SAIC links with friends in the north
AN initiative to encourage innovation and support for remotely located aquaculture businesses was launched last month in Reykjavík.
The international partnership brings together experts from the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and Scotland, and is led by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC).
Called the Aquaculture Innovation Network for the Northern Periphery and Arctic (AINNPA), it is backed by the European Regional Development Fund.
There will be a sixmonth preparatory phase to map out current aquaculture innovation support across the NPA territory; identify existing and emerging opportunities for SMEs; and build a collaborative network across participating regions.
Robin Shields, aq- uaculture innovation manager and AINNPA representative at SAIC, said:‘We know what we want to deliver through the international partnership – namely, to offer SMEs a stronger support network than they would otherwise be able to access, so that they can innovate solutions to existing and emerging challenges facing the aquaculture sector.
‘For the initiative to be a success in the long term, we need the insights of key stakeholders from an early stage,’ said Shields.
‘For example, regional development agencies, aquaculture producer organisations and other trade associations who can help identify the priorities for innovation and who, ultimately, will be one of the main conduits for encouraging uptake of AINNPA.’