The November 2023 issue of Fish Farmer is out now online

The November issue of Fish Farmer magazine is out now online and you can read or download it here.

Last month I had the great pleasure of attending the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers’ Conference in Oban.

It was an event with a real sense of community, bringing together people who clearly feel passionate about what they do and enjoy it – even though the problems faced by the industry are very real. You can read the report from the conference, including details of the Scottish Shellfish Awards winners Judith and Angus Vajk of Caledonian Oysters feature on this month’s front cover), starting page 32.

Also in this month’s Fish Farmer, Sandy Neil chronicles the progress made by land based fish farmer Salmon Evolution, whose hybrid flow-through solution appears to be paying off in terms of fish health, and also the controversy over a proposed yellowtail farm off the coast of California.

We look at the vast potential open to Norway’s aquaculture sector in terms of offshore farming – and also at the uncertainty which, so far, appears to be holding back investment in this sector. Farming offshore profitably will require a high level of capital expenditure and the ability to scale up, but all will require more clarity on the government’s part when it comes to taxes and regulation.

Our fish health roundup includes an update on studies into salmon heart health, a new set of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) outbreaks and – as unlikely as it may seem – hopes that adding urea as a supplement to aquafeed might boost health.

Vince McDonagh considers the opposition which is challenging Iceland’s rapid expansion in aquaculture, and also reports on how the industry is playing its part in helping to tackle marine plastic pollution.

Our Shellfish column this month looks at native oyster restoration projects and the ongoing debate about farmed Pacific oysters, and we also report on AQUA-FAANG, a Europe-wide project which has built up an open database of key genetic markers across six key species, to help breeding faster growing and more resilient fish.

A recurring theme this time appears to be the importance of collaboration. Together, the industry can take on challenges that would be insurmountable otherwise.