Fish Farmer April 2026

Spring is tentatively making its presence felt here in Scotland – but relations between elected politicians and the salmon industry have clearly not quite thawed yet.

As Sandy Neil reports in this issue of Fish Farmer, the MSPs on the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee of the Scottish Parliament have voiced their “disappointment” at the slow progress made, by the industry and government, in addressing the issues raised in the committee’s report last year.

Meanwhile, also in this month’s magazine, we look at progress made towards farming another species; tuna, with researchers in the Philippines hailing a breakthrough towards breeding  Euthynnus affinis, also known as kawakawa or mackerel tuna. 

We report on this year’s Fish Veterinary Society conference, which explored a range of skin health issues for fish, and celebrated the extraordinary complexity and regenerative power of fish skin.

Our feature on aquaculture in North America asks: is British Columbia missing a trick by failing to embrace land-based fish farming?

Vince McDonagh reports on a breakthrough that promises to enable the freezing and thawing of seafood without losing quality; and we preview the Blue Food Innovation Summit, taking place next month in London.

Also in our April issue, Yomna Elshamy reports on the findings of a study in the effectiveness of probiotics for farmed fish, and our Careers in Aquaculture feature looks at what is being done to encourage more young people into the sector.