Today, South Devon MP Caroline Voaden hosted the inaugural meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Shellfish Aquaculture.
Featuring 26 MPs and members of the House of Lords from Devon, Cornwall, East Anglia, the south coast, Wales, Cumbria, the North East, and the Scottish Coast, the APPG for Shellfish Aquaculture seeks to assist a valuable and environmentally friendly industry which has struggled in recent years from increased bureaucracy and a lack of Government support.
Widely accepted as the most efficient form of protein production using no feed, medicines, or chemicals, shellfish aquaculture has vast environmental benefits, including by acting as a carbon and nitrogen sink, and improving water quality.
The UK has some of the most productive waters in the world for shellfish aquaculture. But, despite this, the industry has struggled to grow at the same rate as other European countries.
Brexit is one reason for this. However, beyond this, there are other factors hampering growth, including poor water quality. The UK’s growing population, inadequate water treatment infrastructure, and governmental failure to hold water companies to account mean that storm overflow events are more frequent, with severe negative consequences for shellfish production.
Legislatively there are also challenges for the APPG to address. Aquaculture is still tied to UK fisheries policy, despite differing substantially from wild capture fisheries.
Aquaculture shows the greatest growth potential of all food production sectors but receives little attention in UK government policy and no effective support for the sector to grow.
The new APPG for Shellfish Aquaculture seeks to change this by providing political assistance to help this valuable and job-creating industry to thrive.
Among the first items on the agenda was the election of the APPG’s Officers, which are:
Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, as Chair
James Wild, Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, as Vice Chair
Jayne Kirkham, Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth, as Officer
Torcuil Chrichton, Labour MP for the Hebrides, as Officer
The Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) will also serve as the APPG’s secretariat.
Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon, said:
“I’m thrilled to have launched the APPG for Shellfish Aquaculture, and to have members from such a broad swathe of the UK. From Devon to the Scottish Islands, this APPG has legislators who are committed to helping this industry which has such incredible potential but is being hamstrung by a toxic combination of red tape and government inaction. I look forward to working with the Government and the Shellfish Association of Great Britain to change this, and to harness the hugely beneficial impact this industry could have on our economy and environment.”
David Jarrad, chief executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, said:
“The Shellfish Association of Great Britain was delighted to see tangible support shown by the members for the creation of the Shellfish Aquaculture APPG at the IGM. The fertile waters around the UK coast could deliver such a fantastic vibrant aquaculture industry if the legislative landscape to do so is created and the current restrictions lifted. The SAGB is pleased to be nominated as the secretariat to help the APPG deliver these goals.”
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