Prominent aquaculture research groups in Scotland and New Zealand announced an agreement on Wednesday, 5 October, that will result in a closer collaboration on the study of shellfish aquaculture.
The Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) signed a letter of intent with the Cawthron Institute, New Zealand’s largest independent science organization, to explore research projects that could lead to higher productivity in the shellfish industry, SAIC announced in a press release.
“Supporting new shellfish production systems is one of SAIC’s four priority innovation areas; areas identified by the Scottish aquaculture industry as being key to the sustainable growth of the sector,” SAIC CEO Heather Jones said. “This new, more formal relationship with the Cawthron Institute will enable us to pool our combined knowledge of the challenges of selective breeding for mussels and oysters, amongst other issues, to make more advances, faster.”
Jones signed the letter of intent on behalf of SAIC; Cawthron Chief Executive Professor Charles Eason signed on behalf of his research institute. The two groups first connected at the SPATnz conference in 2015, as SAIC sought to learn more about the Cawthron Institute’s “pioneering” commercial mussel hatchery, it said in its release. Partially as a result of the knowledge gleaned from the partnership, the NAFC Marine Centre at the University of Highlands and Island and Spring Bay Seafoods are now piloting a GBP 1.7 million (USD 2.17 million, EUR 1.93 million) hatchery.
The collaboration’s potential benefits won’t be limited to the shellfish sector, Eason said.
“New Zealand has a strong track record in terms of production but as such we need to be thinking increasingly about sustainability, and Scotland has a great deal of expertise in the areas of fish health and welfare, genetics and biosecurity,” Eason said. “This letter of intent represents an important connection, enabling us to identify areas of mutual interest, tap into best practice and really keep a close eye on the health and welfare aspect of aquaculture.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a successful collaborative agreement between SAIC and Nofima, a European institute performing applied research into aquaculture, fisheries and food, focusing specifically on aquaculture in Norway. The intention is the agreement between SAIC and the Cawthron Institute is to match that success by connecting aquaculture experts from Scotland and New Zealand, Eason said.
“For a small to medium-sized enterprise like the Cawthron Institute, it’s hugely important to be collaborating,” he said. “ New Zealand likes to think of itself as a world leader in key areas of aquaculture. So too does Scotland. However, to truly maximize that leading edge and grow into the future we need to connect with one another and work together wherever we can.”
