'Brexit carnage': shellfish trucks protest in London over export chaos

[snoop1130 12,663]

'Brexit carnage': shellfish trucks protest in London over export chaos

By Guy Faulconbridge, Kate Holton

 

A lorry with a sign in protest against post-Brexit bureaucracy that hinders exports to the European Union, drives at the Parliament Square in London, Britain, 18 January 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

 

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 20 shellfish trucks parked on roads near British parliament and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street residence on Monday to protest against post-Brexit bureaucracy that they say has stopped them exporting to the European Union.

 

Many fishermen have been unable to export to the EU since catch certificates, health checks and customs declarations were introduced at the start of this year, delaying their deliveries and prompting European buyers to reject them.

 

Trucks with slogans such as “Brexit carnage” and “incompetent government destroying shellfish industry” parked metres from Johnson’s 10 Downing Street office in central London. Police were asking the lorry drivers for details.

 

“We strongly feel the system could potentially collapse,” said Gary Hodgson, a director of Venture Seafoods, which exports live and processed crabs and lobsters to the EU has trucks parked near Downing Street.

 

“Prime Minister Boris Johnson needs to be honest with us, with himself and with the British public about the problems for the industry,” he told Reuters.

 

Hodgson said he had cancelled several lorries since December because of red tape.

 

Britain, which has now completed its journey out of the EU’s orbit, harvests vast quantities of langoustines, scallops, oysters, lobsters and mussels from sea fisheries along its coast which are rushed by truck to EU destinations.

 

Under a deal reached last month, British trade with the EU remains free of tariffs and quotas on goods, but fish exporters say their businesses are now threatened by a host of often conflicting demands for documents to export to the EU.

 

A spokesman for the British government’s environment ministry declined immediate comment. Environment Secretary George Eustice said last week that post-Brexit “teething problems” on fish exports could be resolved shortly.

 

‘BREXIT CARNAGE’

 

Those participating in the protest said the British government needed to understand the severity of the problems they face and the impact on coastal communities.

 

They want a more workable system and say there is a shortage of customs agents on both sides.

 

“It’s not just possible to work with their new rules, between costs, timing, paperwork, it’s just not possible,” said Allan Miller, owner of AM Shellfish in Aberdeen, Scotland, who was parked up in his truck in London.

 

Miller delivers brown crab, lobster and prawns to the EU but the red tape means live shellfish is getting to market much later - and thus getting lower prices.

 

“They’ll buy it but if the stuff is weaker they’ll pay less for it,” he said.

 

Miller criticised Johnson’s Brexit trade deal, saying delivery times had doubled to at least 48 hours from 24 hours.

 

He said the situation with live shellfish deliveries, with vets checking the loads, was “crazy”.

 

“I used to be able to load on Sunday, be on the ferry Monday morning and my first drop would be Monday night, so 24 hours from finishing loading to the first customer. Now you’re talking 48 hours to 50 hours. It’s crazy,” he said.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-18

 

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[welovesundaysatspace 8,714]

Sounds exactly like the predictions that were labeled as “Project Fear” by Brexiteers. No wonder they have already moved from “Project Fear” to “you had enough time to prepare”. 

[Chomper Higgot 36,797]

Even ‘Project Fear’ missed this one.

[Surelynot 9,497]

As Raab said....I don't accept that......and that's it??? These news interviewers are pathetic.

[Loiner 9,884]

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

More than 20 shellfish trucks parked on roads near British parliament

Well we didn't have the Remainer predicted 'Brexit carnage', so they decided to try and make some of their own. However, 20 trucks parked around Westminster does not carnage make.

[Susco 5,772]

I've said from the beginning, after Brexit the Brits gonna eat a lot of fish.

 

Now can you imagine that with no deal, they would have to keep all the catch?

[Psimbo 5,118]

3 hours ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Sounds exactly like the predictions that were labeled as “Project Fear” by Brexiteers. No wonder they have already moved from “Project Fear” to “you had enough time to prepare”. 

Time to prepare? The agreement is less than a month old. Of course there are going to be teething issues. Not like the Jocks not to complain though. 'Several trucks'- that could be two or more. Ambiguous reporting to scaremonger (as opposed to fishmonger)

 

 Why didn't the pro-EU Scottish Parliament make contingency plans? Too busy spending Westminster funds on 2m GBP 'consultants'. 

 

Far easier to blame the PM as usual though. How many other aspects of the trade deal are faltering? Rome wasn't built in a day.

[GrandPapillon 656]

well, the positive news is that most of those UK exporting businesses will go bankrupt, which means the survivors will have less red tape and less competition, and could rise their prices

 

and of course, will have more fish to catch

 

win-win, so why are they complaining 

Edited January 18 by GrandPapillon

[tebee 5,305]

1 hour ago, Psimbo said:

Time to prepare? The agreement is less than a month old. Of course there are going to be teething issues. Not like the Jocks not to complain though. 'Several trucks'- that could be two or more. Ambiguous reporting to scaremonger (as opposed to fishmonger)

 

 Why didn't the pro-EU Scottish Parliament make contingency plans? Too busy spending Westminster funds on 2m GBP 'consultants'. 

 

Far easier to blame the PM as usual though. How many other aspects of the trade deal are faltering? Rome wasn't built in a day.

Well, if they had understood what Brexit means, and in particular what leaving the SM &CU means, they would have realised that all this new paperwork would be needed.

 

No deal that could have been struck would have changed this.

 

So they should Indeed have prepared, but no one in government would say this simply because it made Brexit look bad.

[Hi from France 1,582]

the fishing industry is like the canary in a coalmine, they operated with very fresh food so but they are an advanced warning of what British exporting SME are going through

 

i tried asking already but what are Brexiteers advice to Paul (director of Leon Paul, based in Hendon, north London, which employs 50 people), whose business is described here ?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/17/shock-brexit-charges-are-hurting-us-say-small-british-businesses

 

 

[Laughing Gravy 14,653]

The article is a remainers wet dream and typical of Reuters. I guess some people still can't accept the UK has left the EU and so will continue, boringly so, to keep on with the mantra, you should not have left the EU, you are worse off.

 

Thankfully, I am like most people I know, who don't care about this very tedious and predicted tactic in the deluded believe the UK will rejoin the EU. It will never happen, so no matter what the usual suspects on here keep trying to pedal.

 

Get use to it the UK is not in the EU and never will be again.

[pacovl46 2,079]

And so it begins...

[pacovl46 2,079]

5 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

The article is a remainers wet dream and typical of Reuters. I guess some people still can't accept the UK has left the EU and so will continue, boringly so, to keep on with the mantra, you should not have left the EU, you are worse off.

 

Thankfully, I am like most people I know, who don't care about this very tedious and predicted tactic in the deluded believe the UK will rejoin the EU. It will never happen, so no matter what the usual suspects on here keep trying to pedal.

 

Get use to it the UK is not in the EU and never will be again.

No problem!

[JayClay 91]

23 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

The article is a remainers wet dream and typical of Reuters. I guess some people still can't accept the UK has left the EU and so will continue, boringly so, to keep on with the mantra, you should not have left the EU, you are worse off.

 

I mean... Articles like this prove, unquestionably, that we indeed are worse off.

 

At least the pro-brexit stance, from the replies seen in this thread so far, seems to have gone from denial and blame to a blatant "I don't care".

[simon43 13,034]

[quote]

...but the red tape means live shellfish is getting to market much later - and thus getting lower prices.

[/quote]

 

I don't understand this bit.  If the shellfish are live, and transported in the correct conditions, then their quality should be the same - they are live, after all.