Oban hosts celebration of Scottish shellfish
OBAN will this week play host to the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers’ annual twoday conference.
The event will be held in the Corran Halls today (Thursday October 26) and tomorrow.
A capacity crowd is anticipated to welcome Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing as guest speaker when he opens the ASSG conference today.
The two-day event offers a packed programme of presentations and discussion, taking in the international perspective, environmental challenges and Scottish initiatives in the farmed shellfish arena.
Mr Ewing said: ‘I am absolutely delighted to be involved in this year’s conference and even more so that it is in Oban, often described as the seafood capital of Scotland. The ASSG conference is always an opportunity to celebrate Scotland’s farmed shellfish industry, which is a significant and growing part of our aquaculture economy, with producers playing key roles in supporting high-skilled jobs in rural and coastal communities.
‘This conference is a great opportunity to bring industry partners, government and sector stakeholders together to discuss how we continue to grow the sector in a sustainable way, ensuring we can supply a healthy, delicious, environmentally friendly and truly Scottish product for years to come.’
Following a welcome from Dr Nick Lake, chief executive of ASSG, the conference kicks off with the annual competition to find the best Scottish shellfish. This will see an expert panel of judges examine and taste samples of mussels and oysters from all over Scotland, before declaring a winner in each of three categories: mussels, Pacific oysters and native oysters.
Head judge and shellfish farmer Nicki Holmyard will be joined by Oban seafood veteran John Ogden, American oyster producer Andy de Paola, Sainsbury’s aquaculture and fisheries manager Ally Dingwall, and chairwoman of Shetland Food and Drink, Marian Armitage.
Ally Dingwall also opens the first conference session, with a look at consumer expectations of shellfish, followed by Rod Cappell from Poseidon Resource Consultants, who will present findings from a project that examines the critical mass required to assist shellfish production economics in Scotland.
Andrew Holmes from Neogen Europe will discuss how rapid testing helps to optimise shellfish safety, while Andy de Paola will talk about oyster production in the Gulf of Mexico and look at regulatory controls, wearing his hat as an ex-member of the US Food and Drugs Administration.
A new feature for this year is a raffle in aid of the RNLI, which will be drawn at the annual seafood dinner at Oban’s Waterfront Fishouse restaurant on October 26. Nick Lake will present a cheque to Tom Kennedy, Oban lifeboat mechanic, on day two of the conference. Working with environmental challenges is the theme of the second morning session, with Carlos Campos from CEFAS looking at satellite tracking of algal blooms and water quality, Sarah Brown from c2w marine resource consultants talking about biosecurity, and Kati Michalek from SAMS presenting on environmental variables and mussel stocks.
Stewart Graham, chairman of the Scottish Aquaculture Industry Leadership Group will close the conference, with a talk about the aims, objectives and progress of the group in working towards Scotland’s Vision 2030 goals.
Dr Lake said: ‘This country has developed an enviable reputation for the quality of its cultivated shellfish, and especially for the way in which it has grown sustainably in the Highlands and Islands.’