Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal will place ‘huge unnecessary burdens’ on Scottish salmon, say producers of UK’s biggest food export

Britain sells more than £500m of Scottish salmon overseas but sector fears departure from EU will give foreign competitors ‘an advantage they would be unlikely to pass up’, writes Chris Baynes

Choppy waters? Workers at a salmon farm in Oban, Scotland (Getty)

Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal threatens to place “huge unnecessary burdens” on the Scottish salmon industry, the trade body for the sector has warned.

Increased red tape is likely to delay shipments of the UK’s biggest food export and cost farmers up to £8.7m, the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) said.

The UK government’s plan to reject EU regulations means it “appears inevitable” that shipments of the fish will require export health certificates (EHC) following the end of the Brexit transition period on in December 2020, according the industry body.