Aquaculture UK sets new attendance record after move to Glasgow 

The move of Aquaculture UK from Aviemore to Glasgow attracted a record attendance, organiser Diversified UK has announced.

The biennial trade show, which ran from June 16-17 at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) on the Clyde, saw a 22% increase in visitors since the last Aquaculture UK in Aviemore, with the number of international attendees surging by 33%.

Diversified said that many regular show-goers attributed the greater global presence – which included five national pavilions - to the accessibility of Glasgow as a city, opening up Scottish aquaculture to a wider international audience.

Also making his debut was Scotland’s new agriculture, marine, and the islands minister Jim Fairlie, who cut the ribbon at the SEC and reaffirmed the Scottish government’s commitment to working with the sector.

“Aquaculture has a significant role to play and a significant potential for growth,” he said, before touring the exhibition with Tavish Scott, chief executive of trade body Salmon Scotland.

The importance of the trade show in the sector’s calendar was also highlighted by the UK government’s Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, who delivered a video message to Salmon Scotland members at their AGM, held on day one of Aquaculture UK.

“I take immense pride in championing a flagship sector for Scotland and, indeed, the United Kingdom’s biggest food export,” he said, adding that the just announced removal of 33% tariffs on salmon exports to India would unlock fresh avenues of growth for more than 3,600 Scottish businesses.

'Heavy autonomy'

New technology was centre stage at the trade show and and a constant theme in the two-day conference running alongside it.

“It’s not science fiction, it is really happening,” said Kristian Blom of TidalX in a talk in the Innovation Theatre on integrated robotics. “We’re moving towards heavy autonomy that will improve efficiency and sustainability in real, measurable ways.”

Producers and suppliers are also looking at new ways of farming to meet environmental challenges, and some of the leaders in the field were in the hall to discuss how Scotland can develop ambitious projects for the sector.

Mark Shotter, project director of Loch Long Salmon, which has won approval for a floating semi-closed containment system in Argyll, said: “Aquaculture has always been an industry built on innovation and problem solving. Aquaculture UK provides a forum where people can come together to discuss challenges openly, learn from different perspectives and explore new approaches. The conversations started at events like this often lead to the partnerships, technologies and ideas that help shape the future of the sector.”

Another advocate of change, Gael Force Group owner Stewart Graham, told a bustling Keynote Theatre, in a session hosted by SAIC (Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Cluster), that semi-closed containment could bring disused inshore salmon consents back into operation, either as post-smolt or nursery sites.

His new venture, SeaQureFarming Group, has seen Graham become a farmer as well as a supplier and he plans to farm trout, initially at Loch Ailort on the west coast, to prove his technology. But there is scope, he believes, for floating closed-containment pens to help Scotland double salmon production from its current 200,000 tonnes.

Gael Force Group sales director Jamie Young, meanwhile, said Aquaculture UK’s new venue “had been extremely beneficial”, with the advantage of Glasgow’s wealth of hotels and restaurants.

“It’s been wonderful to meet with existing and new customers. We’re already excited about Aquaculture UK in 2028 and have signed up.”

Tara McGregor-Woodhams, chief sales and marketing officer of Dundee fish farming technology innovator Ace Aquatec, said Aquaculture UK’s move to Glasgow had encouraged more of the company’s overseas clients to visit.

“This is a vibrant space, all the suppliers are here, including, for the first time, the big processors, Baader, and JBT Marel on the Ace stand, and it’s good to see a lot of the production companies’ senior teams here this year.”

Among the first-time exhibitors was Norway’s Akvapartner, which has sold 350 of its solar-powered, pen-mounted smolt-feeder units and is now hoping to break into the Scottish market.

“The units free up manpower from hand feeding and have been shown to improve growth with more targeted feeding, and drastically reduce feed waste, thus saving costs,” said the company’s Wilhelm Carlsen. “Farmers could recuperate their investment in the units within one generation of fish. We’ve seen lots of interest at the show from Scottish farmers.”

Irish pavilion

Another welcome new addition to Aquaculture UK was an Irish pavilion, with 15 companies represented at its national stand. Catherine Butler of Ireland’s seafood development agency BIM (Bord Iascaigh Mhara) and Jane Kehoe of Enterprise Ireland praised the “fantastic layout of the hall” which brought hordes of visitors to the pavilion.

“We made a lot of new connections and saw existing and potential new clients, it has been an easy place to network,” said Kehoe. “We will definitely be back.”

Cheri Arvonio, show director at Diversified UK, said: “We couldn’t have hoped for a more enthusiastic response to our first Glasgow show.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive feedback we’ve had from exhibitors and visitors and we’re all excited about what the future brings for this incredible industry.”