MERL, which is located at Machrihanish in Argyll, received the UK Government funding as part of the new Argyll and Bute Rural Growth Deal, which aims to foster economic growth through connecting the region’s high-value business sectors with national and international markets and linking local economic successes with national strategic priorities.
Aquaculture is one of the world’s fastest growing sectors, while the Scottish Government aspires to double the economic contribution of Scotland’s aquaculture industry to £3.6 billion by 2030.
Investment in the site will fund a repurposing of existing space, delivering an enhanced capability and increased capacity for environmentally controllable marine aquaculture research and innovation.
These marine facilities will complement the Institute’s new National Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Hub (NATIH), funded by £17 million of UK Government investment through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.
Together with the University’s recently upgraded freshwater facilities at Buckieburn, near Denny, the new facilities will offer an enhanced, joined-up research and development capability across freshwater, tropical and marine environments.
Professor Malcolm MacLeod, senior deputy principal at the University of Stirling, said in a press release: “The fast pace of growth in the world’s aquaculture sector creates significant challenges. The University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that this growth is sustainable, addressing pressing issues from fish welfare to disease prevention.
“The UK Government’s investment in the university’s Macrihanish Innovation Campus is a further recognition of the Institute’s distinct role in driving a productive global aquaculture industry, while making a direct contribution to communities locally”.
