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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
January 11, 2021 — Many Scottish fishermen have halted exports to European Union markets after post-Brexit bureaucracy shattered the system that used to put fresh langoustines and scallops in French shops just over a day after they were harvested.
Fishing exporters told Reuters their businesses could become unviable after the introduction of health certificates, customs declarations and other paperwork added days to their delivery times and hundreds of pounds to the cost of each load.
Business owners said they had tried to send small deliveries to France and Spain to test the new systems this week but it was taking five hours to secure a health certificate in Scotland, a document which is required to apply for other customs paperwork.
In the first working week after Brexit, one-day deliveries were taking three or more days – if they got through at all.
Owners could not say for sure where their valuable cargo was. A trade group told boats to stop fishing exported stocks.
“Our customers are pulling out,” Santiago Buesa of SB Fish told Reuters. “We are fresh product and the customers expect to have it fresh, so they’re not buying. It’s a catastrophe.”
January 5, 2021 — The trade deal agreement reached at the eleventh-hour by the European Union and the United Kingdom has brought some relief to U.K. seafood exporters. However, some in the catching sector have been left feeling extremely shortchanged by the new arrangements, particularly where E.U. vessel allowances are concerned.
Following several weeks of negotiations, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that a post-Brexit trade agreement had been reached on Christmas Eve, with the terms expected to allow the U.K. to conduct a smoother departure from the E.U.
December 30, 2020 — A trade deal between Britain and the European Union is a good agreement for the fisheries industry, allowing it to rebuild itself during a five-and-a-half year transition, a senior member of the UK’s negotiating team said on Tuesday.
Fisheries groups have criticised the deal, saying the industry had been sacrificed in the post-Brexit trade talks.
“The deal we’ve got recognises UK sovereignty over our fishing waters, it says that up front,” the senior member of the negotiating team said.
December 29, 2020 — The fishermen of Ramsgate, a once thriving seaside town in southern England, had high hopes that Brexit would bring back the pre-EU glory days of teeming catches and lively fish auctions.
Britain had insisted it wanted to take back control of its waters while EU coastal states sought guarantees that their fleets could keep fishing in U.K. waters.
“We’ve been sold out by Boris!” fumed John Nichols in his Ramsgate cottage overlooking the English Channel, referring to Prime Minister Johnson.
Nichols, president of the Thanet Fishermen’s Association representing around 40 boats, said they were looking forward to a return to the days before frozen rectangles of cod could be imported from far away.
They fought for stricter quotas and stepped-up checks, especially against Dutch “electric pulse fleets”, a method that Nichols said sterilizes fish stocks.