Aquaculture is an important sector in many marine coastal areas, including the West of Scotland. SAMS offers advice and expert opinion in aquaculture related issues such as environmental monitoring, the development of sustainable aquaculture methods and assessments of the impacts of aquaculture on ecosystems.
  

SAMS has a long and outstanding track record in the field of fundamental and applied aquaculture related research. Over the years it has established a strong expertise, collaborating with aquaculture companies as well as government agencies, developing methods to assess the impacts of aquaculture on coastal ecosystems. This has resulted in the production of commercially available modelling tools such as DEPOMOD and AUTODEPOMOD to predict deposition and biological effects of waste solids from marine cage farms in contrasting coastal environments.

Fisheries Certification Audits

Our staff can act as fisheries auditors for certification under schemes such as the Marine Stewardship Council. We are able to provide consultants to cover all three Principles. SAMS' staff are at the cutting edge of marine research, therefore evaluations will be based upon the latest knowledge relating to stock assessment, ecological impacts and management of fisheries.

Aquaculture impact modelling

The 100th license for the aquaculture impact models DEPOMOD and MERAMOD was issued by SAMS on 21st June 2006. Over 60% of the licenses are for commercial application. These models are used for planning and monitoring of sea cage fish farms. They were initially developed for Atlantic salmonid farms (DEPOMOD) and sea bass and bream farms in the Mediterranean (MERAMOD). With site-specific information on the current velocity and direction, depth and husbandry characteristics such as feed input and cage layouts, predictions of waste faecal and feed deposition and associated benthic impact near the farms can be obtained. These models assist with regulation of the farms and provide guidance to the industry on selection of sites with good husbandry characteristics. In the UK, the DEPOMOD model is the basis for the AUTODEPOMOD regulatory software package. The models are distributed throughout 14 different countries and have a modest user base in the UK, Europe, Canada and now Chile, with fewer users located in Australasia and Asia.

Another part of our work has focussed on development of integrated methods for sustainable aquaculture focussing on shellfish industry. We offer expert advice and training opportunities for optimization of product quality and yield under sustainable conditions.

FSA phytoplankton monitoring programme

In addition, SAMS has an FSA phytoplankton monitoring programme. This environmental monitoring programme is undertaken in close collaboration with shellfish farmers to provide a general warning system for the presence of toxin producing plankton in shellfish production areas in Scotland.

Water quality testing and full phytoplankton analysis services are provided through SAMS National Facility, the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa.

For more information please contact Keri Page (Business Development Manager; 01631559362) or Dave Gunn (SAMS Director of Knowledge Transfer and Commercialisation; 01631559375).