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Entries were invited for seven categories and finalists in each category were announced at a gala dinner following the Aquaculture Today 2007 conference in Edinburgh last night (Wednesday 18 April).
Finalists in the Best Farm category, supported by Envirocentre, are Marine Harvest Scotland’s Loch Hourn and Scottish Sea Farm’s Loch Kishorn.
Scottish Sea Farms are also short-listed, along with Johnson’s Sustainable Seafoods, in the Best Added Value category, supported by SEERAD.
Johnson’s Sustainable Sea Foods make a second appearance in the Aurora Environmental Best Contribution to Sustainability category where they are up against Marine Harvest Scotland and Scottish Sea Farms.
The Highlands and Islands Enterprise award for Best Export Business will go to Hjaltland Seafarms, Pan Fish Scotland or Scottish Sea Farms, while Wester Ross Fisheries, Marine Harvest Scotland and Scottish Sea Farms are short-listed for the Fusion Marine award for Best Community Initiative.
The winners of the Bank of Scotland supported Salmon Farming Company of the Year (small/medium) and the Salmon Farming Company of the Year (large), supported by Skretting, will be announced at the Awards ceremony on 31 May at the Drumossie Hotel, Inverness.
Alex Adrian, Deputy Head of The Crown Estate’s Scottish Marine Estate, said: “Scotland leads the way for best practice and innovation in the salmon farming industry and the judges were impressed by the high standard of the entries.
“Entrants demonstrated that they were producing a world-class product with a high level of environmental awareness. It was also clear that many salmon farmers are at the heart of the communities in which they operate and are involved in a wide range of community initiatives.”
The judges are Peter Dryburgh, Director of NAFC Marine Centre; Dennis Overton, Managing Director of Aquascot; Christina Reid, Aquaculture Editor of Fish Update and Fish Farmer; Professor Phil Thomas, Chairman of the Scottish Aquaculture Code of Good Practice Management Committee; and Dr Carolyn Heeps (Chair), Head of Offshore and Environment at The Crown Estate.