The Scottish Association for Marine Science celebrated further seaweed success at this year’s Aquaculture Awards after the co-ordinator of the newly launched Seaweed Academy picked up one of the top awards. Rhianna Rees was jointly awarded the Rising Star award at the ceremony in Aviemore alongside Andre Van of Kames Fish Farm. The award comes a week after […]
‘Cutting edge’ UK law set to recognise that octopuses are sentient The UK government is considering amendments to animal welfare legislation which would recognise the sentience of Octopus and their ability to feel pain, as reported in the Independent. In November last year, the scope of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill was extended to recognise […]
A new report outlining future options for the Scottish seaweed industry has been welcomed by Scottish Government ministers. Sustainability of the sector is key to any future development, with harvesting of some kelp species already banned. The global seaweed industry is estimated to be worth €8.1 billion per year, with Asia dominating the cultivated seaweed […]
Animals and Wildlife (Scotland) Act, included a ban on licensed shooting of seals to protect farmed salmon within aquaculture facilities. Also included within the Act (Section 15) was a requirement on the Scottish Parliament to report on the aquaculture sectors use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs). ADDs emit sound with the intention of scaring away […]
For an excellent overview of the topic ‘oceans and climate change’ Click here to watch the recently uploaded Society of Underwater Technology 30min WebinAir by Prof Ralph Rayner. He reviews the science, sets out some options for response, such as the immensely challenging geoengineering proposals and makes an urgent call for action in the coming […]
15th April 2020 Devon & Severn IFCA have carried out a three-year comprehensive review of the live wrasse fishery. A fishery for live wrasse emerged in the D&S IFCA’s District in 2015, in which a small number of commercial fishers target ballan, goldsinny, corkwing and rock cook wrasse. These fish are caught for use as cleaner […]
An analysis of the economic impacts of ocean acidification on shellfish fisheries and aquaculture in the UK estimates total loss to UK economy between £23-£88 million. This equates to annual economic losses of between £3-6 billion of UKs GDP in 2013 for medium and high emission scenarios. There are regional variations due to different patterns […]
Bob Earll: Two articles below on the thinking for offshore mussel culture in the south coast of Devon and the changes on biodiversity. The issue is one of scale and there is a huge difference between a small scale operation and one the size of ‘Heathrow airport’. The scale of this development poses a number […]