Irish seafood border: City council says 'vast majority' of fish shipments into Belfast port are being cleared for entry after major trader says three cargoes were halted due to the Protocol / Windsor Framework

This comes after the News Letter broke a story last Saturday of one of Northern Ireland’s main fishmongers, Ewing’s, having encountered massive problems with three recent shipments due to the Northern Ireland Protocol / Windsor Framework.

• Irish seafood border: 'Fresh fish coming into Northern Ireland is sent back to Scotland or impounded due to Protocol'

The News Letter had asked Belfast Harbour about the problems.

It referred the News Letter to the Department of Agriculture the Environment and Rural Affairs.

And it referred the News Letter to the council, which has health officials based at the port.

A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: “The council’s port health service facilitates the entry of compliant fish products at Belfast Port that are intended for, or at risk of, entry to the EU (red lane products).

“The vast majority of consignments are routinely cleared for entry on arrival.

"However, there were issues with three recent fish consignments which failed the required documentary and identity checks.

"On these occasions, the council worked with the importer and partner agencies to ensure that necessary documentation was successfully completed, allowing some products to be cleared for entry.

"Other products which failed to meet the necessary legal requirements were returned to the point of export by the importer.”