Saving Seafood

Deal announced to halt parallel tariffs between US and UK

June 18, 2021 — Just days after policymakers announced a five-year suspension of tariffs between the United States and European Union – winding down a decades-long trade conflict – officials announced a similar deal is being struck between the U.S. and United Kingdom.

The agreement is in regards to an ongoing civil aircraft dispute involving U.S.-based Boeing and E.U.-based Airbus. According to a release from the U.S. Trade Representative, the framework for a deal between the U.S. and U.K. is similar to that reached earlier this week with the E.U.

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

UK proposes new tariffs on US lobsters and other goods

May 26, 2021 — Lobsters, wine, and chocolate imported into the United Kingdom from the United States could face new tariffs under proposals from the U.K. government to rebalance the list of goods it targets as part of the ongoing trade conflict around steel and aluminum.

The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump introduced 25 percent and 10 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, citing national security concerns, prompting retaliatory measures from the European Union on goods such as motorcycles, whiskey, and tobacco.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Benchmark maintains strong start to 2021

May 18, 2021 — Stirling, U.K.-headquartered aquaculture biotechnology business Benchmark achieved higher revenues and percent earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization and impairment (adjusted EBITDA) of GBP 59.5 million (USD 84.5 million, EUR 69.2 million) and GBP 7.9 million (USD 11.2 million, EUR 9.2 million) for the six months ending on 31 March, 2021, citing a strong performance in its advanced nutrition division and solid trading in genetics and health.

Overall, the company posted a first-half operating loss of GBP 4.6 million (USD 6.5 million, EUR 5.3 million), compared with a loss of GBP 3.9 million (USD 5.5 million, EUR 4.5 million) in H1 2020.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

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

Seafood industry angered by UK-Norway fisheries deal collapse

May 3, 2021 — The bilateral fisheries agreement negotiations between Norway and the United Kingdom that ended with no deal reached between the two nations on Thursday, 29 April has sparked uproar in the regional seafood industry.

While both sides said that they worked hard to secure a deal, the countries said their positions continued to be too far apart to reach an agreement for 2021. Talks had been ongoing since January.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

UK ramps up surveillance to deter illegal fishing

March 30, 2021 — Vastly increased offshore patrols, aerial surveillance, and monitoring have ensured that illegal fishing has been kept at bay in England’s seas since the U.K. became an independent coastal state on 1 January this year, according to the country’s Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

With additional government investment of GBP 32 million (USD 44 million, EUR 37.5 million), the MMO has enhanced its surveillance and fisheries control capacity. It has also put more marine officers on shore, more patrol ships at sea, and increased aerial and radar surveillance to complement existing electronic monitoring systems.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

British diplomat looks to advance offshore wind collaboration on virtual Maine visit

March 17, 2021 — The British diplomat covering New England met with Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday to discuss energy issues, including the offshore wind turbines that are integral to Maine’s long-term climate goals.

The meeting is part of a week-long virtual trade mission that Peter Abbott, the British consul general to New England, is making in Maine as a follow-up to an agreement the United Kingdom and Maine signed in December to advance clean energy to meet respective climate goals. It is the only agreement like it between the U.K. and an American state.

Abbott’s virtual visit comes as Mills looks to offshore wind as a significant opportunity for economic recovery from the coronavirus-induced recession and as his own country, now separate from the European Union, tries to negotiate a free trade agreement with the United States.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Fishers at risk in ‘perfect storm’

March 12, 2021 — Stormier weather will increasingly force fishers to choose between their safety and income, researchers say.

Climate change is causing more extreme weather in many locations. Storms will likely increase around the UK in the future, while many fishers in the UK also face .

The new study—led by the University of Exeter—worked with fishers in Cornwall to understand how they balance the risks and rewards of fishing in varying conditions.

Factors that made skippers more likely to risk fishing in  or waves included: being the main earner in their household, poor recent fishing success, and having a crew to support.

“Climate change and economic insecurity create a ‘perfect storm’, putting ever-increasing pressure on skippers,” said lead author Dr. Nigel Sainsbury.

“Fishing is already the most dangerous peacetime profession in the UK, and the combination of more  and financial challenges will only make this worse.

Read the full story at PHYS.org