UK Seafood Industry Alliance Manifesto 2017

UK SEAFOOD INDUSTRY ALLIANCE Putting fish on the menu for a healthy & sustainable future

MANIFESTO 2017

INTRODUCING THE PROCESSING SECTOR The UK Seafood Industry Alliance was created to provide a clear and compelling voice for UK seafood processors and traders, who supply consumers with healthy and sustainable products, sourced and manufactured to the highest and most responsible standards.

We represent the major suppliers of own label and branded seafood to retailers, caterers and restaurants.

We are the key economic players in the seafood industry, adding value, creating jobs and innovating to provide consumers with attractive, affordable, easy to use products to meet growing demand for healthy and nutritious food.

We employ more people than the catching sector and have a turnover five times the value of UK fish landings. The annual value of the UK retail sector is over £3 billion as compared to £0.6 billion for total UK landings.

WE EMPLOY MORE PEOPLE THAN THE CATCHING SECTOR & HAVE A TURNOVER FIVE TIMES THE VALUE OF UK FISH LANDINGS

THE ANNUAL VALUE OF THE UK RETAIL SECTOR IS OVER

£0.6 billion

UK LANDINGS

£3 BILLION

AGAINST TOTAL UK LANDINGS OF

£0.6 BILLION

UK RETAIL SECTOR

UK SEAFOOD INDUSTRY ALLIANCE MANIFESTO 2017

Page 2

THE SUPPLY PARADOX Two thirds of the fish consumed in the UK comes from waters outside current EU or possible future UK fishing limits. This reflects consumer choice and where sufficient supplies of preferred species can be found. In 2015 we imported 282,000 tonnes (whole fish equivalent) of cod, around 90% of UK consumption. This represents nearly three and a half times the total landings by EU registered vessels from EU waters (around 85,000 tonnes) and includes catches in areas (e.g. the Baltic Sea) which the UK fleet will not be able to access.

The UK has never been self-sufficient in fish in modern times, with or without the Common Fisheries Policy. Even on the most optimistic assumptions about stock recovery or future UK quota shares, there will still be a substantial shortfall in terms of current market needs.

While we can and do buy from domestic sources, most of the UK fleet sells into markets elsewhere, where demand for home-caught species like mackerel, herring and shellfish is stronger and more lucrative.

As a nation, we export most of what we catch and import most of what we eat.

And most of our imports come from countries outside the EU like Norway, Iceland, the USA, Russia and Canada, while most of the markets for our own fleet are in EU Member States like France, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany.

This presents a unique series of challenges in terms of future trade.

THE FISH 2 OF CONSUMED 3 IN THE UK

IN 2015 WE IMPORTED

282,000

COMES FROM WATERS OUTSIDE CURRENT EU

TONNES

OF COD, AROUND 90% OF UK CONSUMPTION UK SEAFOOD INDUSTRY ALLIANCE MANIFESTO 2017

Page 3

THE BIGGER PICTURE But meeting consumer demand for healthy and sustainable seafood is not just about where fish comes from.

Consumers rightly want to know that. But they also want to know that the stocks in question are responsibly managed in accordance with best scientific advice, that fishing methods are consistent with the health of the marine environment and that the people employed in the supply chain are properly treated and adequately paid.

UK fish processors have played a leading role, both as individual companies and collectively through trade associations, here and in the EU, to promote responsible and sustainable fisheries management and sourcing policies and to fight against so-called Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) catches in global supply chains.

We have also pioneered traceability systems and work on authenticity testing in order to ensure that the fish in the product is what the label says it is.

During the last reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, we

supported UK Ministers in pressing for an end to the wasteful practice of discards, when perfectly good fish were dumped overboard because quota limits did not allow them to be landed.

As a sector, we are passionate about the need to protect a vital renewable, natural and low carbon source of high quality, nutritious protein which will become even more important for our own and global food security in years to come, as other forms of food production come under ever greater pressure from shortages of land, water and energy and the impacts of climate change.

UK SEAFOOD INDUSTRY ALLIANCE MANIFESTO 2017

Page 4

THE CHALLENGE OF BREXIT Trade

Labour

Like other food businesses, fish processors need competitively priced raw materials, the skills and labour required to produce value-added, quality products and a framework of regulation which gives consumers confidence in what they are buying.

In common with other many other sectors, fish processing relies heavily on nonUK labour. There are many reasons for this. But increasing local recruitment and training will take time and add to cost, potentially exposing companies to strong competition from foreign suppliers in the meantime.

Without continuing access to zero or reduced duty supplies – which currently account for around two thirds of what we eat – consumers would have less choice, the market would shrink and jobs and investment would be lost.

Because so much of our raw material originates outside the EU, we rely on a range of existing tariff concessions under a series of trade agreements which the EU has entered into with supplying countries, either within frameworks such as the European Economic Area, bilateral trade deals, or autonomous tariff quotas (ATQs).

We also need there to be “frictionless” borders which maintain the current flow of goods into and out of the UK, without additional checks and controls which would lead to delays and add to costs.

Getting the right terms of trade also matters to the UK fleet as there is little domestic demand for most of what they catch.

Similar considerations apply to the scope for further automation. Even where the technical issues relating to handling a highly variable and delicate product can be overcome, the capital costs of development and installation need to be covered by market returns.

Fish is the most internationally traded of all foods and the biggest single UK food export category. Liberalising markets presents huge opportunities for all parts of the UK industry. A retreat into protectionism would serve no one’s interests.

UK SEAFOOD INDUSTRY ALLIANCE MANIFESTO 2017

Page 5

THE CHALLENGE OF BREXIT Regulation & Reputation Almost all existing food regulation is based on EU law and has been developed over many years, often with considerable UK input. Consumers know and trust this system and are not actively seeking change.

We need to ensure that future standards are at least as high – and that UK products enjoy full equivalence and mutual recognition with those from other EU Member States.

The processing sector has also been at the forefront of a range of sustainability and authenticity initiatives, including ethical standards in relation to supply chain labour practices. We have sponsored and supported independent certification arrangements, such as those operated by the Marine Stewardship Council and worked with Regional Fishery Management Organisations and other bodies to put in place fishery improvement projects and drive higher conservation standards.

We have also supported evidence-based policy making using the best available fisheries science to achieve Maximum Sustainable Yields (MSY) in the greatest range of stocks to combat over-exploitation and poor management of one of the planet’s greatest natural resources.

Any failure to ensure continuity in these achievements would risk potentially irreparable damage, not just to consumer confidence and markets, but also to fish stocks and wider marine environment themselves.

UK SEAFOOD INDUSTRY ALLIANCE MANIFESTO 2017

Page 6

OUR MUST WINS Relationships with all our trading partners which allow us to continue supplying consumers with affordable and healthy products from sustainably managed fisheries.

Continued ability to import what we need and to sell into other markets on the freest possible terms, including retention of existing tariff concessions and without additional border controls.

Access to a dedicated and skilled workforce which will help us add value and contribute to the wider UK economy, especially in areas where there are fewer other opportunities.

Maintaining and enhancing our hard won reputation for responsible sourcing policies, including the elimination of fraud, illegality and poor labour practices.

Continued cooperation with our European and international partners for the optimal sciencebased management of shared stocks and to drive up standards in global supply chains.

Ensuring that the oceans can continue to supply people everywhere with healthy and sustainable food in the face of climate change and other resource pressures which threaten future food security.

UK SEAFOOD INDUSTRY ALLIANCE MANIFESTO 2017

Page 7

Provision Trade Federation 17 Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0DP 020 7253 2114 provtrade.co.uk

Food and Drink Federation 6th Floor, 10 Bloomsbury Way, London, WC1A 2SL 020 7836 2460 fdf.org.uk