Once completed it would have become the largest such farm in European waters capable of producing 10,000 tonnes of mussels each year. Most of the output went live into the EU, until January that is. The mussels, a type of bivalve molluscs or LBM, are grown on rope, hundreds of miles of it, secured by specially developed anchors sunk deep into the seabed.
Brexit had been a big concern but they had assurances from the UK government and DEFRA that arrangements were in place to allow the trade to continue after we left the single market.
Since January they have been unable to export any mussels at all, putting decades of work, millions of pounds of investment and jobs of workers at risk. They are among plenty of other exporters of similar LBMs including oysters and cockles, in exactly the same position, as we now know.
Tom Howard, is an eighth generation oyster man from Mersea island in Essex. His family have been fishing for mussels in that area for 300 years. A third of his harvest, goes into the EU and again since January that trade has stopped. But Mr Howard says, even if he was allowed to carry on, the cost of the paperwork would probably make it unprofitable. He is worried that the business won’t be able to continue.
Rob Benson of Kingfisher seafoods gathers cockles from Morecambe Bay and his market is also in the EU, predominantly Spain and France. Last year was a record year. This year has been “devastating “ he says. They haven't sent a single kilo.
Another Mussel farmer, James Wilton, who works in the Menai Straits, is another victim. He was luckier. He was going to invest in new technology to expand, but before he actually did so, he found that like the others, he has been unable to export into what is his largest market, the EU. The problem is ”properly existential" he says. He also had a 10,000 tonne a year business.
The Government has offered help to build deputation tanks but the Holmyards from Brixham, say it won’t help them because depurated products have a much shorter shelf life and would be unable to survive the 42 hour depuration process added to the now 36-48 hour shipping time.
They have now started legal proceedings against the government for the way that they have handled things and for wrongly advising them the trade would be able to continue. The BBC presented it as a 'the UK says this and the EU says that' sort of argument, but the sorry truth is we have given up all influence in the single market and therefore can't interpret the rules.
I didn't have time to research it but I believe a non-member or indeed anyone can apply to the ECJ for a ruling on the interpretation of EU law but I don't see any move on behalf of DEFRA to do so.
I also note Ian Paisley Junior has launched a class action against the government on behalf of NI traders, alleging the new NI protocol infringes their economic rights.
I don't know whether these cases have any merit but I assume they must have some. The government cannot argue (surely?) that they are acting in accordance with the referendum because they aren't. The problem is entirely down to the hard Brexit they have chosen on ideological grounds. If the Holmyards or Paisley succeed in bringing and winning an action with compensation, an important principle will have been established.
Before anybody starts to cheer however, note the TCA "contains limited substantive legal protections for the Parties’ investors and no investor-state enforcement mechanism" and it "cannot be directly invoked before domestic courts, and its dispute resolution mechanism is limited to a 'WTO-like' state-to-state arbitration."
I assume this is why the Holmyards are focusing on the advice DEFRA gave and Paisley is arguing against the NI protocol. Nevertheless, the parties may succeed. The government cannot be absolved of providing accurate advice to businesses, especially when in many cases, there is an existential risk to them.
The Good Law Project also has any number of cases against the government related to PPE or cronyism, which are in various early stages. It looks like government lawyers are going to be very busy over the next few years.
The Food Programme mentioned something called Seafood 2040, a strategy to get us to eat more fish, including mussels. It looks like we will have plenty of LBMs to eat in future, so watch out for a big advertising campaign. However, I won't be eating any.
I have had frogs legs, chicken gizzards and livers, sea cucumber and various weird things over the years but, I can't imagine eating shellfish. I cannot bring myself to do it.
