty over whether the United Kingdom will ratify a withdrawal agreement from the European Union has led the European Commission (EC) to adopt two legislative proposals aimed at helping mitigate the impact a so-called “no deal” Brexit could have on E.U. fisheries.

The first proposal is to allow fishermen and operators from E.U. member-states to receive compensation under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) for the temporary cessation of fishing activities. The E.C. said this will help offset some of the impact of a sudden closure of U.K. waters to E.U. fishing vessels in a no-deal scenario.

Its second proposal amends the Regulation on the Sustainable Management of the External Fleets. The aim is to ensure that the E.U. is in a position to grant U.K. vessels access to E.U. waters until the end of 2019, on the condition that E.U. vessels are also granted reciprocal access to U.K. waters.

This second proposal also provides for a simplified procedure to authorize U.K. vessels to fish in E.U. waters and E.U. vessels to fish in U.K. waters, should the United Kingdom grant that access. This proposal is limited to 2019 and is based on the agreement in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of 17 and 18 December, 2018, on the fishing opportunities for 2019.

The commission said these contingency measures cannot mitigate the overall impact of a no-deal scenario, nor do they in any way replicate the full benefits of E.U. membership or the terms of any transition period, as provided for in the withdrawal agreement.

Read the full story at Seafood Source