Last year we heard from…

Peter Lawrence, Director, Coastal Infrastructure and Minerals, The Crown Estate talked of their work supporting SAGB in developing a routemap to scope the future growth of regenerative marine aquaculture in the UK and how to navigate the demands placed on regulatory governance, market access, water quality improvement, and environmental stewardship.

Fiona Wright, Head of Regulatory Affairs, Seafish explained how the Seafish Trade & Regulations team has developed over the last five years: expanding the variety of destinations that they can advise on trading with; navigating changes to trade and expectations of the EU and hosting a free enquiry service.

Kelly Wright, Eat Scottish Shellfish project & Julie Waites, SAGB Shellfish Promotion project spoke about their shared mission to assist and promote the development of the shellfish industry in the UK. Investing this time and money into promotion is believed to have had great indirect benefits on the seafood market.

Huw Irranca-Davies MS, The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Welsh Government (recording) spoke of the recent and planned investments into the sector through coastal capacity building and the Welsh Marine & Fisheries Scheme. Progress on various shellfish FMPs was given, plus details of developments within cockle management, general catch recording, and building supply chain resilience.

Alex Caveen, Seafood Consultant shared progress to date on the Eastern Central North Sea Brown Crab Fishery Improvement Project as it enters its second year. SAGB are hosting the FIP information and managing the budget, please visit this page for more details.

Andy Read took us on a journey through the 35 years that he worked for Fishing News, highlighting some of the biggest headlines within this time.

Daniel Zeichner, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spoke about food security, the realignment of the SPS agreement with Europe and the work being done to address challenges surrounding Pacific oysters. The Minister also took a couple of questions, which was very welcome especially as it was not expected. This led to some useful discussion in which he said that he saw no reason to ban trawling in areas of MPAs that would not be at risk from mobile gear.

Mike Cohen, CEO, National Federation of Fishermans Organisations built an understanding of the compounding pressures contributing to spatial squeeze through the creative anecdote of ‘Bob the fisherman’. Fern Skeldon, Marine Licensing Senior Lead – Policy support, Marine Management Organisation followed this with an explanation of how marine space is considered by government, giving context to how the issue of spatial squeeze is being addressed.

Amy Cartright, Project Manager, University of Plymouth summarised various research projects that have been undertaken within the UK’s first offshore, long-line mussel farm since it was established, using ecological and oceanographic techniques to evidence how the farm has delivered increases in pelagic, epi-benthic and infaunal biodiversity both within and on the periphery of the farm.

Sophie Bennett, Trustee, National Lobster Hatchery summarised the journey of the National Lobster Hatchery on its 25^th anniversary, from why it was set up back in the 90s, to the impact it has made to date, to the diversity of research findings achieved by this facility, and thoughts on the future.

Sue Mackenzie, The Fish Shop Camberley & President of the National Federation of Fishmongers shared some valuable lessons about how she has managed to establish and run such a successful fishmongers – from sourcing, to marketing, to maximising the catch, to the power of social media and finally to pre-empting the challenges ahead.

John Goodlad, Author shared the news of the recent launch of his book, Food from the Sea – The Future of Seafood. This book illustrates the underlying challenges and opportunities facing the seafood industry through stories of the people who make their living from seafood.

Mairi Gougeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Scottish Government (recording) highlighted the importance of shellfish aquaculture for rural employment, food security, and decarbonisation and hence is a core part of Scotland’s blue economy strategy. Mussel aquaculture was recognised for its contribution to current shellfish production, and targets for the growth of this industry were explained.

Michael Steinke, Senior Lecturer in Marine Sciences, University of Essex, presented research regarding the net impacts of the naturalisation of Pacific Oyster in the UK and a subsequent suitable approach to management. This species is already legally deemed naturalised in many EU countries and treating it the same in UK regulations would be of benefit.

Emma Plotnek, Executive Director, Fishing into the Future explained how the F-REP event programme has become so successful at promoting co-management and developing a common understanding between different roles within fisheries. They primarily run residential events bringing together fishermen, CEFAS scientists, academics, MMO, IFCAs, DEFRA, and industry reps.

Konstancja Woźniacka, The Young Aquaculture Society spoke of the value of creating this platform for young people to display their potential and to hear about opportunities for career development within the industry, where there wasn’t a well-established network or support before. Konstancja also explained their future plans.

The Young Fishermen Network (recording) spoke of their recent creation as the first of its kind in the UK, which has developed a platform for young fishermen to promote fishing as a career opportunity and access support. They host regular events enabling fishermen to connect and learn skills.

Ralf Bublitz, Environmental & Scientific Manager, North Eastern IFCA presented progress on investigating methods to quantify a Larval Settlement Index for the European lobster, in order to help predict stock dynamics and importantly recruitment in the fishery 6 – 8 years into the future.

Jimmy Buchan, Scottish Seafood Association spoke about the successes of SeaFest Peterhead, an award-winning festival which has grown year on year to now host 10,000 visitors and over 60 vendors.