Scottish shellfish businesses have warned of a potentially fatal blow from a post-Brexit EU export ban on unprocessed oysters, cockles and scallops.
Last month, officials in Brussels have informed the industry that UK fishermen will no longer be allowed to send live bivalves and molluscs unless they have undergone purification to be made fit for human consumption, or have come from the cleanest Class A waters.
The Shellfish Association of Great Britain said this meant there was “severe uncertainty” over the future of exports from Class B waters.
Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael has written to the UK Fisheries Minister requesting an urgent plan of action to negotiate an end to the ban.
He condemned reports that live shellfish exports to the EU would continue to be banned indefinitely, despite assertions by government officials that the ban would last only until 21 April.
Carmichael said: “An indefinite ban on live shellfish exports would be catastrophic for isles scallop catches - so I am calling for urgent answers and action - the seafood industry needs a memorandum of understanding with the EU so that our businesses can have some measure of stability and confidence in their trading.
“DEFRA ministers must have known for some time that the shellfish export ban would continue and yet they left it to the European Commission to tell the industry – there is no excuse for giving false hope to exporters. How can businesses have confidence in government advice when they get more accurate answers from elsewhere?”
He added: “This is yet another example of what fishermen and exporters have been saying for weeks, these are not 'teething problems', they are long-term structural issues.”
A spokesperson from the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers said that the majority of Scottish cultivated shellfish is destined for UK markets, "so this is not currently an issue for our sector".
