SCOTLAND is in a prime position to reap the benefits of a sustainable aquaculture sector, a minister told a key conference today.

Lewis Macdonald, Scotland’s deputy rural development minister told the first day of the Aquaculture Today 2005 conference in Edinburgh that the sector had made tremendous strides.

However there was scope for action not only on the regulatory but the marketing fronts to ensure a sound future for what had become a key employer.

Mr Macdonald, who opened the two-day conference organised by Fish Farmer magazine, said that there was a lot of good news about the aquaculture sector and he revealed figures which showed that Scotland’s shellfish industry expanded last year by almost 15%.

“Aquaculture in Scotland, although a relatively new commercial activity, is of vital importance to the continued development of our rural and island communities and their economies.”

However there was work to do to ensure the sector’s future and diversification was one of the keys to its future success.

It was well known that the growth of production, which was proof of industry efficiency and progress, had in its turn meant lower prices for the farmed salmon sector. This pointed up the need for more marketing initiatives.

For while mass production had a part to play in Scotland, there was also a lot of potential for more targeted niche marketing.

He added: “I think one of the things I will want to see in the framework of our strategic approach to aquaculture is that we encourage that kind of niche approach and encourage the specialists to grow their particular markets alongside the big production. That does not mean that we do not compete for the bulk sales because we have to do that as well and what we have been trying to do is to try to ensure that can be done on a fair and equal basis.”

He did not anticipate any problems trying to boost Scottish marketing in a EU context, given that Scotland is the market leader in European Community terms in salmon.

Of course commercial decision on marketing strategies was an industry matter although ministers could create the right environment.

Meanwhile Mr Macdonald defended action being taken by the EU to stop the flooding of the salmon market by non-EU countries, notably Norway.

“We would not be in a position of seeking trade defence measures if we did not think they were necessary.” Leaving things as they stood would not have delivered the kind of level playing field that was necessary, he said.

On the other hand he also recognised that it is in the producers’ interests everywhere to have a degree of market stability.

“It is in Norway’s interests as well. At the same time as we are pursuing measures through the European Union we are also maintaining a dialogue with Norway. I met the Norwegian fisheries minister a few weeks ago and we may continue that dialogue. At official level we have a continuing dialogue to try to move us on.

“The market for salmon is growing and there is no need for producers to cut their throats in order to grow their own businesses.”

He said he completely understood why the Norwegians were trying to sustain their salmon sector-but what he was trying to say to the Norwegians was that it is in both Scotland’s and Norway’s interests to grow the market globally and in a way which does not produce imbalance and volatility in price.

Mr Macdonald added that in a Scottish context, he would not like to put a ceiling on the number of jobs that may ultimately be created by the aquaculture sector. He alluded to a present level of 10,000 full and part-time jobs.

“It is more a case of recognising where we are and the more we can take the volatility out and put the long term growth back in, the better. There is certainly room for future growth and the whole strategic approach of working with the industry and the regulatory framework of that is designed to maximise this.

“The work which is being done both from our own regulatory colleagues and those from the industry really gives me confidence that significant changes can be made.”

But the industry had also to recognise diversification as part of the way ahead.

Earlier, the minister disclosed statistics showing that overall Scottish shellfish production increased by almost 15% from 3991 tonnes in 2003 to 4578 tonnes in 2004. This was almost entirely due to “strong growth” in the mussel sector.

The greatest increase in regional mussel production was in Shetland by more than 41% in the last year to 2,193 tonnes. Employment increased by 12% reflecting the ongoing trend in the development of new sites particularly for mussel production.

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