U.K. shellfish farmers facing a complex maze of regulations could greatly benefit from a nationwide aquaculture planning strategy, Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) CEO David Jarrad said. Despite shellfish farmers producing around 30,000 metric tons (MT) of seafood worth approximately GBP 38 million (USD 50.8 million, EUR 44.7 million) in value annually, Jarrad said that the sector is often overlooked in policy decision-making. This, coupled with a dizzying number of regulations from various sources, has the farmed shellfish sector calling for a unified aquaculture strategy that could help it unlock previously untapped potential, Jarrad said. 

“The real problem is there are so many different agencies that are overlapping what they do and what they're regulating. There's never one agency that overlooks all of it,” he said. “We’ve always said a [strategy] is what we need and why we’ve been calling for a U.K.-wide aquaculture planning strategy – so we can plan for the future.”

The concept of strategy aims at framing a plan of action based on the present facts for future .

SAGB assists and promotes the sustainable development of U.K. wild-caught shellfisheries and farming operations and also represents the views of the industry in discussions with the government, other users of U.K. waters, and environmental organizations.