Need to find "most viable" species

Thanking more than 400 delegates from 45 countries for their participation in the busy conference programme, Rafferty said there was no doubt that the aquaculture industry is a winning industry, and as such it needs to find the most viable industrial species to feed a global population that is going to grow to 9 billion people by 2050.

“When Kofi Annan was our keynote speaker two years ago, he said that he was a big supporter of aquaculture. He told us not to change what we were doing but asked us to accelerate our progress. Similarly, this year, Sir Bob Geldof has been extremely complimentary about our industry and challenged us to find solutions that are good for business but also good for the planet,” said Rafferty.

“Those are clear messages from our keynote speakers – two very different people with very different backgrounds – but both with a passion to feed the world and both with strong messages for us to take forward.”

Rafferty also revealed that following his speech on the opening day of this year’s conference, Sir Bob has offered his help and support to the industry after becoming very motivated by the people he met at AquaVision.

With most of the population growth forecast to be in Asia and Africa, Rafferty said the sustainable expansion into developing countries and new aquaculture regions should be high on the industry’s agenda, as should its desire to innovate by increasing yields while further controlling its raw material use. Another increasingly important requirement will be to increase the involvement of governments, regulatory bodies and NGOs to make sure that aquaculture remains a responsible industry.

“I think we already have a fantastic story to tell and we should become much more vocal as we play a key part in helping deliver a more solid future for people around the world,” he said.