Brexit fisheries betrayal: Furious backlash as EU imposes total ban on UK shellfish

Brexit: Johnson ‘sold fishing industry down the drain’ says Habib

The bombshell comes as a time of ongoing uncertainty for the fishing industry, with one established exporter saying the decision was likely to “destroy any hope we had of the future”. As a rule, shellfish such as oysters, mussels, clams, cockles and scallops are not suitable for human consumption in their pure state, and require purification in the EU before they can be distributed to supermarkets, restaurants and bars.

The UK Government had told exporters the ban would end on April 21, when Brussels brought in new animal health legislation – but an EU Commission official has now confirmed this was not the case.

An email sent on January 19, and seen by the PoliticsHome website, warned it was “strictly forbidden for bivalve molluscs originating from third countries, such as UK” which were not fit for human consumption to enter the EU at any point, adding “molluscs accompanied by an aquaculture certificate, wild or from aquaculture, cannot in any case reach a depuration centre in the EU”.

There was no mention of the restrictions being phased out in April, despite previous assurances from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

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An email sent by Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis in November, which was also seen by PoliticsHome, said the trade would be able to restart with “the introduction of a relevant certificate,” due to be introduced on April 21.

Rob Benson, a co-director of Kingfisher Seafoods, based in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, said the current rules meant in order to keep exporting shellfish, it would have to invest roughly £1million on processing equipment, packing and labelling – something he could not afford to do.

He explained: “Our business relies almost entirely on sending live cockles and mussels for further processing in the EU.

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“Our sales have dropped off a cliff since December 31. We were bracing ourselves to keep going until April but this news has all but destroyed any hope we had of the future.

“This is not a teething issue, this is the government removing all our teeth and leaving us unable to eat.”

Mr Benson said: “This is not new EU policy. This has always been there.

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“This is the government not doing their job to safeguard the industry.

“Before December 31 we were in the EU and DEFRA was responsible for policing imports from third countries.

“Now we are out of the EU how come it is only now we are told of the situation.

“It’s like saying a policeman who’s been on the beat for the last 50 years didn’t know the law.”

“We will continue to raise the issue of live bivalve molluscs not ready for human consumption with the EU, to ensure the trade can continue securely.”

Speaking last week, former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib accused Boris Johnson of breaking numerous promises in his determination to “get Brexit done”.

He told Express.co.uk: “I do wish to support the Prime Minister, I really want to, and I want to be optimistic and look to the future.

“But the problem I have got is they make promises that they do not keep and they lie about whether or not they have kept them.

“And I have got masses of evidence of this.

“I understand that as economic and political events change, manifesto pledges may not be able to be upheld.

“But the extent to which this Government breaches its promises and then lies in order to get out of the problem is deeply distressing.”

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