Offering the perfect marine protein, mussel and oyster producers could thrive if given a supportive platform by policymakers

The UK’s shellfish farming industry is a small but very important industry, and it has fantastically huge potential that could put it on par with France and Spain – Europe’s leaders in the space – if it’s provided with a regulatory landscape that allows it to grow and flourish, according to David Jarrad, Chief Executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB).

Unfortunately, the UK is nowhere near this level at the moment. Today, it’s about 17,000 tonnes in total, versus, for instance, Spain’s 250,000 tonnes, Jarrad (a former oyster farmer) informed a recent “Get to know Farmed Shellfish” event, hosted by SAGB at London’s Billingsgate Market.