Shellfish
BY NICKI HOLMYARD
Winning hearts and minds The UK’s shellfish industry finally has a voice in parliament
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FTER several years of trying to interest parliamentarians in our small sector, we have finally succeeded in ge�ng an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Shellfish Aquaculture off the ground, thanks to our enthusias�c local MP Anthony Mangnall, with assistance from David Jarrad, Chief Execu�ve of the Shellfish Associa�on of Great Britain (SAGB). Mangnall visited our offshore mussel farm sites back in the summer, listened to our ideas about how to overcome the barriers to growth facing the shellfish aquaculture industry and promised to get these heard “where it ma�ers”. What we requested was a strong poli�cal voice in parliament for a sector that is not being fully listened to. There may be challenges, but there are also huge opportuni�es, which are being s�fled by regulatory burdens, not all of which are Brexit related. The inaugural mee�ng kicked off in February, with Simon Fell MP elected as Chair, Mangnall as Vice-Chair and seven MPs in a�endance. SAGB agreed to take on the secretariat role, with assistance from Seafish. Speakers included John and Sarah Holmyard from Offshore Shellfish, James Wilson from Deepdock Mussels (and Bangor Mussel Producers), Sarah Horsfall from SAGB and James Green from Whitstable Oysters. Fell told Fish Farmer: “I am delighted to have been elected as Chair of the new All-Party Parliamentary Group for Shellfish Aquaculture. This is a really important issue for Furness, with
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Kingfisher Seafoods and the Morecambe Bay Oysters shellfish hatchery both located in my cons�tuency. “For the UK, it is key that we make good progress on this over the next couple of months with Ministers, as the sector requires proper a�en�on being given to it. Many small family companies are at risk of losing their livelihoods if we don’t reopen routes for them to sell produce to the markets that need them.” Mangnall agreed that the UK shellfish industry had been overlooked. “I have seen first hand the value of the shellfish industry to the environment, to the economy and to our coastal communi�es. We can and must do more to recognise the poten�al for growth and to provide clarity and support for this industry. This group seeks to be the parliamentary mouthpiece for the shellfish aquaculture industry to Defra, the Fisheries Minister and Whitehall officials,” he said. David Jarrad explained to MPs that farmed shellfish is environmentally benign, enhances habitat diversity, supports the food security agenda, encourages a blue economy and creates jobs in rural communi�es. Importantly, it is one of the most efficient methods of protein produc�on, uses no feed, chemicals or medicines, provides ecosystem services and acts as a carbon and nitrogen sink. Official European figures show that in 2017, marine aquaculture produc�on rela�ve to available coastline in the UK was just 0.9 tonnes per kilometre (t/km), compared with 17.3t/km in France, 29.4t/km in the Netherlands and 33.5t/km in Spain, leaving huge room for improvement.
This page from top: Simon Fell MP; Anthony Mangnall MP; chef holding fresh black mussels Opposite: Oyster racks, Fleet Lagoon, Dorset; farmer collec�ng oysters from beds, Lindisfarne; Royal Na�ve Oyster Stores, Whitstable, Kent
www.fishfarmermagazine.com
07/03/2022 15:47:04
