Aquaculture is a famously young and fast-moving industry – being awash with cutting-edge innovations is part of its appeal. This week alone, I’ve enjoyed learning more about how Sea Warden intends to use satellite tracking to unlock financing for shrimp farmers, Solar Oysters’ vision for the sustainable intensification of bivalve production and a startup that's using flow cytometry to counter bacterial challenges.

But, perhaps the most astonishing story relates to a fundamental, morphological breakthrough, which has revealed the major portal for pathogens in shrimp. It’s a discovery that may have gone unnoticed by
most shrimp farmers. But it might have far-reaching positive implications for a sector that is regularly besieged by bacteria and viruses. It should also act as a reminder of the continued merits of painstaking, fundamental research. Funding for such projects is still vital – even if the proposals lack the more obvious excitement offered by today’s emerging array of tech.