The April 2024 issue of Fish Farmer magazine is out now online

The April 2024 issue of Fish Farmer magazine is out now online, and you can read or download it here.

More than four years after the UK officially left the European Union, the implications of Brexit continue to reverberate through the economy.

The slogan that helped to sway voters in favour of leaving was “take back control.” In practice, however, that appears to have been adopted by the UK’s European neighbours more readily than by the UK itself. For the seafood trade, it has meant a huge growth in paperwork and inspection protocols when exporting to EU countries, while up until now, the UK has been reluctant to impose such controls for products going the other way.

That all changes this month, however, as Sandy Neil reports in this issue. Physical border inspections are being introduced and it is still unclear how much of an impact that will have on incoming seafood from the EU and countries such as Norway. What is apparent is that the UK industry, while it is not keen on red tape in either direction, wants to see a level playing field operating in this marketplace.

Salmon Scotland argues that the loss in potential trade with the EU, for Scottish salmon alone, is worth £100m annually. Tavish Scott, the industry body’s Chief Executive, explains why in his Fish Farmer column.

Also in this issue, we meet a businessman from Spain who is looking to raise Europe’s first commercially farmed sea cucumbers. While sea cucumbers may not be a fixture on European restaurant menus, they are highly prized by Chinese consumers and their increasing rarity as a wild catch commodity should make them a premium export product.

We also profile Canadian Arctic charr producer Sapphire Springs and explain why Norway’s rule against the export of poorer quality salmon is being contested by processors in the EU.

This month’s issue also features California’s fledgling seaweed industry and a project in Tasmania, funded by salmon farmers, that aims to save an endangered skate.

Meanwhile, we are also previewing Aquaculture UK, the country’s biggest event for the industry, which takes place in Aviemore next month. We hope to see you there!