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| 21 November, 2008 |
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| Should other nations follow Alaska's lead in using aquaculture as part of a fishery enhancement programme? |
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NAFC MARINE CENTRE WELCOMES MINISTERIAL VISIT 03 September, 2008 -
The minister arrived at the centre's marine hatchery where, accompanied by Alistair Carmichael MP, he learned about planned research on wrasse breeding and the recently completed 'Seas Around Us' project, which gave local school children an appreciation of life in the seas around Shetland, as well as an insight into career opportunities in marine science. The minister was also briefed on the pioneering monkfish research carried out at the NAFC, as well as the recently won contract to undertake research on the fishery for megrim. The next stop was the Shetland Seafood Quality Control Ltd (SSQC) Benthic Laboratory where Mr Shaw learned about the work undertaken by SSQC from section leader of Marine Farm Services, Alan Harpin, and section leader of Analytical Services, Niall O'Rourke. He discovered how carrying out benthic surveys gives a measure of the impact a farm is having on the seabed and surrounding environment. He was also interested to hear how the department produces a simulation of how much biomass a fish farm site can hold. Discussions continued on the wide spectrum of services which SSQC provides including the work done for the Food Standards Agency Scotland in terms of the classification of shellfish harvesting areas in Shetland and Orkney. From there, a visit was made to the control room for the simulator and, afterwards, to the simulator itself where head of the Shetland School of Nautical Studies, Jan Rigden, described the cadet training programme delivered at the centre. The minister met some of the final year cadets and watched them completing a navigational training exercise. Finally, Mr Shaw heard from shellfish biologist Dr Beth Leslie about the centre's data collection and stock assessments undertaken in support of the local management of shellfish fisheries by the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation. Commenting on his tour, Mr Shaw said: 'I'm very impressed by the range of research and services provided by the NAFC Marine Centre, which is advancing marine industries in Shetland. As I leave, the question I'm asking myself is 'are we maximising the potential in terms of the resource we have in marine science across the UK'? This is a question I'll now seek to answer.' www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.
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