Top awards recognise outstanding achievement – Fishupdate.com
Top awards recognise outstanding achievement Published: 19 April, 2007
Pictured are the winners
INDIVIDUALS and companies that have made an outstanding contribution to the aquaculture industry were recognised at a prestigious awards ceremony held in Edinburgh last night.
The 2007 Aquaculture Today – Fit for the Future Awards showcased some of the leading players in fish farming and illustrated the wide range of innovation that is emerging in the sector.
The award winners were announced at a gala dinner at the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, held in conjunction with Aquaculture Today 2007 – the UK’s leading fish farming conference.
They covered four categories: Finfish (supported by Landcatch Natural Selection); Shellfish (supported by The Sea Fish Industry Authority); Innovation (supported by FISHupdate) and Contribution to Aquaculture (supported by Fish Farmer).
The winner in the Finfish category was Scottish Sea Farms of Argyll, which was nominated for its consistently high standards in fish farm husbandry and production technique. The judges highlighted Scottish Sea Farms’ use of the latest equipment and technology to farm salmon in an environmentally responsible manner.
In the Shellfish category, Michael Laurenson of Shetland-based Blueshell Mussels came out on top. The company recently invested £500,000 in new production facilities, aimed at propelling the Scottish mussel farming industry to the forefront of the European Market.
The award for Innovation went to the world’s first commercial-scale organic cod producer, Shetland-based Johnson Sustainable Seafoods. The judges said innovation is evident in every aspect of the company’s operation – from production techniques to packaging and labelling, to marketing.
The Contribution to Aquaculture award was presented to Professor Randolph Richards, Director of the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling, in recognition of his substantial contribution to the global aquaculture industry. The Institute of Aquaculture is a world-class centre for research and development in aquaculture in Scotland, the UK and beyond. Randolph Richards has been involved in the development of international aquaculture and, in particular, the Scottish industry, over the last three decades.