An innovative project to get Scottish
mussels to spawn in a hatchery environment has received an international boost
with a visit from Tasmanian partners Spring Bay Seafoods – operators of one of
the world’s few commercial-scale mussel hatcheries
The partners first met during a four-day
fact-finding mission to Spring Bay Seafoods in February 2015; the insights from
which helped inform the £1.7m 30-month project by the Scottish Shellfish
Marketing Group (SSMG) and University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), with
co-funding from the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), Highlands
and Islands Enterprise, and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
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| Bryce Daly (left) with project board member Lindsay Angus (right) Image credit: Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre |
Now, with the first year of project
operations well underway, the team have hosted Spring Bay Seafoods’ Hatchery
Manager Bryce Daly for a three-week visit to the NAFC Marine Centre UHI in
Scalloway, Shetland.
There, he has been observing the systems in
place, sharing his husbandry expertise and helping the team hone the skills
necessary to rear mussels in a hatchery environment.
Michael Tait, Chairman of SSMG and Shetland-based
mussel farmer, says, “The visit has come at a hugely opportune time for the
project. We have had lots of spawning but increasing post-spawn survival rates
has been a core focus. Bryce, with his many years of experience in hatchery
production, has helped identify several small adjustments that should
significantly improve survivability.”
These adjustments are already being implemented and closely monitored on a new batch of mussels, and the project partners are optimistic that they will have the first numbers of hatchery-reared spat going out to farm sea sites soon.
Bryce Daly added, “The team have all the systems in place. They have the knowledge and expertise necessary. Most of all, they have the desire and determination to make it work. I look forward to seeing them reap real results as we remain in close contact throughout the project lifetime.”
Currently, Scotland produces over 7,700 tonnes of farmed mussels – 74 percent of which are produced in Shetland – generating an estimated £11.7m for the economy.
If successful, the pilot hatchery project will lead to a commercial-scale hatchery, resulting in higher and more reliable yields of spat, additional jobs and wider distribution of sites – all of which combined will help towards the Scottish shellfish sector’s growth ambitions of 21,000 tonnes annually by 2030.
These adjustments are already being implemented and closely monitored on a new batch of mussels, and the project partners are optimistic that they will have the first numbers of hatchery-reared spat going out to farm sea sites soon.
Bryce Daly added, “The team have all the systems in place. They have the knowledge and expertise necessary. Most of all, they have the desire and determination to make it work. I look forward to seeing them reap real results as we remain in close contact throughout the project lifetime.”
Currently, Scotland produces over 7,700 tonnes of farmed mussels – 74 percent of which are produced in Shetland – generating an estimated £11.7m for the economy.
If successful, the pilot hatchery project will lead to a commercial-scale hatchery, resulting in higher and more reliable yields of spat, additional jobs and wider distribution of sites – all of which combined will help towards the Scottish shellfish sector’s growth ambitions of 21,000 tonnes annually by 2030.
Read more HERE.
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