Scepticism over UK-EU deal to ease Manx fishing pressures
The Manx Fish Producers Organisation says pressures on the industry extend beyond excessive red tape.
Scepticism over UK-EU deal to ease Manx fishing pressures
David Beard said pressures on the industry extended far beyond administration
The Isle of Man's fishing industry may gain from a proposed UK-EU deal to scrap post-Brexit checks on food exports, although questions remain over whether it will meaningfully cut costs for local businesses.
The draft sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, which is expected to be a key part of the upcoming UK-EU summit, is intended to reduce red tape placed on exporters after the UK left the single market.
On the Isle of Man, around 97% of commercial fishing output is exported, mainly to Europe through the UK.
Manx Fish Producers Organisation (MFPO) chief executive David Beard said he feared that "once red tape is in, it's very, very difficult to remove it again".
He said Brexit had brought far more administration, health checks and certification demands, making exports more costly and time-consuming.
"There are huge difficulties with sending out to Europe now. The difficulty has become the border checks, mainly in Europe, but it's also the costs of actually shipping there and the costs of the administration and health certification."
Beard also said Manx seafood consignments had previously been held up at EU borders because of paperwork mistakes that may have happened elsewhere in shipments containing both UK and Manx products.
He said he hoped the proposed agreement would help stop those issues happening again.
Beard said the fishing industry was the Isle of Man's biggest food exporter, with king scallops accounting for about 70% of its total income.
Although stock levels were strong, Beard said the industry was under growing financial strain from higher fuel, transport and operating costs.
The seven-month king scallop season started on 1 November
Beard said king scallop stocks had risen fivefold over the past six years.
But while wholesale prices for scallops sold into European markets had stayed unchanged for five years, other costs, including fuel and transport, had increased sharply, he said.
Beard said some processors had already begun freezing scallops instead of selling them fresh, in the hope that prices will rise and/or fuel costs will fall.
He said that although the island was regarded as a "benchmark for the rest of the UK" for stock levels and management, the wider picture "is challenging for us".
The draft deal would require the UK to align with relevant EU food safety and animal and plant health rules, potentially removing the need for expensive export health certificates and cutting border inspections.
Beard said he would welcome that if it makes exporting to European markets easier, but warned that the benefits for the island were still unclear.