Editor’s Welcome

This month, the UK Government announced it had struck a free trade deal with Liechtenstein – not a piece of news with much relevance for fish farming, admittedly, but it came at the same time as trade deals with Iceland and Norway, which look set to open up the UK market to more imported farmed fish, especially salmon.

As the Norwegian Government pointed out, however, the latest trade agreements do not fully replicate the mutual access that had been permitted under the UK’s former relationship with its neighbours in the European Economic Area.

In this issue, Sandy Neil looks at the impact of Brexit six months on, and finds that while some of the chaotic confusion and delays have been tackled, many of the problems that seafood businesses have been experiencing from January onwards are structural, not just “teething troubles”.

Also in the June magazine, we look at some of the latest developments in aquafeed, including the roll-out of a new Feed Standard by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

Feed is not just one of the biggest costs for aquaculture, but also one of the most important aspects of sustainability in the industry. It is increasingly clear that producers absolutely have to be aware of the sustainability issues all along their supply chain, not just those parts of it which they directly manage.

Two articles focus on different treatments for sea lice – Benchmark’s CleanTreat and the heat treatment technique – which have each sparked a fierce debate over fish welfare and the environment.

And we look at sturgeon farming, for which the centre of gravity has shifted eastwards as more and more caviar is produced, and consumed, in China rather than Russia.

This issue also features an interview with veteran RAS expert Ivar Warrer-Hansen, and reports from the Shellfish Association of Great Britain conference and the UK Aquaculture Sustainability Summit – which replaced the usual in-person get-together at Aviemore. No, we can’t get away from sustainability!