New research opportunity to study Shetland's aquaculture industry

The studentship, which is being jointly funded, will provide funding for a post-graduate student to study the development of aquaculture in Shetland.

The project marks the 25th anniversary of the start of salmon farming in Shetland, with the first locally-produced farmed salmon harvested in 1984. 

The main aims are to provide an accurate and comprehensive record of the development of the aquaculture industry in Shetland. The project will also seek to explain how and why aquaculture has developed in the way it has, to identify the factors that influenced its development and to examine the wider effects that these changes have had on the local community. 

NAFC Marine Centre's fisheries development manager, Dr Ian Napier, said one of the main aims of the project will be to record the recollections of the people who were - and still are - involved in the industry.

"Despite the importance of aquaculture to Shetland, very little has been written or recorded about it. This project will help fill an important gap and we are very grateful to Shetland Aquaculture and the other local organisations that have agreed to fund this work”, he said. 

General manager of Shetland Aquaculture, David Sandison, added: "The academic work is about recording information for posterity and I already have great plans for what we do with the information and how we can use it to best advantage."