Food fraud is an intentional act for economic gain. It poses a risk to food integrity, the economy, public health and consumers' ethics. Seafood is one commodity which has endured extensive fraudulent activity owing to its increasing consumer demand, resource limitations, high value and complex supply chains. It is essential that these fraudulent opportunities are revealed, the risk is evaluated and countermeasures for mitigation are assigned. This can be achieved through mapping of the seafood supply chains and identifying the vulnerability analysis critical control points (VACCP), which can be exposed, infiltrated and exploited for fraudulent activity. This research systematically maps the seafood supply chain for three key commodities: finfish, shellfish and crustaceans in the United Kingdom. Each chain is comprised of multiple stakeholders across numerous countries producing a diverse range of products distributed globally. For each supply chain the prospect of fraud, with reference to species substitution, fishery substitution, illegal, unreported and unregulated substitution, species adulteration, chain of custody abuse, catch method fraud, undeclared product extension, modern day slavery and animal welfare, has been identified and evaluated. This mapping of the fraudulent opportunities within the supply chains provides a foundation to rank known and emerging risks and to develop a proactive mitigation plan which assigns control measures and responsibility where vulnerabilities exist. Further intelligence gathering and management of VACCPs of the seafood supply chains may deter currently unknown or unexposed fraudulent opportunities.

A literature review was conducted to determine the barriers and facilitators to shellfish cultivation using Northern Ireland (NI) as a case study. This review included 23 papers, published in 14 journals, indexed in the Web of Science database. The eligibility criteria included (i) peer‐reviewed articles or websites from key government or agency stakeholders in the aquaculture supply chain; (ii) had a primary focus on shellfish production; and (iii) made reference to the United Kingdom, Ireland or NI. Six key categories were identified as impacting the aquaculture sector: Economic, Environmental, Technical, Welfare, Political and Consumer factors. The most commonly cited codes within these categories included regulations, management decisions, environmental welfare, weather conditions, consumer needs and water quality. Within the scientific literature, the study designs were variable and NI‐specific data were limited. However, the recommendations were relatively consistent. More evidence‐based data collection is needed to better establish the status of the aquaculture industry in this region and to provide more effective management practices and recommendations. The information gained from this review allowed the identification and discussion of the challenges and opportunities for shellfish production worldwide; an insight into production in NI; and preliminary recommendations for improving this industry. As a result, the review offers important foundations and lessons for other aquaculture production units across the world to assess their industry.

Shellfish production forms a large proportion of marine aquaculture production in Northern Ireland (NI). Diseases represent a serious threat to the maintenance and growth of shellfish cultivation with severe consequences to production output and profitability. In Northern Ireland, production generally benefits from a good health status with the absence of notifiable diseases, except for localised cases of Bonamia ostreae, Marteilia refringens and ostreid herpes virus. In this paper, we qualitatively explore that the prevalence, risk, impact, mitigation and experience shellfish farmers in this region have in relation to disease. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders within the sector. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and Nvivo 12 was used to facilitate an inductive thematic analysis. Our results highlighted that the industry has varying attitudes and experiences with disease. At present-day temperatures, disease is not an issue and this provides vast market opportunities for the region. However, disease outbreaks have led to detrimental consequences to financial income, production output and reputation in the past, whilst control and mitigation remain reactive. It is imperative proactive disease prevention and control that are employed and enforced to sustain NI’s reputation as a healthy shellfish region, particularly under increasing global temperatures and intensified production systems. A cultural shift to disease appreciation, risk analysis and surveillance through research, education, training and collaboration is essential. This study highlights the importance of providing a bottom-up communication platform with the stakeholders directly involved in shellfish culture and management, the value of cross sector engagement and the need to improve knowledge transfer between science the sector.