ARCH Science Event held at AFBI

During September AFBI were delighted to host the 1st Annual Aquaculture Research Collaborative Hub (ARCH) science event.

Over 90 delegates from around the UK and Ireland attended and heard about the wide range of science being completed through projects funded through the BBSRC/NERC Aquaculture Initiative in 2016.  Furthermore, the event was used to announce newly funded projects through the BBSRC/NERC Aquaculture Initiative and the audience enjoyed an exclusive opportunity to hear from industry partners about these new and novel ideas which will be taken forward.

ARCH-UK is an integrated aquaculture network whose primary function is to direct research funding that will have the greatest impact on the sustainable development of UK aquaculture. Additionally, ARCH-UK aims to create a proactive UK-wide aquaculture research community. Members include aquaculture stakeholders from academia, industry and policy. The network is funded by the BBSRC/NERC Aquaculture Initiative of which AFBI is a partner.

The UK aquaculture sector contributes around £600 million to a UK seafood industry worth at £6.3 billion in 2016. England, Wales and N. Ireland collectively produce 19,000 metric tons (mt) of shellfish and 9,200 mt of trout, with production coming mainly from SMEs. Scotland is a major producer of Atlantic salmon (>163,000 mt; third largest producer globally) and the industry is both highly consolidated and export focused. In Scotland there is also significant trout (6,000 mt) and shellfish (6,300 mt) production. There is also a significant and expanding aquaculture industry in England, Wales and Ireland, most notably for shellfish.

AFBI look forward to developing their role in this initiative to support and enhance Northern Ireland’s fisheries industry.

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