It was also broadly the opinion at a similar workshop in London's Fishmongers Hall, attended by most of the leading national seafood producers yesterday which included names like Birds Eye. Defra has organised a series of October landmark discussions around the UK on Seafish and how it should look in the years ahead.
 
Wynne Griffiths, chairman of the Humber Seafood Group, told Fishupdate: "There was a good cross section of the local fishing industry represented at the meeting and we all felt that Seafish should continue and a single national body. We said it would be wrong to break it into English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish sections because it doesn't matter if  Birds Eye fish fingers or Young's Admiral Pie is sold in London, Edinburgh, Belfast or Cardiff - the fish all comes from the same source and from the same companies."
 
The meeting also expressed the view that three quarters of the £8-million levy raised every year came from imported fish and was mainly paid for by UK processors. It was therefore felt that some of the catching roles taken on by Seafish should be transferred to the Health and Safety Executive and relevant EU organisations.
 
Mr Griffiths said the meeting felt strongly that there should be a more level playing field between the various species when calculating the levy, and that farmed fish should be included (the levy for certain types of groundfish like cod and haddock is several times the rate for pelagic fish such as mackerel).
 
He added: "This differential is a throwback to 1981 when Seafish was created. There was virtually no salmon farming then and, of cours,e there were severe restrictions on pelagic fishing in the North Sea. Much has changed since that time."
 
He said both the Grimsby and London meetings were well attended with some strongly held, but positive proposals put forward for consideration..

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