Posts by Sandy Neil
What now for RSPCA Assured?
The campaign group Animal Rising is calling on the RSPCA to drop its ethical food labelling scheme, RSPCA Assured, following what it calls “the biggest scandal in RSPCA history”: a report cataloguing “catastrophic failures across 45 farms assured by the charity”.
Read MoreUnder pressure
The diving industry is backing calls to reinstate the hyperbaric chamber at Dunstaffnage, as Sandy Neil reports.
Read MoreWanted: new host
A ground-breaking body set up to encourage the development of women in aquaculture is looking for a new supporter, as Sandy Neil reports.
Read MoreGearing for growth
New Zealand has ambitions to grow its aquaculture – especially salmon, oysters and mussels. Greenshell mussels have become the source for world famous nutraceutical products and the salmon sector is beginning to branch out into the open ocean.
Read MoreCrystal clear
The Prairies, renowned as Canada’s breadbasket, is not the first place you would expect to find a fish farm – let alone one of the largest of its kind in the world. But the location’s excellent water quality will be key to the success of what will be Canada’s biggest Arctic charr farm, says the…
Read MoreTaking back control
Physical checks on plant and animal products imported from the EU into the UK will start from 30 April. Will the UK’s seafood exporters feel that they have a level playing field at last? Sandy Neil investigates.
The UK left the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union on 31 December 2020, leaving the UK and EU with separate customs and regulatory regimes.
Innovation at sea
The marine sector is changing, with alternative fuels and bigger vessels coming onto the market, says Sandy Neil The world’s first hydrogen workboat, the UK’s first 100% electric workboat, the return of shipbuilding to Stornoway, a new super-sized wellboat and a merger between marine operators have all helped to make it an eventful 2023 and…
Read MoreX marks the spot
It’s an election year for the Westminster parliament, so what is the aquaculture industry looking for from the politicians? Sandy Neil investigates Brace yourself for a UK election year. A Labour landslide? A Conservative revival? A king-making coalition? Whatever happens, 2024 will surely become another turning point for the country and, for this short time…
Read MoreGimme shelter
Kelp forests are a cornerstone environmental resource. One seaweed farmer in the west of Scotland is doing its bit to restore them, reports Sandy Neil Highland coastal kelp forests are among seven major environmental projects being supported by Scotland’s salmon farmers to help save iconic wild salmon and sea trout. More than £118,000 has been…
Read MoreHPMAs: what’s next?
Proposals to bar all commercial activity from 10% of Scotland’s waters have been dropped. Where do we go from here? Sandy Neil finds out The decision, after all the debate, was hardly a surprise. Early in November, the Scottish Government’s Net Zero Secretary, Màiri McAllan MSP, knocked the plan for Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs)…
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