Offshore Shellfish, a family-operated mussel exporter based in Devon, UK, has reported a loss of £150,000 following the rejection of three shipments by French customs in recent weeks. The company has been actively exporting blue mussels to the EU since Brexit, despite the added administrative challenges and rigorous paperwork requirements.
In a recent month, three out of four of its lorry shipments were denied entry at the Boulogne-sur-Mer port for various reasons. Sarah Holmyard, Offshore Shellfish’s commercial director, expressed confusion over the rejections, noting that the rejected shipments were identical to successful previous deliveries, raising concerns about the consistency of customs decisions.
The mussels are cultivated on ropes in Lyme Bay, off the south Devon coast. Offshore Shellfish primarily exports its produce for processing in the Netherlands, where they are often featured in popular Belgian dishes such as moules-frites, highlighting the import dependence of many European markets on UK shellfish.
Despite the challenges, Holmyard indicated that historically, the company had not experienced any rejected shipments prior to this recent incident. All three rejected loads were subsequently disposed of at the company’s expense, which has raised financial concerns and questions about the unpredictability of future shipments.
Under current EU regulations, live bivalve molluscs, including mussels, are subject to stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls. These rules dictate that mussels can only be imported without treatment from waters classified as “class A,” a designation that Offshore Shellfish generally meets throughout the year.
The recent shipment rejections come amid ongoing discussions between the UK government and the EU about potential SPS agreements, with aims to streamline trade by 2027. Holmyard has stated that the recent delivery issues could harm the company’s reputation and customer relationships if they persist. Negotiations with French authorities are ongoing, and there is hope for a more flexible interpretation of customs rules in the future.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/18/french-customs-reject-british-shellfish-shipments-after-uk-reset-deal-with-eu