Danes see market in Scottish growth
REPRESENTATIVES from the Scottish aquaculture industry were invited to Denmark recently to give an insight into how their sector is working to unlock future growth.
An industry led initiative to double production by 2030 will provide suppliers with huge opportunities, and Danish innovators are keen to exploit these.
Martin Winkel, head of the Danish Fish Tech Group, the largest Danish export network for suppliers to the global fishing, aquaculture and seafood processing industries, said: ‘At the network meeting, the Danish companies got an understanding of how the aquaculture industry can implement changes by working together, because players from the entire supply chain of the industry are backing up the strategy plan and taking ownership of the plan to support the required developments.’
The Danish Fish Tech Group plans to attend Aquaculture UK in Aviemore in May where, said Winkel, companies will be able to ‘showcase their innovative products, proven solutions and services to the Scottish aquaculture industry’.
One of the initiators of Scotland’s plan to grow the aquaculture sector, Stewart Graham, group managing director of Gael Force, spoke at the meeting held in Silkeborg in January.
‘Our key recommendations are to address the biological challenges like sea lice, to rationalise the regulations we are working within and, thirdly, to innovate the supply chain with new product technologies,’ he said.
‘In Scotland, we have massively under exploited the supply chain. Thus, we are interested in how networks of suppliers like Danish Fish Tech Group and their member companies work, what we can learn from them to help the Scottish supply chain and how we continue to form partnerships that can lead to benefits in export or investments.’ Also at the meeting was Elaine Jamieson, head of food and drink at Highlands and Islands Enterprise. She said: ‘Denmark is an innovative country with a number of key strengths within aquaculture - for example, recirculation systems. pleased ‘Accordingly, to accept we the were invitation to share our story with the Danish companies and in return to learn about the Danish and their supply approach chain to exporting, and explore international opportunities which could be to our mutual benefit.’ The Danish Fish Tech Group aims to show how Danish expertise could support the Scottish aquaculture industry in its ambitions. ‘The Danish suppliers to the aquaculture industry cover the entire value chain, from solutions, services and equipment for the fish farms, land based or offshore, as well as ef- ficient, cost reducing, highly hygienic and sustainable solutions and machinery for processing of the fish and seafood,’ said Winkel.