Saving Seafood

Brits buying less fish, with sales declining across all UK retail sectors

November 14, 2019 — The overall volume, value, and number of seafood products sold by U.K. grocery chains has decreased over the past year despite there being no change in retail prices, the latest Nielsen ScanTrack data has found.

In total, but not including sales by in discount stores, U.K. shoppers bought GBP 3.24 billion (USD 4.2 billion, EUR 3.8 billion) worth of seafood in the 12 months through 5 October, 2019. This represented a decrease of 1.4 percent year-on-year. The volume of products sold fell 2.2 percent to 305,554 metric tons (MT), while the number of units sold declined by 1.4 percent to 1.14 billion.

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Another GBP 1 billion year for UK fishing fleet but profits fall

August 22, 2019 — The turnover achieved by the United Kingdom’s fishing fleet reached GBP 1 billion (USD 1.2 billion, EUR 1.1 billion) for the second consecutive year in 2018, although external factors such as fuel cost, weather, and the political landscape have led to a fall in profits, new figures released by seafood public body Seafish showed.

Seafish’s report, “Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet 2018,” which analyzes the performance of the catching sector and is based on the most recent annual accounts available for fishing vessels, also confirmed that operating costs for U.K. vessels increased by 2 percent last year to GBP 759 million (USD 922.9 million, EUR 832.6 million).

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Seafish: Young talent “put off” joining seafood industry

June 13, 2019 — Seafood companies in the United Kingdom are being urged to prioritize attracting young people to the sector after new research found that it is perceived as low-skilled and unexciting by new jobseekers.

Public body Seafish commissioned an investigation to find out what young people between the ages of 16 and 18 thought about careers in the seafood sector. It said the findings “make for worrying reading,” as many of those who took part thought the industry only offered limited career prospects and that friends would make fun of them for working with fish.

“We were already aware of some issues around attracting young jobseekers to seafood careers, but this research has highlighted the misconceptions and perceived barriers that we need to overcome to win over the next generation of talent. It includes a lot of valuable insights which we’ve used to inform a new practical guide for industry that’s full of recruitment advice,” Seafish CEO Marcus Coleman said. “As a collective seafood industry, we need to shine a light on the positive stories and show young people that it’s possible to carve out an exciting and rewarding career. We need to shout about all the different jobs that are available and the fact that seafood careers can offer young people a chance to travel the world, to become a leader or own a business.”

Coleman said the industry needs younger workers to help continue the gains it has made in recent years.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

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.

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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