The UK’s seafood giants have urged Seafish to reform and re-focus after the body’s future was secured in the Supreme Court.

Seafish won a landmark victory in the case – brought by British Seafood subsidiary Bloomsbury International – against it for charging a levy on imported fish under the auspices of the Fisheries Act 1981.

The UK’s highest court ruled in a judgment handed down yesterday that the statute did indeed give Seafish the required authority to impose the levy.

Responding to the judgment, Peter Hajipieris, chief technical & sustainability officer for Birds Eye Iglo, urged Seafish to “deploy their unique expertise with a much leaner organisation that is focussed on communicating the factual status of the fish industry and the nutritional benefits to consumers of eating responsibly sourced fish and shellfish”.

Young’s Seafood chief executive Leendert den Hollander added: “Now we can move on and focus on taking fish industry representation to the next level.”

Read more
Meat & Fish Supplement 2011 (21 May 2011)
Seafish saga moves to the Supreme Court (19 March 2011)

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