Fisheries and Seafood Scheme funding rounds open for applications gov.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gov.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Minister Refuses To Apologise To Shellfish Industry For Post-Brexit Trade Collapse
12 May
The fisheries minister has refused to say sorry for the government s handling of the post-Brexit shellfish saga amid tough questions from exporters whose sales to the European Union have been torpedoed since the New Year.
Victoria Prentis, a parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), on Wednesday admitted there was no silver bullet to revive the UK s live shellfish exports to the EU, but insisted the fault lay with Brussels, not the government.
As originally reported by PoliticsHome, exports to the EU of live shellfish like muscles, oysters and scallops caught in most British waters came to an abrupt halt in early January due to the bloc s strict health and safety rules for trade from third countries like the UK.
Expats starved of British bacon and tastes of home - deal leaves shelves bare Dylan Donnelly
Replay Video UP NEXT
Stonemanor in Brussels has not received a delivery from the UK since before the New Year and had to shut up shop at two of its two stores last weekend for the first time in nearly 40 years. Brits living in the Belgian capital usually make a pilgrimage to Stonemanor to stock up treats from home such as British bacon and sausages and well known UK brands of crisps and biscuits.
But that have been faced with empty fridges and shelves in recent weeks and in many cases left empty-handed and disappointed.
Environment Secretary George Eustice answered an urgent question in the House of Commons about the EU s restrictions on the trade in live bivalve molluscs.