Brexit and Seafood Trade: key lessons learned so far

The process leading to the Exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union has placed the seafood sector under the spotlight. Fishing has been one of the key elements of the debate prior to the referendum. It has also been at the heart of several parliamentary commissions in the UK parliament, in the EU parliament and elsewhere since the vote. Numerous publications, conferences and workshops have dug into the complexity of the UK seafood sector and the numerous interconnections it has with the rest of the European fishermen and markets. Despite the absence of information on the shape of the future relationship between the UK and the EU, the review of all the material produced over the last two years led the authors to some interesting findings: 1. The definition of a specific typology of seafood supply chains in the UK, which can help understanding where bottlenecks may appear once the Brexit is achieved; 2. An exploration of the different concepts behind “zonal attachment”, providing some insights on the potentiality for the UK to “take back control of UK waters”, a totemic claim for the UK fishing industry; 3. The identification of several non-tariff barriers that could hinder trade between the UK and the EU even in the case of a soft Brexit, echoing the issue of “frictionless trade” demands from the UK seafood sector