AquacultureUK 2012 Opens Today

Eight aquaculture researchers will present papers on day one, each hoping to win the Novelties award for the best presentation. This prestigious prize will see the winner taken on an expenses paid trip to Novelties Animal Healths R&D facilities in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

The session is chaired by Dr Tim Rees, and features a keynote speech by Neil Robertson of Novelties, on the importance of research in developing the aquaculture industry. Student speakers include Benjamin Perry, Giuseppe Paladin and Mathis Menswear from Stirling University, Michael Formby, Glasgow University, Rodrigo Belmont da Silva, Aberdeen University, and Shymalie Sendheera, Deakin University in Australia. Details of their presentations can be found on the website, www.aquacultureuk.com

Michael Ormsby, a researcher into the characterisation of Yersinia rickeri isolates from Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout said: I am delighted to be chosen to present at AquacultureUK. I am a PhD student in the early stages of my research, so this conference will provide me with an excellent opportunity to present my findings so far, as well as enabling me to network with and learn from others researching in the same field.

Mathijs Metselaar, who is working on red mark syndrome in rainbow trout, which impacts on its marketability, said: It is important to be able to feed back results from your research, to the farmers who deal with the disease on a daily basis, in order to help them treat effectively. Presenting at the conference will enable me to pass these on to many trout farmers and I look forward to this opportunity.

Rodrigo Belmonte da Silva will be presenting his work on the immune response of Atlantic salmon to Saprolegnia. I am really happy that I was selected to give a presentation at AquacultureUK, and I hope that by presenting my current work to end-users of the research, it will help to strengthen links between industry and academia, he said.

Conference organiser David Mack is delighted with the interest shown in this years AquacultureUK. Advance visitor registrations are the best ever and this international event is expected to attract more than 1000 visitors from 23 countries, he said.

We have plenty to interest and inform all sectors of the aquaculture industry at our busy conference and exhibition, and the event promises to be a lively gathering. Standholders hope to do brisk business over the next two days, and anticipate keen discussions with key industry decision makers.