6 minute read
Nicki Holmyard
BY NICKI HOLMYARD
Winning hearts and minds
The UK’s shellfi sh industry fi nally has a voice in parliament
AFTER several years of trying to interest parliamentarians in our small sector, we have fi nally succeeded in ge� ng an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Shellfi sh Aquaculture off the ground, thanks to our enthusias� c local MP Anthony Mangnall, with assistance from David Jarrad, Chief Execu� ve of the Shellfi sh Associa� on of Great Britain (SAGB).
Mangnall visited our off shore mussel farm sites back in the summer, listened to our ideas about how to overcome the barriers to growth facing the shellfi sh 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� fl ed 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 Seafi sh. Speakers included John and Sarah Holmyard from Off shore Shellfi sh, 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 Shellfi sh Aquaculture. This is a really important issue for Furness, with Kingfi sher Seafoods and the Morecambe Bay Oysters shellfi sh 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 shellfi sh industry had been overlooked. “I have seen fi rst hand the value of the shellfi sh 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 shellfi sh aquaculture industry to Defra, the Fisheries Minister and Whitehall offi cials,” he said.
David Jarrad explained to MPs that farmed shellfi sh 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 effi cient methods of protein produc� on, uses no feed, chemicals or medicines, provides ecosystem services and acts as a carbon and nitrogen sink.
Offi cial European fi gures 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
English, Sco� sh and Welsh strategies all call for a very large increase in shellfi sh produc� on over the next two decades, yet mussel produc� on declined by 40% between 2013 and 2019, from 22,480 tonnes to 13,240 tonnes, with a value of £13.4m. Oyster produc� on rose in the same period from 1,261 tonnes to 2,680 tonnes, with a value of £8.25m, but this is s� ll at a low level compared with Europe.
“The SAGB sees the development of a Shellfi sh Aquaculture APPG as a huge step forward in helping parliamentarians understand both the serious issues facing the sector and the huge poten� al for ecofriendly expansion,” Jarrad said.
Wilson spoke of the export issues caused by UK producers only being able to export shellfi sh direct to the EU if it had been grown in grade A waters. Shellfi sh from grade B waters must be depurated before export, which can aff ect product quality, and there are no large-scale facili� es available this side of the English Channel and EU buyers prefer to depurate it themselves. Most of the UK’s waters are grade B and only 20 areas are currently designated grade A.
Wilson explained that a Shellfi sh Stakeholder Working Group had been set up to work through the challenges, which commissioned a report from Seafi sh, en� tled Review of the applicati on of the Offi cial Control Regulati ons for shellfi sh producti on as they relate to microbial contaminati on. This sets out the unfavourable rules imposed by the UK authori� es on shellfi sh businesses compared with European and wider global bodies, and has been passed to the Food Standards Agency and Defra for ac� on. However, progress is pi� fully slow.
Greater progress is also needed from Defra through the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee to have the former trade in live bivalve mussels from grade B waters with the EU reinstated.
Sarah Holmyard talked about the export challenges she has faced since Brexit, especially since the introduc� on of European Health Cer� fi cates in January 2022, which need to be signed by a veterinary surgeon. These are costly and currently cannot be fi lled in electronically.
She said there had been an increase in the number of physical checks at both UK and French ports this year, with rules changed regularly, some of which do not appear to be based on regula� ons.
“The whole process is very stressful and there is considerable room for error, which can result in a load being rejected and sent back to the UK. This has happened to us,” she said.
Addi� onally, the uncertainty over exports because of the water classifi ca� on system has led to investor insecurity and a lack of momentum to develop the industry further.
Oyster farmers are facing the death of their industry as a result of Natural England’s latest policy to stamp out the spread of feral Pacifi c oysters, which have started to breed naturally in the UK. Sarah Horsfall told MPs that the Government needs a clear strategy on Pacifi c oysters, allowing their con� nued farming in the UK. For over a decade, SAGB has asked Defra to accept this species as resident, as it is in Europe, but it has been unwilling to do so in light of pressure from Natural England. The current regula� on is based on EU law, but no EU country has such an unclear policy as the UK.
Green outlined the issues with water quality caused by discharges from combined sewage overfl ows, which are causing poor water quality and affec� ng the classifi ca� on of waters grading for shellfi sh fi rms. He stated that a lack of dialogue from water companies together with a lack of investment or ac� on to address the problem were major issues that need to be addressed.
The Chair agreed to discuss all the issues raised with the Fisheries Minister, Victoria Pren� s MP and invite her to the next mee� ng, and pledged that the APPG would engage directly with water companies. FF
