SAIC membership passes 150 mark
SHELLFISH producer Isle of Skye Mussel Company and marine engineering specialist Malin Group have become members of the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre’s consortium, taking the SAIC’s membership beyond 150.
The consortium acts as a connecting point for different parts of the aquaculture sector, including seafood producers, supply chain companies, regulators, and the public sector. Beyond aquaculture, sectors represented include biotechnology, subsea companies, equipment suppliers, logistics firms and retailers.
Consortium membership particularly grew in 2020, increasing by around 25% from February. Earlier in the year, the innovation centre launched its ongoing rapid-response funding programme to support investment in innovation at a highly challenging time.
Dr Judith Brown, Director of Isle of Skye Mussel Company, said:“Joining the consortium during our start-up phase has enabled us to build relationships within a range of fields from research to industry, and the positivity of the SAIC staff has been fantastic during a difficult time to start a new business.The SAIC network encourages a spirit of knowledge-sharing and collaboration that has been invaluable to us… it has opened the doors to an entire community of aquaculture experts that are willing to work together.”
More than half of SAIC’s membership (57%) is made up of SMEs, while another 31% is large organisations. Around half (48%) of the consortium is based in Scotland, while 28% are located in other parts of the UK and 9% overseas, reflecting the growing diversity of organisations with an interest in Scottish aquaculture and its R&D projects.
Heather Jones, CEO of SAIC, said:“The growth of SAIC’s consortium reflects the increasing commitment from aquaculture – as well as the many industries that support it – to innovation and collaboration. It also highlights the growing diversity of the sector, not only in terms of geography, but also in the types of businesses involved, their size, and areas of focus.”
Chris Dunn, Principal Naval Architect for Malin Group, said: “Aquaculture is growing at pace, and it is encouraging to see so many businesses harnessing new and innovative technology. Joining SAIC’s consortium has been a great development for the Malin Group, providing a forum to learn more about aquaculture, as well as develop our activity in this important sector.
In December, SAIC announced funding worth £2.2m for eight new innovation projects aimed at supporting the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector in Scotland and beyond.
Projects selected for the funding round will explore new methods for sea lice control, managing gill health and environmental impact modelling, among other areas, SAIC says. Research will concentrate on a variety of species to reflect the diverse make-up of the sector, including salmon, trout, and wrasse, and at least one of the projects will support shellfish production – one of SAIC’s priority innovation areas.
The projects represent a total combined investment of more than £2.2m from industry, academia and SAIC, including a package of more than £900,000 from the innovation centre itself.
The new projects are expected to commence this year and will last between five months and three years. Proposals were assessed by SAIC’s Independent Scientific Panel (SISP) against a range of criteria, including their long-term commercial impacts and opportunities for sharing knowledge and applying outcomes across the entire sector.
Heather Jones said:“The aquaculture sector is well placed to help meet the growing demand for high-quality protein, and innovation continues to play a crucial role in expanding the sector’s capacity and unlocking new opportunities. Scotland can be at the forefront of new initiatives and developments in technology that will help the sector to grow sustainably.
“The results from our previous collaborative research projects – including the development of new tools, new jobs, and even new businesses – are great examples of what can be achieved when industry and academia work together. Finding answers to some of the sector’s most pressing challenges has seldom been more important, particularly in the wake of Covid-19.
“Our consortium represents the entire aquaculture sector supply chain which is reflected in the variety and scope of these latest projects.They have the potential to deliver valuable outcomes that could make a real difference to the future of the sector.”
SAIC said innovation will play a key part in realising the ambition of Scotland’s aquaculture sector to sustainably double its economic contribution from £1.8bn in 2016 to £3.6bn by 2030.