Manx seafood producers unaffected by EU shellfish ban

Processing already done on Island

Manx producers won't be affected by an EU ban on unprocessed shellfish arriving from the UK.

The bloc has introduced a permanent ban on sales of live mussels, oysters and scallops to its member states.

With the UK, and by extension, the Isle of Man now separated from the EU, officials there are now enforcing rules on live exports.

It means any fishermen who want to transport produce to the EU must have had it treated in purification plants before its exported.

Many had completed this part of the process at facilities in Europe.

With the ban now in place, industry leaders in the UK say they don't have enough tanks to do it on home soil.

This is slowing the export process, making it less viable.

The Island's industry, worth around £21 million to the Manx economy, is protected from this though.

That's because our seafood exports, which include queenies, lobster, whelk and other species, are processed on Island.

Products are purified in tanks here, packaged, and sent with the accompanying health certificate (a requirement post-Brexit) to logistics hubs in the UK, before heading on to buyers in Europe.

It means the ban hasn't affected our industry, but producers here are still suffering from issues with shipping goods to the UK.

They're sent in trucks along with British produce, and if one item falls short of the food standards now being enforced the EU, the entire shipment is rejected.

It's caused some usual supply lines to be disrupted.

For example, some of our produce has had to go via Scotland, rather than the usual route through a hub in Grimsby, and

On top of these issues, winter is usually a 'quiet time' for sales, and coronavirus has decimated lucrative scallop markets in France.

One thing producers here are sure of though, is that European appetite for Manx shellfish remains strong.