News release ref: 07/09
Date: 9 October 2009

Securing fish for food

Workshop to discuss English plans for sustainable aquaculture

A major two-day workshop, to consider sustainable aquaculture in England, is being co-sponsored by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It will be held at Cefas’ laboratory in Weymouth on 13–14 October and starts at 9:30.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and other international bodies have repeatedly pointed to the importance of sustainably farmed fish and shellfish in delivering food security. In addition, the health benefits of eating oily fish have been highlighted by the UK’s Food Standards Agency.

Achieving sustainable food security from marine fish and shellfish stocks is not always easy or straightforward. This has led policy-makers, scientists and others to re-evaluate the potential of aquaculture to provide sustainable fish and shellfish for the English public’s table.

There is a strong aquaculture industry in Scotland, and Wales has a robust aquaculture strategy. In England, a policy on and strategy for sustainable aquaculture is still emerging. Therefore, the objective of the workshop is to produce a clear understanding and action plan for the future of aquaculture in England.

Keith Jeffery, from Cefas, says: “We know that almost half of all fish consumed in the UK is from farmed sources. If we are serious about encouraging more consumption of fish, and we need to sustainably deliver that, we will need a clear approach to finfish aquaculture in England.

“The purpose of this workshop is to work through some of the practical issues and to arrive at a plan of action for the future.”

Policy-makers, members of the aquaculture industry, scientists, pressure groups and retailers will meet for two days of presentations and discussion.

Notes to editors

Cefas is an internationally renowned scientific research and advisory establishment and the UK’s largest and most diverse applied marine science organisation. It has over 500 staff, two UK laboratories (in Lowestoft and Weymouth), its own ocean-going research vessel, and over 100 years of experience.
Operating as an executive agency of Defra, Cefas works alongside government and other agencies, both in the UK and internationally, to play a vital role in securing healthy marine and freshwater environments for everyone’s well-being, health and prosperity.
Bridging the interface between science, policy and delivery, Cefas provides evidence-based scientific advice, manages related data and information, conducts world-class scientific research, and facilitates collaborative action through wide-ranging relationships. Those relationships span the EU, government and its agencies, international fora, scientific institutions and research centres, universities, NGOs and industry. For more detail about its range of activities visit www.cefas.co.uk.
Scientists based at Cefas’ Weymouth laboratory work specifically on aspects of fish health, disease and welfare. The Weymouth facility has both UK and EU Reference Laboratory status for a range of aquatic animal diseases. In addition, the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI), which inspects fish farms among other duties, is also based there. For more about the FHI see www.cefas.co.uk/fhi.
In England and Wales, there are 197 trout and other finfish farms and 128 shellfish farms. Total fish farm production in England and Wales is 8,127 tonnes (based on 2006 figures).The main finfish species farmed is rainbow trout (7,294 tonnes). There is also limited production of other species, such as brown trout (441 tonnes), carp (175 tonnes) Atlantic salmon (63 tonnes), turbot (63.5 tonnes), barramundi (45 tonnes) and tilapia (33 tonnes).

Shellfish farm production totalled 15,449 tonnes in 2006, the main species cultivated being mussels (14,553 tonnes) and oysters (880 tonnes).

For more about the aquaculture industry’s economic importance, and regulations relating to it, visit
www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/fisheries/farm-health/aquaculture.htm.

The agenda for the workshop, “Towards a Sustainable Finfish Aquaculture Industry for England”, is included in the Annex to this release.

Press contact
Anne McClarnon: Telephone: 01502 524370 / Email: anne.mcclarnon@cefas.co.uk

Annex

“Towards a Sustainable Finfish Aquaculture Industry for England”

Two-day workshop, 13–14 October 2009 at Cefas in Weymouth, Dorset

Driver
Food security and how to supplement dwindling returns from the catching sector whilst taking into account the many issues around sustainability.

Objective
To bring together stakeholders from all areas (producers, engineers, regulators, scientists, policy-makers and non-governmental organisations) in order to discuss a shared vision and strategy for sustainable aquaculture in England. The main focus will be the potential that differing types of aquaculture have within England. Finfish will be the primary focus but we will also touch on shellfish and crustacea.

Agenda

Day 1
Introduction
9.30–10.00	*Arrival and registration*
10.00–10.10	Opening and welcome to Cefas – Stephen Irving Outline of two days, science objective, H&S, etc
10.10–10.20	Defra address – Lee McDonough An introduction to food security with an overview of supply and demand for fish, and the FSA’s views on consumption of oily and non-oily fish. Outline of the requirement to increase aquaculture production.
10.20–10.50	An aquaculture strategy for England – Chris Preston An overview of the need for a strategy and progress.
1 The potential for existing finfish aquaculture (Chair: Steve Irving)
10.50–1.20	Large-scale intensive recirculation systems and their potential development within England – Dr Mark Burdass
11.20–11.40	*Coffee break*
11.40–12.10	The potential of English trout farms to increase output with special reference to the Danish model trout farms – David Bassett
12.10–12.40	A global outlook for tilapia and the potential for growth in the UK tilapia industry – Eric Roderick
12.40–13.00	Q&A panel discussion
13.00–14.15	*Buffet lunch and lab tour*
2 Aquaponics and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (Chair: Keith Jeffery)
14.15–14.45	Aquaponics, energy efficiency, and an ecosystem approach to food production – Charlie Price
14.45–15:15	Recirculation systems for fish and shrimp with integrated hydroponics – Dr Mark Rigby
15.15–15.35	*Tea and biscuits*

3 Offshore marine organic backyard aquaculture (Chair: Chris Preston)
15.35–16.05	The potential for offshore aquaculture around the coast of England – Dr Mark James
16.05–16.35	The Aqua-vision concept of organic carp and backyard fish farming – Jimmie Hepburn
16.35–17.00	Q&A panel discussion
17.00	*Close of day one*
19.30–22.00	*Evening meal*

Day 2
09.00–9.15	*Coffee on arrival*
4 Regulation and certification (Chair: Jason Weeks)
9.15–9.45	Aquatic Animal Health Directive and the Fish Health Inspectorate – Dr Kevin Denham
9.45 to 10.15	WWF Aquaculture Dialogue standards and ASC certification – Dr Piers Hart
5 Sustainability strategies (Chair: David Verner-Jeffrey)
10.15–10.55	The current shellfish industry development strategy and why shellfish could be important in an English aquaculture strategy – Dr Tom Pickerell
10.55–11.15	*Coffee*
11.15–11.45	Welsh aquaculture industry and strategy – Robin Shields
11.45–12.15	Feed sustainability: current status, future prospects and consumer attitudes – Dr Paul Morris
12.15–12.30	Q&A panel discussion
12.30–12.40	Introduction to the remainder of the day (breakout sessions on different aspects of aquaculture) – Jason Weeks
12.40–13.30	*Buffet lunch*

Ends