Our scientific heritage

The Lowestoft Laboratory: the early years

The Cefas story began in 1902 when the Marine Biological Association (MBA) opened a sub-station in Lowestoft to research the plaice industry as part of the UK contribution to the newly created International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. By 1921 the station had become a laboratory with experimental facilities.

The early years were a time of discovery on all aspects of the marine biology of the North Sea and during the 20s and 30s biological studies expanded, the theory of fishing was developed and forecasting fish stocks became a routine.

Post-war research

Post-war, radiobiological facilities were installed to advise on the safe disposal of radioactive substances at sea and the arctic-going Research Vessel Ernest Holt was brought into service. Research aboard this vessel established the important link between fishable cod concentrations and water temperatures and identified cod migration routes. At the same time, the migration routes of plaice stocks were identified and the deterioration in the North Sea herring fishery was investigated. From this ground-breaking work came theories of fishing and fish population trends that have become a by-word in international fishery science.

Continued expansion

The Lowestoft Laboratory moved to its present site in 1955 and was expanded in the 60s and 80s to meet the needs of emerging work programmes monitoring the quality of the marine environment. Although the period 1964 - 1982 probably saw the fullest flowering of fisheries research, per se, at Lowestoft, the increasing awareness of both politicians and the public about the importance of maintaining the quality of the marine environment, meant that an increasing proportion of the work programme of that period was devoted to problems associated with investigating both radioactive and non-radioactive contamination at sea.

The Conwy laboratory

In 1918 the Conway Corporation mussel purification tanks were taken over by the then Board of Agriculture and Fisheries and research to find a more effective method of mussel purification began. Research expanded into developing hatchery culture techniques, initially on the native oyster, and subsequently, in the 1960's, on the Pacific oyster, work which now forms the basis of the UK bivalve cultivation industry.

Other shellfish cultivation research and increased responsibilities for dealing with ecological and management problems in various shellfisheries lead to an expansion in the 1970s. Research emphasis has shifted latterly away from shellfish cultivation to the ecology of coastal waters and coastal zone management. This work of this facility transferred to the Weymouth Laboratory in 2001.

The Weymouth laboratory

Established in 1969 with four staff specifically to study the cause of a disease in salmon, the laboratory quickly expanded in the '70's and '80's to investigate serious disease risks threatening the expanding fish farming industry. In the '80's research shifted towards determining drug residues in fish for human consumption and environmental problems associated with release of medicines from fish farms.

New inspection and monitoring responsibilities stemming from EC Directives dealing with marine and freshwater fish health, and microbiological hygiene of molluscan shellfish meant a further increase in staff numbers in 1991. The existing facilities became over stretched and a new laboratory, housing state-of the art equipment and the most modern facilities, was opened in 1994.

The Burnham-on-Crouch Laboratory

Established in 1953 as the Ministry's first-ever purpose-built fisheries laboratory, the Burnham laboratory became involved in work on pollution in 1957, and by the mid-60's began to take the lead in the investigation of environmental protection problems other than those arising from radioactive wastes. Early studies concentrated on determining the toxic effects of various contaminants and surveying their levels in coastal waters and inshore fisheries. By 1970, the general aim of the work had become the establishing of the effects on commercial fish and shellfish resources of disposal of wastes, mineral and hydrocarbon extraction, and engineering and development work. This involved environmental impact assessments and a major monitoring programme.

In 2009 the Burnham laboratory will be moving to a brand new building as part of the Waveney Campus in Lowestoft.