SAIC appoints advisors to ensure aquaculture's priorities are met
Committee provides 'a broad range of voices and perspectives' for state-backed R&D funder
Scotland’s Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Cluster (SAIC) has appointed its first sector advisory committee, drawing on the experience and knowledge of experts from across Scottish aquaculture and beyond.
The 15-strong steering group includes some of aquaculture’s most respected figures, bringing together hundreds of years of combined industry experience from producers and across the supply chain to ensure SAIC’s support for R&D reflects the needs and priorities of the entire sector.
Representatives from finfish and flatfish producers include Eduardo Jiménez Fernández, head of research and development at halibut producer Otter Ferry Seafish, part of the Amar Seafood Group. There are also three representatives from salmon producers: Charles Greenwood, head of modelling at Cooke Scotland; Innes Weir, production manager at Loch Duart; and Su Cox, communications and business development director at Bakkafrost Scotland.
They are joined by industry association appointees Rhianna Rees, chief executive of Seaweed Scotland; Oliver Robinson, who serves on the board of the British Trout Association; Eleanor Adamson, head of fisheries at The Fishmongers’ Company; and Iain Berrill, technical director at Salmon Scotland, ensuring the perspectives of stakeholders from across the aquaculture ecosystem are well represented.
Reflecting the central role of fish and shellfish health and wellbeing in the sector’s R&D are Meritxell Diez-Padrisa, business unit manager UK and senior fish health adviser at PatoGen; Sam Martin, director of the Scottish Fish Immunology Research Centre at the University of Aberdeen; and Antonios Chalaris, founder of AC Aquaculture Consulting.
Supply chain
The aquaculture supply chain will be represented by Mikey Clarkson, commercial manager at feed producer BioMar; Keith Drynan, managing director of breeding and genetics company AquaGen Scotland Ltd; and Roar Paulsen, senior vice president and country manager for the UK at Aquafarm Equipment.
Completing the group is Mike Montague, lead specialist for aquaculture at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), bringing an environmental regulatory perspective to the discussions that will help inform SAIC’s strategic direction.
The appointments come shortly after SAIC began a new chapter. In April, the innovation cluster became independent from its longstanding host, the University of Stirling, and relocated to Inverness after receiving £1.4 million in new annual funding for a minimum of five years from Crown Estate Scotland.
The move also saw SAIC broaden its scope, creating more opportunities for engagement with SMEs and greater ability to support all parts of the sector, including shellfish, seaweed, and other species.
Meeting the sector's needs
Sarah Riddle, principal officer at SAIC, said: “With our first sector advisory committee, we wanted to ensure that SAIC’s work truly reflects the needs, priorities, and ambitions of the entire aquaculture sector. This group brings together expertise from finfish, flatfish, shellfish, seaweed, academia, health, the supply chain and even the regulator, giving us access to a broad range of voices and perspectives.
“As SAIC enters a new chapter, it’s vital that we draw on as many points of view as possible. The committee will ensure we prioritise the needs of the sector so that we can maximise the impact, reach, and output of collaborative R&D, delivering tangible benefits for producers of all species. At the same time, it will support our aims strengthening innovation across Scotland and the long‑term sustainability and competitiveness of the sector.”
From its inception as the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre in 2013 to the beginning of 2026, SAIC invested £10.8 million in collaborative R&D projects and brought in £70.6m in additional funding.
