The environment secretary, George Eustice is facing a threat of legal action from shellfish farmers over claims that the government has misled the industry over its post-Brexit arrangements with the EU. Live mussels, cockles, oysters and other shellfish caught in most of the UK’s waters are no longer allowed to enter the EU following Britain leaving the customs union and single market on New Year’s Eve.

A solicitor representing 20 shellfish firms told the Guardian the government had shown “negligence and maladministration” and that a group action was being considered for compensation.Separately, an exporter of mussels sent a legal letter to the secretary of state saying the firm would sue for damages if the shellfish market with the EU were not opened up by September.They have warned Eustice that unless they can begin trading by September they will launch a claim for “substantial damages”. Solicitors for Offshore Shellfish, a 30-year-old business employing 15 people in Brixham, Devon, wrote to the secretary of state on 25 March stating that ministers and officials from the department had repeatedly given false hope to shellfish farmers, suggesting their businesses would be able to continue trading with the EU.

Their letter said: “Our clients and the Shellfish Association of Great Britain have been in discussions with Victoria Prentis MP (parliamentary undersecretary for farming, fisheries and food) and were informed in a telephone conversation on 9 March that the EU’s position is simply wrong.“However, no legal basis or advice from Defra has been provided to support this position. Indeed, our clients have been forced to seek independent counsel’s opinion on this matter, and counsel advises that the EU position is tenable.” Click here to read more

In related news the EFRA Committee heard evidence on seafood exports to the EU Click here and the Scottish Government launch a live bivalve mollusc impact survey to better understand the impact of the barriers to their trade to the EU or Northern Ireland. Click here

In another angle on the shellfish/Brexit story, Jersey islands report French ships “making hay while the sun shines” before new rules come into effect at the end of April to ban scallop dredging by French vessels unable to prove a historic connection with the waters. Click here