Season’s meetings
As shellfish growth diminishes with the approach of autumn so it becomes a suitable time to talk about shellfish. Last year there was an unfortunate clash of three conferences in the same week but this year there will be more or less the same events but neatly separated at monthly intervals, and each with a slightly different focus, and with widely different locations and histories.
The first of these will be the European Aquaculture Society (EAS) meeting being held in Edinburgh for the first time, and with considerable support from the Scottish government, from September 20-23.
EAS is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and maybe this partly prompts its theme for the conference - Food for Thought - although this is more likely to relate to the benefits of eating marine products.
As part of the conference, which will tackle a wide range of aquaculture in general with a mostly academic bent, one day (Friday, September 23) will be given over in part for the Shellfish Forum.
The programme is still being assembled but the day will be chaired by Dr Nick Lake, CEO of the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers (ASSG). The work of putting the programme together is being carried out by Dr Stefano Carboni of the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, and Dr Mark James, operations director for MASTS, at the University of St Andrews.
The event should be a farmers’ day, with talks aimed at tackling issues at the forefront of the farmers’ minds. Thus there will be a European view on the sustainable development of the shellfish aquaculture sector and development of the Aquaculture Advisory Committee.
Dr Cath McLeod of Seafood Safety Assessment will talk about the ‘EU status of norovirus: what are the real food safety risks associated with seafood consumption?’
Dr Melody Clark of the British Antarctic Survey will give a talk titled ‘Shellfish in a changing world: not so bleak?’. This will report on the CACHE project which is a far reaching examination of factors around climate change and how these may impact on commercial shellfish culture.
There will also be talks on harmful algal blooms and how to manage them, management of invasive species and practical issues around transportation. It should all make for a very interesting day.
I have to plead special interest here but of the three shellfish events the highlight has to be the ASSG conference in Oban from October 6-7. Early October in Oban before the clocks go back can be a lovely time and the shellfish lunches are often taken out on the balcony of the Corran Halls, where the conference is held.
This year the ASSG is 30 years old so the theme is to be ‘Scottish cultivated shellfish – past, present and future’. While there may be some element of looking back over the 30 years, the main thrust will be the future of the industry.
With the Crown Estate as one of the main sponsors, the opening speaker will be Gareth Baird, the Crown Estate Commissioner for Scotland.
Michael Tait of Shetland Mussels will pose the question as to whether Scottish shellfish have the room to grow, addressing the 2013 vision and challenges.
A mixture of the recent past and the future will be covered by Ian Wright of Isle of Barra oysters/Traighe Mhor Oysters in his talk on the problems in setting up the company, now in its second year of operation.