The June 2024 issue of Fish Farmer magazine is out now online

The June 2024 issue of Fish Farmer magazine is out now online, and you can read or download it here.

The UK is, at the time of writing, in the throes of a general election campaign, the timing of which seems to have taken everybody by surprise (not least the party that called it).

Even ahead of that announcement, however, elected politicians have been taking an interest in the aquaculture sector. At Aquaculture UK in Aviemore, the country’s biggest event for the sector, the show was opened by Scotland’s Employment and Investment Minister, Tom Arthur, and we also saw a visit from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

A week later, the Blue Food Innovation Summit in London was addressed by Lord Benyon, Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy in the UK Government. You can read full reports on both these events in this issue.

All three elected representatives made it clear they see aquaculture as critically important, both for the economy and for food security, but their support is not a blank cheque. Tom Arthur made it clear that the development of aquaculture in Scotland must be sustainable and must also take account of local communities, while Lord Benyon acknowledged criticisms of salmon farming’s record and stressed: “More needs to be done.”

Meanwhile the Scottish Parliament’s follow-up inquiry into salmon farming has just started, and it is clear that the industry will need to have some good answers ready. As speakers at both Aquaculture UK and the Blue Food Innovation Summit stressed, the fish farming industry not only needs to continue to improve its sustainability – it will need to get better at telling its story.

Julia Hollister explains why there is increasing interest, in the United States, in an integrated approach that brings together seaweed with other forms of aquaculture, whether shellfish or finfish.

Also in this issue, Nicki Holmyard reports from the Shellfish Association of Great Britain’s annual conference; Eugene Gerden gives an update on China’s aquaculture aspirations; and Vince McDonagh describes how the debate in Iceland over new fish farming regulations is going.

Dr Martin Jaffa critiques a new and not entirely even-handed podcast on the future of wild salmon, and Nick Joy argues that public servants are all too easily swayed by activists.

I hope there is something for everyone this month!