28/03/24 - Scottish salmon exports, basalt dust and flax fishing nets

Farmed salmon was the UK’s most valuable food export in 2023, according to the HMRC, with £581 million pounds worth of international sales. But Scotland’s salmon farmers reckon they could have made far more, and that Brexit has cost them up to £100 million a year worth of exports.Flax is grown commercially to produce fabrics like linen in the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France and it was once common in fields around the UK too, but not any more. However, some small-scale flax producers are passionate about its potential and feel it could, once again, have a commercial future. We visit Simon and Ann Cooper who grow flax and use traditional methods and home-made tools to process it into fabrics for things like sailcloth and fishing nets.And new research suggests spreading basalt dust on arable fields could help capture carbon and boost yields. The process is known as ‘enhanced rock weathering’ and uses a by-product of the road-building industry.Presented by Caz Graham Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons