Scotland plays a significant role in european and international aquaculture. It is the largest producer of farmed salmon in the EU.
The Scottish Industry continues to be represented at a number of european and international events and fora such as:
- The first UK Aquaculture Forum meeting took place in Edinburgh on 10 February 2010. The forum included aquaculture representatives from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland Governments, Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation, Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers, The Shellfish Association of Great Britain and The British Trout Association. The purpose of the forum was to discuss various issues relating to the industry, internal and external stakeholders and to share best practices identified and adopted in each Country/Region.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Norway on co-operation and best practice in Aquaculture was signed on 17 August 2009. This is the first ever bilateral MoU signed between Scotland and any other aquaculture nation and will deliver focused joint working on areas of mutual interest to both nations. This includes co-operation on control of fish diseases, developing best practice on engineering design standards and collaboration on research. The first MoU Committee meeting between Scotland and Norway took place on the 29th of March 2011. You can view the presentations from that meeting here.
- A Joint Committee for Bilateral Co-operation on Aquaculture will be established with its first meeting to be held in Edinburgh in November 2010. It will be co-chaired by the Marine Scotland and Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. Other participants will include representatives from individual aquaculture companies, trade bodies, regulators, government officials and scientists.
- Seminars were recently held by the European Commission on the Promotion of Fishery and Aquaculture Products and the Supply of Fishery and Aquaculture Products to the EU Market, at the Ministry for the Environment, Rural and Marine Environments in Madrid, Spain. The event was organised in cooperation with the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.
Forthcoming events include: