Scottish shellfish growers put growth on the agenda in Oban
Speakers from Iceland, New Zealand, Guernsey, and Canada will be among those presenting at the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers’ annual conference in Oban this week.
The conference takes place tomorrow and Thursday at the Corran Halls, Oban, and is themed on growing the sector.
ASSG chief executive Dr Nick Lake will give a welcome speech to delegates, after which David Jarrad, chief executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) will look back at 40 years of shellfish business growth in the UK and identify lessons learned and future prospects.
Jarrad will also introduce the SAGB’s evidence-based PotentShell report, which outlines the opportunity for growth in UK shellfish aquaculture.
Bivalves in Iceland
In the first of three sessions tomorrow afternoon, Julius B. Kristinsson of Silfurgen EHF will talk about the prospects for bivalves in Iceland.
His talk will be followed by a streamed presentation by Julien Vignier of New Zealand’s Cawthron Institute, who will tell shellfish farmers about an industry-engaged model for shellfish breeding in New Zealand.
In the second session, Josie Chandler and Tom Hollinsworth of Guernsey Sea Farms will discuss the evolution of the hatchery, which supplies much of the Scottish oyster industry.
Geneticist Tom Ashton, from Scotland's Native Aqua Ltd, will then outline how modern genetic selection techniques being deployed commercially could greatly assist both cultivation and restoration of native oysters.
Spat collection
The third session includes a look at OysterGro equipment from Steen Gunderson, president of BBI Group, Canada, and presentations about environmental monitoring and mussel spat collection.
Thursday has two sessions that include a presentation on growing demand for Scottish shellfish and oysters by Scottish shellfish ambassador Kelly Wright, an update on research into bivalves and climate change resilience by scientists at Edinburgh University’s Roslin Institute, and a look at the monetisation of oyster ecosystem services.
The conference will conclude with the retirement of Nick Lake, who hands over the chief executive role to Dr Kyla Orr, scientific director and co-founder of KelpCrofters Ltd.
“It’s been an honour to lead the ASSG over the past decade, and to steer the industry towards a productive and successful future. I am pleased to stay on as chair of the Association and wish Dr Orr every success in her new role, which will expand her horizons from kelp into the farmed shellfish sector,” said Lake.
“We are all heading in the right direction, but as the industry continues to grow, it is more important than ever that clear messages need to be communicated to both the public and governments about the social and economic value of sustaining an environment where shellfish cultivation can prosper.”