Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the UK scampi market is planned to re-open as part of the easing of covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Up to April this year, retail sales of scampi are, year on year, up in 2020. Noticeably higher sales in March may reflect consumers buying frozen products to prepare for Covid-19-related movement restrictions. Reduced demand from the UK food service sector and export markets has had a notable impact on the Nephrops market. Whilst there are some small signs of recovery as EU Nephrops markets reopen, prices remain subdued. Defra continues to work with the seafood industry across the UK, and with the Devolved Administrations and Seafish, to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on trade, and to support the sector through these challenging times.

That support includes providing £10 million of funding to the sector in England through the Fisheries Response Fund and the Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme. The Fisheries Response Fund, worth £9 million, has provided grants of up to £10,000 for eligible catching and aquaculture businesses to help cover fixed-costs. The £1 million Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme is supporting projects to help develop the infrastructure necessary to get fish from the catching & processing sectors to consumers, creating new opportunities and improving market resilience.