© Kames Fish Farming
Cannon's interest in aquaculture began at an early age with a work placement at Kenmure Fisheries in New Galloway - a pond-based trout farm. Following his subsequent studies in aquaculture at the University of Stirling, Cannon cofounded his own operation - Kames Fish Farming.
In the following years Cannon personally pioneered fish husbandry and welfare techniques in the early days of fish farming in the UK, helping to influence best practice in the global aquaculture industry today. He was the first to grow trout in cages in freshwater lochs, understanding that they would create their own flow, despite scepticism at the time. He pioneered cage construction and helped to establish many farms around the world – from Chile and Greece to the Middle East and Sri Lanka.
Cannon also pioneered the triploidisation of trout, preventing
maturation and avoiding genetic contamination with wild populations, in addition to trialling vaccines and histology systems for better fish health monitoring – always focusing on applying academic research and development to practical farm life, with the aim of achieving the best quality of fish health.
Kames Fish Farming expanded greatly over the following decades but has remained one of the last family-run fish farms in Scotland, now managed by Stuart’s son, Andrew Cannon. Kames today only farms sea-grown trout and is passionate about the quality of this exceptional fish. Their ethos of quality and community is stronger than ever, and they are proud of their own significant breeding programme ensuring high quality from egg to plate.
In 2018, Stuart won the first Industry People’s Choice award, recognising the work he has done for aquaculture, and in 2022 Kames won Best Aquaculture Company in the UK, followed in 2023 by Best Animal Welfare.
