1. The Shellfish Association of Great Britain’s
43rd Annual Conference
Fishmongers’ Hall, London. 22nd – 23rd May 2012.
Speaker Summaries
Dr Paul Williams, Seafish
Paul Williams talked about the role of Seafish and the raft of ways in which it works with
government agencies and other bodies, including the SAGB, which he said is a key partner on
many projects, such as the Shellfish Industry Development Strategy (SIDS). He acknowledged
fisheries minister Richard Benyon’s earlier presentation which insisted that the shellfish and
aquaculture industries would need to grow, and said Seafish is looking at how best that could
be achieved bearing in mind “the mass of regulations” that are currently in place controlling
access to the marine resource. Part of this work includes joint work with the SAGB that looks
at the potential/feasibility of introducing shellfish growing sites near to wind farm areas.
Looking ahead, Williams outlined the £2.5m ACRUNET (Atlantic Crab Users Resource
Network) project and also confirmed there would be follow up to SIDS. He concluded by
saying that Seafish has a real commitment to UK shellfish. “Seafish’s goal is a sustainable,
profitable future for the seafood industry. Part of that is for the shellfish sector,” he said.
Norah Parke, Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation
Norah Parke elaborated on ACRUNET, explaining the project was the result of the crab
industry taking matters into its own hands to do something about the fisheries management
(or rather lack of). ACRUNET has 15 partners – BIM, KFO, Seafish, SAGB, Bord Bia, IFREMER,
CEFAS, France Agrimer, Marine Institute, NFFO, IPIMAR, Seafood Scotland, CETMAR and
CNPMEM – which came together because in the past there had been a complete lack of trust
in the crab sector. This resulted in a poorer quality product, which in turn led to low prices. A
downward cycle was created because fishermen would increase their effort to compensate.
Parke said there were numerous challenges facing ACRUNET but that it would strive to
improve the co-operation, communication and innovation in the industry and would
implement policy at national, regional and EU level. It would do this by establishing a
comprehensive communications platform, she said.

2. Stephen Cameron, Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group
Stephen Cameron delivered a comprehensive breakdown of the UK mussel market and
stressed that mussels remain ever popular with consumers but that there was some shift in
the preferred formats, which needed to be recognized in future product development.
Around 4,000 tonnes of mussels, worth more than £21m were sold in the UK last year.
Overall, in terms of the market’s favourite seafood products, they are ranked 11th in value
and 8th in volume.
Pre-packed value-added mussels have grown significantly in importance in the past few
years, Cameron said. Retail sales now account for 42% of all mussel purchases, wholesale is
32% and foodservice is 26%. He said that mussels in sauces (white wine, garlic butter and
Provençal) make up the greatest volume of consumer retail purchases at 61%, way ahead of
fresh mussels at 16%. Looking ahead, modified atmosphere packs (MAP) of fresh live
mussels, which are popular in Europe, are starting to gain ground in the UK, he said.
Dr Stephen Bolt, Association of IFCAs
Stephen Bolt explained the new Association of IFCAs and why it is so important that a
balance is struck between the social, economic and environmental needs of England’s coastal
marine resource.
David Muirhead MBE, SAGB
Through “A Fishy Tale”, David Muirhead delivered a colourful insight into his life as a
Cornish fisherman – man and boy, starting with handlining as a 3 year old!
Martyn Youell, Marine Management Organisation (MMO)
Martyn Youell, whose presentation was titled “The Marine Planning System”, gave
conference delegates an update into the progress of England’s marine plans, and insisted
that marine planning is not a new regulation. He explained that the first two areas for marine
plans – East inshore and offshore – were selected in October 2010 and that the MMO will
submit plans to government this autumn. There will be a public consultation in 2013, he said.
Monty Halls, TV Presenter
Monty Halls’ presentation “Between a rock and a hard plaice” gave a fascinating insight into
the making of ‘The Fishermans Apprentice' BBC television series. Halls, a former Royal
Marines officer, revealed he found life as a fisherman incredibly exhausting - the early hours,
the strength required to just do the day-to-day job, the inherent dangers of being a fisherman
and the “baffling fog of legislation”. But he also talked at length about the “amazing
camaraderie” that came with being part of the Cadgwith fleet.

3. Halls talked about the potential of Community Supported Fisheries (CSF) in the UK. Halls had
seen the CSFs work in the United States, whereby interested members of the local
community pay a fee upfront and get fresh fish once a week from their local boats for a set
period (eg three months), which they will pick up from a central distribution point. The
initiative, which takes place in 24 towns and cities in the States, has fostered a direct link
between the boats and the local community. A CSF was trialled in Cadgwith and it went down
very well, said Halls. “It strikes me that these small schemes could work,” he said.
Dr Linden Jack, Food Standards Agency
Linden Jack, head of the FSA’s food hygiene policy team, explained that work on norovirus is
co-ordinated under the agency’s Foodborne Disease Strategy and that it expects to establish
three work streams around norovirus: Food handlers, Fresh produce and Shellfish. She said
that more robust and scientific knowledge is required into norovirus and the list of priorities
includes:
 Literature review on distinguishing infectious and non-infectious norovirus
 EU project (VITAL) on identifying routes of contamination and potential controls for
all foods
 Study on contribution of the whole food chain, including food handlers on UK
acquired norovirus infections (three-year project due to start during 2012)
 Transmission routes of norovirus infection (complete 12/13)
 Research call issued for literature review on survival and persistence of norovirus in
foods and on food contact surfaces (complete early 13/14)
Jack said a research workshop would take place towards the end of this year. With regards to
norovirus in shellfish, she pointed out that the FSA had published research on prevalence of
norovirus in UK shellfish harvesting areas but said the industry needs to understand more
about the levels of norovirus in shellfish when they reach the consumer, infectious dose and
quantifying the effectiveness of depuration.
She also said the FSA was working with the European Commission and other member states
to establish an equivalency agreement for trade in live bivalve molluscs (LBM) between the
EU and US. This is a long-term project and will take a number of years, she said.
Nicki Holmyard, Seafood Scotland
Closing the first day of the conference, Nicki Holmyard talked about Seafood Scotland’s
Seafood in Schools project, which aims to educate the next generation of consumers.
Holmyard explained that it was vital that we, as an industry, extol the virtues of fish and
shellfish because consumption is dropping while health issues are increasing. We need to

4. make children familiar with seafood, she said, adding that a number of forward-thinking
enterprises were now working in this area, such as Billingsgate Seafood School’s outreach
project, Marine Stewardship Council’s Fish ‘n Kids, Marks and Spencer’s School of Fish as
well as Seafood Scotland’s own project.
Part of the Seafood in Schools project involves using seafood as a context for teaching,
whereby children learn where seafood comes from, how it gets to their plates and why it’s
good (healthy) to eat. So far the project has interacted with 25,000 Scottish school children,
thanks in part to more than £24,000 of donations from the seafood industry. The good news
is that the project has just been given a three-year extension to reach 50,000 per year.
Robin Smith, North Norfolk Fisheries Liaison Group (FLAG)
Robin Smith was the first speaker of day two and he talked about the public sector’s part in
“making things happen” to boost ailing economic areas such as north Norfolk. Smith
remarked that local authorities are amongst the most powerful economic agents in their
areas, shaping economic health as employers and purchasers and through local leadership
and economic development activities.
“Experience demonstrates that without action at local level, coastal areas will continue to lag
behind other parts of the country,” he said. “But local authorities can make a difference
strategically through combining and sharing local resources in a targeted way with other
strategic partners.”
Smith said north Norfolk’s maritime area is becoming one of the most important investor
development areas in the east of England, which is raising the aspirations among the region’s
young people and subsequently improving job opportunities. But he also said that 2,500
wind turbines will be erected over the next few years that will have a dramatic effect on the
region’s fisheries, therefore he felt the North Norfolk FLAG was set to become a very
powerful lobbying institution.
Ian Groves, North Norfolk Business Forum
Following on from Robin Smith’s presentation, Ian Groves gave an outline of the North
Norfolk FLAG programme, operating from Thornham to Caister-on-Sea between 2011 and
2014, and which – thanks to £2.4 million European Fisheries Fund money - has nearly 30
separate projects.
The FLAG’s vision is: “We aim to provide a voice for the North Norfolk fishery which will
influence policy at a regional and national level while demonstrating the strong reputation of
the fishery and highlighting its impressive heritage.”
Specifically, the FLAG will support existing fishery businesses, boost new entrants, provide
new infrastructure, ensure the environment not adversely affected and encourage and
support new business opportunities, said Groves.

5. Toby Roxburgh, WWF
Toby Roxburgh talked about the PISCES (Partnerships Involving Stakeholders in the Celtic
Sea Ecosytem) project, which has been running for two years and was founded by WWF UK
and partners in France, Ireland and Spain. Together, they created (and are working with) a
Celtic Sea stakeholder group to develop a practical guide on implementation of the
ecosystem approach to focus on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
The guide, which Roxburgh said is the “voice of the stakeholders” is set for launch at the start
of October this year and will be followed by promotional events in the UK, France, Spain and
Belgium (Brussels). He explained the guide should capture views on: how stakeholders can
participate in MSFD; the benefits to government and stakeholders; and what is needed to
make this happen (eg new governance mechanisms, funding, incentives etc). The guide is
being reviewed through to 6 July and Roxburgh urged interested conference delegates to get
involved.
Colin Warwick, The Crown Estate
Colin Warwick, a former fisherman, talked about harvesting the sea “in harmony”. Warwick
said that in the grand scheme of things, the fishing industry is not important to the UK’s GDP
but stressed that it’s vital to coastal communities. He warned that the fishing industry now
faces “the new kid on the block” in renewable energy (windfarms) and said that the logical
thing for the fishing industry to do is to create dialogue with these companies. “There are,
after all, a lot of jobs in the renewable sector,” he said.
Warwick said that of all fisheries industries, the shellfish sector was perhaps best placed to
take advantage of the windfarms. “If you have the dialogue and the will to co-operate, there’s
no reason why you can’t co-exist,” he said.
Toby Middleton, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
Toby Middleton explained Project Inshore and introduced Matt Watson, who will be taking
the initiative forward.
Project Inshore is essentially a tool to assess and feed into the management of all English
fisheries within IFCA districts, said Middleton. It consists of three stages: Fishery Analysis,
MSC Pre-Assessments, and Sustainability Reviews. It uses the MSC pre-assessment process
as an independent assessment of what is happening on the ground in inshore fisheries. The
pre-assessments then feed into develop Sustainability Reviews to feed into current
management practices.
Middleton said the aim is to overcome market barriers to small scale fisheries engaging in
the MSC process. All inshore fisheries would be considered against a consistent framework
of common criteria. Sustainability reports would be developed to enable multi-track
progress and harmonised approaches. They would also recognise where management is
working and also areas which could be improved upon.

6. Looking ahead, Project Inshore will be setting up a multi-stakeholder advisory group. It will
also be outlining the timelines and process to IFCAs as well as scheduling local stakeholder
workshops.
Matthew Ayers, Crabstock
Matthew Ayers, head chef at the Lamb Inn, Great Rissington, ended the conference with his
talk about Crabstock - the first inland shellfish festival. Crabstock was dreamed up by Ayers
and Adrian Bartlett of The Really Interesting Crab Company to inform consumers about the
benefits of eating shellfish and to get local communities involved with the UK fishing
industry through a live music and food festival.
Held over two days in April in the grounds of The Lamb Inn, Crabstock was visited by 2,000
people. It promoted brown crab, spider crab, fiddler crab, lobsters, cockles, clams and
mussels, oysters and scallops.
“The general public isn’t aware of shellfish, there’s a real lack of knowledge,” Ayers told
conference delegates. “And also in my professional experience, I have found that a lot of
chefs are numb to shellfish; they don’t know what to do with it. Yet Crabstock has shown us
that people really do care about local produce.”
Ayers and Bartlett are now looking into ways of rolling out the Crabstock concept to the rest
of the country. They are also planning a “Cotswold Shellfish Week,” involving all the chefs in
the area and getting their restaurants to promote U.K. shellfish, probably with the help of a
new “Great British Shellfish” logo.
ENDS [JH/June 2012]