A new training programme is being developed to help UK finfish producers tackle the risks to fish health from harmful algal blooms (HAB).
The Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) has been awarded £250,000 from Defra’s UK Seafood Fund: Skills and Training Scheme to provide free training for around 1,800 professionals and students.
Developed in collaboration with Lantra, the skills council for aquaculture, and the Scottish Association for Marine Sciences, the programme will be boosted by an additional £105,000 of funding provided by SAIC.
“HABs are a by-product of a changing climate, and as global sea temperatures continue to rise, it is only going to become more important that fish health and environmental professionals working in the sector have the skills and knowledge they need to monitor and report on incidents as they occur,” said Jillian Couto-Phoenix, head of skills and talent at SAIC.
The training programme builds on previous work led by SAIC, commissioned by Marine Scotland under the 10 year Farmed Fish Health Framework, and aims to ensure all UK producers are following standardised procedures for detecting and reporting HABs in open coastal waters.
Recovering from a single HAB is estimated to cost around £6 million. A better understanding of any patterns will help to inform predictive models and early-warning systems.
