A decade ago, Tom Haward and his late father, Richard, began crafting a plan to expand their family’s oyster business. For two and a half centuries, the Hawards have cultivated oysters on Mersea Island on the east coast of England. They used to sail their mollusks up the River Thames to London. The latest generations wanted to go farther afield, to sell half their oysters to mainland Europe.
The European market was alluring. For an island nation, Britain does not eat much fish and shellfish, and Mr. Haward and his father believed Europe would provide a “consistent market.”
But those European expansion plans were torpedoed by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Seven years ago, Mr. Haward said goodbye to the few continental customers he had and focused on selling his oysters at home.
Now, thanks to a new trade agreement Britain signed with the European Union, Mr. Haward hopes to revive those old ambitions.
“I do feel quite optimistic that something really lucrative could happen with Europe again,” he said, standing in his shed on the coast. “If it’s done right — basically resetting everything back to the way it used to be for shellfish movements — there’s nothing stopping us creating a great relationship with Europeans again.”