Looking back, thinking ahead: Trevor Telfer

What have been the high and low points for you professionally in 2025?

There have been a number of professional highlights for me in 2025, especially completing projects based in Scotland and East Africa which use environmental modelling tools to improve sustainability of freshwater aquaculture production. This is something I’ve been striving for over a number of years, working closely with industry, governments and environmental regulators. I’m hopeful that these tools will be used widely to benefit both industry and the environment in the future.

I’m also incredibly proud to have taken on the role as Acting Head of the Institute of Aquaculture. It’s a privilege to lead such a dedicated team of researchers and teachers at such an exciting time, especially with our new National Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Hub (NATIH) facilities now complete – and ready to be commissioned and made fully operational in the year ahead.

What will be the most significant opportunities for the Institute of Aquaculture in the coming year?

It’s an exciting time at the Institute of Aquaculture, with the completion of our NATIH facilities funded by a £17 million investment from the UK Government through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal, as well as a £1m Wolfson Foundation grant and investment from the University.

NATIH provides new state-of-the-art laboratories and aquatic experimental facilities that will underpin our world-leading practical and applied researching and teaching. Together with leading aquaculture companies, these facilities will be used to conduct commercially relevant scientific research for practical, applied solutions that support local and international economic development.

Part of this innovation in global aquaculture will help develop new vaccines and alternative treatments, such the £3m AquaSOS project developed by Professors Simon MacKenzie and Amaya Albalat and funded through UK research and Innovation's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The project aims to improve aquaculture resilience in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is a key issue in aquaculture and is driving further research in vaccine development. At the Institute, Professor Mags Crumlish is leading an exciting project to develop vaccines for Vietnamese catfish funded through Canada’s International Development Research Centre and the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

Closer to home we continue to work with the salmon industry on key nutritional, environmental and genomic research projects, such as the recently announced £1.4m BBSRC-funded salmon health study, led by Dr Rose Ruiz Daniels, to determine the genetic basis for healing capacity. All of this work is about creating technologies that make aquaculture more sustainable and resilient for the future - and we’re excited for what lies ahead.

What do you see as the most significant opportunities and challenges for fish farming and other forms of aquaculture in Scotland and globally in 2026?

The major challenges to Scottish fish farming for 2026 are most likely in the management of the health and welfare of the salmon, and effective monitoring of the production environment for optimal conditions.

These challenges also provide the industry with an opportunity to embrace new technologies and advance productivity through research advances in fish health, welfare, and feed management to boost survival and growth rates. There is also the opportunity to embrace digitalisation for traceability and farm management, and circular economy models that offer efficiency and reduced impact.

I think we are in for a challenging but exciting year ahead in aquaculture research and development to improve and enhance aquatic food production for the future.

Tomorrow: aquaculture sector supplier-turned-fish farmer Stewart Graham.