SAGB Crustacean Committee Meeting

While at the Bournemouth Skipper Expo on October 30, Fishing News attended the Crustacean Committee meeting chaired by Sarah Clarke, chair of the Crustacean Society, David Jarrad, director of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) and Dr Colin Bannister, chairman of the SAGB, reports Katherine Weir.

Above: David Jarrad answering a question from Dr Colin Bannister on cadmium in crab, at the SAGB Crustacean Committee meeting.

Many people attended the meeting, held in the Purbeck Lounge of the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), and were active participants in each point of the agenda.

First up was a discussion about current membership numbers and the finances of the Association. There were concerns about future funding, with the costs of running the SAGB greatly outweighing the membership income.

David Jarrad spoke of the success of the Shellfish Conference in May of this year, giving the Association £36k surplus income to put towards future projects. He asked for any suggestions for next year’s conference to make it even more successful (and profitable).

Several issues could not be fully discussed at the meeting, including latent capacity, as the two members from DEFRA that were scheduled to attend could not make it.

The serious issue of the ban on brown crab from the UK in China due to cadmium levels was brought up by David Jarrad, along with a presentation about his efforts to resolve this. Talks are ongoing with China about a resolution and Fishing News will report on this in a future issue.

Robert Packham from CEFAS FHI Weymouth gave a presentation on the release of non-native species, Dungeness crab and American lobsters. He referenced figures from 2013 that stated that 3,000t of native lobster were landed in the UK to a land value of £30m. Yet 1,800t of American lobster was still imported into the UK, showing demand is stronger than our current UK supply.

He also talked about pathogens such as gaffkemia, white spot syndrome virus, Polymorphus botulus and epizootic shell disease and how common each threat is to crustaceans.

There was discussion about the impact of introduction and hybridisation, especially in relation to American lobsters, and several questions were raised from committee members about the Lobster Deposit Order 1981 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Ewan Bell from CEFAS Lowestoft then spoke on the latest Stock Status Reports for 2014. This is the second round of data – the first being in 2012 – and shows the England crab and lobster stocks. Head to gov.uk and search for ‘crab’ or ‘lobster’ to see the latest reports.

Next up was Sarah Horsfall from Seafish, who spoke about Seafish marine legislation by the Shellfish Association. Several points were discussed, including the news that there will be a spending review conducted in England. In her October marine environmental legislation newsletter, Sarah Horsfall speaks of the spending review saying: “DEFRA and its associated agencies do not qualify as a protected department, and so they must look to make savings in their budgets of between 25 and 40%. The proposals are currently being finalised and it is expected they will be ready for submission by the end of November.

“It is important to remember that at this stage nothing is decided, but there are indications that many of DEFRA’s agencies will be merged into DEFRA itself, such as the MMO, the EA, Natural England etc, and it is also possible that the MCA and the IFCAs will merge. It is expected that this will bring economies of scale, but it is apparent that there will be some significant changes in the future.”

The next SAGB Crustacean Committee meeting will take place in the spring, with a date soon to be announced. Keep up to date with SAGB news by visiting: shellfish.org.uk

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