158 NEWS REVIEW - SHELLFISH
SHELLFISH From Brexit headaches to restoration milestones, it’s been an eventful year
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N January, UK shellfish producers were reeling following reports that EU rules restricting the import of live mussels, oysters and other shellfish were set to continue indefinitely. European regulations forbid the import of live bivalve molluscs “not fit for consumption” from “third countries” – that is, countries outside the EU single market – unless they are either harvested from the cleanest “Class A” waters or have already been “depurated” – that is, cleaned by being left to stand in saltwater tanks prior to entering the EU. UK producers previously sent their shellfish for depuration at large processing plants on the Continent, so facilities for depuration in the UK are extremely limited. The rules effectively ban many UK producers from exporting their product to their traditional markets in Europe. UK producers said they had been given assurances by the UK government that the situation was being addressed and that the regulations would be lifted on 21 April. As it transpired, that was not the European Commission’s view. Much of Scotland’s shellfish pro-
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Above: David Jarrad Opposite from top: The Orkney Shellfish Hatchery; Shrimp; Cumbrae Oysters
“It’s
a big problem!”
duction comes from waters that meet the criteria for Class A – defined as 80% of sampled shellfish having less than 230 E. coli bacteria per 100g of flesh and the remaining 20% recording less than 700 E. coli per 100g – but almost all of the waters around England and Wales are Class B at best, although this does vary by the seasons. Live exports of bivalves from traditional areas such as Devon and Morecambe Bay were therefore barred from the EU, placing many producers in serious jeopardy. David Jarrad, Chief Executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, told Fish Farmer: “It’s a big problem! There is not the scale of depuration facilities in the UK. If we invested now it would take many months and serious money to construct such tanks, but that wouldn’t solve the issue alone and the product would then have to be promoted to a different market: retail rather than bulk.” The ban affects a range of mollusc species including mussels, oysters, clams, razor clams, cockles and scallops. In March, Orkney Shellfish Hatchery (OSH) announced the successful
29/11/2021 15:44:15
