Role of Aquaculture Discussed at Congress

Occasionally circumstances conspire to bring forward certain events at a particularly propitious time - a point at which there is a pressing need for discussion and a special opportunity for that discussion to take place. Thus it is that the dedication of a major part of the sixth World Fisheries Congress to aquaculture is a signal event, coming at a time when aquaculture increasingly can be seen as the future dominant source of fish supply for the worlds growing population.

The Congress, which takes place in Edinburgh from 7-11 May is being hosted by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles on behalf of the World Council of Fisheries Societies. The meeting is scheduled on a four year cycle, and this year there are dedicated aquaculture sessions on the 9, 10 and 11 May.

These cover: Aquaculture and Sustainable Feed Supply; Aquaculture and Stock Improvement: Fish Welfare, Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture; and Aquaculture, Fish Nutrition and Health. The agenda across the three days is therefore almost all-encompassing and addresses many of the most prominent topics of current debate within the global aquaculture industry.

Whether your background is in academia and research, in hands-on fish farming, or in some upstream or downstream role in the supply chain, the programme will offer significant appeal. Wednesdays sessions on feed supply and use and on genetic improvement need little further comment on their topicality, other than to say that the way that we responsibly manage the global supply of fish meal and fish oil is of obvious importance in the aquaculture industrys development; and the ways that we address improvement in both the primary and secondary characteristics of stock are also a key consideration. Likewise, Thursdays session on fish welfare highlights both issues that are of current concern and debate, both within aquaculture and wild fisheries, and provide papers that should not be missed. Finally, the Nutrition and Health on Friday covers both topical and emerging issues, and ranges across species.