Network that works

THE industry had plenty of opportunities to meet up last month, first in Brussels at the world’s biggest seafood show, and later in Edinburgh, when a sizeable crowd turned up for the Aquaculture Awards, held in Dynamic Earth.

In between, there were two workshops in Stirling to discusss progress in cleaner fish rearing and programmes for future research. There was also a major RAS conference in Washington and no doubt many other events, both here and abroad, news of which has yet to reach us.

Perhaps one of the most significant gatherings, though, if not the grandest, was the students’ careers day at the Institute of Aquaculture. This annual meeting brings current students together with recent, and some not so recent, alumni, with the aim of easing graduates’ paths into work. Among all the excellent advice tomorrow’s bright stars were given by today’s leading lights, one nugget stood out: network - ‘you are going to be business partners, you’re going to be colleagues, or competitors or customers, so make sure that you speak to each other’.

Stirling sends its students all over the world but the global aquaculture sector is a village, thanks to a tradition of formidable networking. We look forward to the class of 2019 returning in a few years when they have established themselves, and delivering the same message to the next generation.