A NEW aquaculture conference is set to net more than £165,000 for the Scottish economy.

Aquaculture Today 2005 will bring 200 delegates from across Europe to Edinburgh for 2 days in April.

The conference will be held at The Marriott Hotel in the city on the 13th and 14th April.

MSP Lewis Macdonald, the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development in Scotland, will give the keynote address at the opening session of Aquaculture Today 2005.

Dr Malcolm Dickson, the technical co-ordinator of the conference, said: “This event will provide a major boost for the Scottish economy at a time when aquaculture is set to grow in importance as a source of seafood. Often in many rural areas, aquaculture enterprises will be sustaining communities and this conference will help guide the industry towards an even more profitable future.”

Dr Dickson, the aquaculture editor for leading professional magazines Fish Farmer and Fish Farming Today, added: “This is an inaugural conference and we aim to make this an annual event for the aquaculture industry.”

The conference will include over 25 speakers from a wide range of organisations such as the Scottish Executive, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Food Standards Agency and SAMS Ardtoe covering topics such as aquaculture markets, aquatic animal health including breeding disease resistant fish, shellfish toxin management and industry codes of practice. Each topic discussion panel will feature an interactive voting system allowing conference delegates to vote on key issues.

Further information about the conference can be found at www.aquaculturetoday.co.uk or by calling 0845 241 3444.

· According to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, aquaculture will become the prime source of seafood for the world’s consumers by 2020.

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Related links

• Aquaculture Today
• Fishupdate.com