Shellfish stalwart up for award
Dr Brown, who was head of the shellfish unit at Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture for 27 years, is currently a key figure in the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers (ASSG) and is also a tireless champion of native oyster restoration.
Through these three strands of her work she has passed on her enthusiasm to several generations of aquaculturalists and, she told Fish Farming Expert, one of her former pupils from Stirling is Assistant Director-General for Fisheries and Aquaculture at the UN FAO.
“I happily beaver away doing what I can to promote shellfish aquaculture and shellfish restoration in whatever way I can, but getting nominated for an award like this says that someone has noticed – and that is really encouraging. I am delighted,” she enthused.
However, having been nominated for the same award two years ago – narrowly losing out to Stephen Cameron of the Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group (SSMG) – she reflects that she “knows what it’s like not to win an award!”
And with stiff opposition, in the form of John Barrrington, Quality Manager of Scottish Sea Farms; Guy Mace, MD of BioMar and Stewart Graham, MD and founder of Gael Force – who have also all been key figures in their respective fields for several decades – it will interesting to see which of these leviathans comes out on top.
