"The calibre of the people who have joined the sector advisory committee gives us even greater confidence in SAIC's future direction," said Chair of SAIC Rob Wilson.
Photo: SAIC.
The Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Cluster (SAIC)—formerly known as the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre—has announced the appointment of the first sector advisory committee of its new era. It is made up of 15 experts from across Scottish aquaculture and beyond, with the aim of leveraging their experience and knowledge.
Specifically, the steering group includes representatives from finfish and flatfish producers, industry associations, the aquaculture supply chain and the fish and shellfish health and wellbeing sector, as well as adding the perspective of the Scottish environmental regulatory body.
"As SAIC enters a new chapter, it's vital that we draw on as many points of view as possible," Sarah Riddle, principal officer at SAIC, commented. "The committee will ensure we prioritise the needs of the sector so that we can maximise the impact, reach, and output of collaborative R&D, delivering tangible benefits for producers of all species. At the same time, it will support our aims strengthening innovation across Scotland and the long term sustainability and competitiveness of the sector."
To ensure that SAIC's support for R&D meets the needs and priorities of the entire sector, the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Cluster has included some of the most prominent figures in aquaculture, bringing together hundreds of years of combined industry experience from producers and across the supply chain.
As representatives from finfish and flatfish producers, the 15-strong steering group includes Eduardo Jiménez Fernández, Head of Research and Development at Otter Ferry Seafish, part of the Amar Seafood Group; Charles Greenwood, Head of Modeling at Cooke Aquaculture; Innes Weir, Production Manager at Loch Duart; and Su Cox, Communications and Business Development Director at Bakkafrost Scotland.
To ensure that the perspectives of the various actors in the aquaculture ecosystem are widely represented, alongside them, representing the industry associations, are Rhianna Rees, CEO of Seaweed Scotland; Oliver Robinson, who serves on the Board of the British Trout Association; Eleanor Adamson, Head of Fisheries at The Fishmongers' Company; and Iain Berrill, Technical Director at Salmon Scotland.
For its part, the aquaculture supply chain will be represented by Mikey Clarkson, Commercial Manager at feed producer BioMar; Keith Drynan, Managing Director of breeding and genetics company AquaGen Scotland Ltd.; and Roar Paulsen, Senior Vice President and Country Manager for the UK at Aquafarm Equipment.
Also represented is what SAIC calls the central role of fish and shellfish health and wellbeing in the sector's R&D, with Meritxell Diez-Padrisa, Business Unit Manager UK and Senior Fish Health Adviser at PatoGen; Sam Martin, Director of the Scottish Fish Immunology Research Centre at the University of Aberdeen; and Antonios Chalaris, founder of AC Aquaculture Consulting.
The group of fifteen people is completed by Mike Montague, Lead Specialist for Aquaculture at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), who joins the committee to bring the perspective of the environmental regulatory body to the discussions that will help inform SAIC’s strategic direction.
"With our first sector advisory committee, we wanted to ensure that SAIC's work truly reflects the needs, priorities, and ambitions of the entire aquaculture sector. This group brings together expertise from finfish, flatfish, shellfish, seaweed, academia, health, the supply chain and even the regulator, giving us access to a broad range of voices and perspectives," Sarah Riddle said, summarizing the committee members' expertise.
These appointments come shortly after SAIC began a new phase when, last April, the then innovation centre became independent from its historic host organization, the University of Stirling, becoming a cluster and moving its headquarters to the Highlands, after receiving new annual funding of GBP 1.4 million for a minimum of five years from Crown Estate Scotland.
Following the change, the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Cluster has maintained its central role in driving innovation in aquaculture through collaborative R&D projects, but also thanks to it, SAIC has been able to expand its scope of action, creating more opportunities for collaboration with SMEs and a greater capacity to support all segments of the sector, including shellfish, seaweed and other species.
As part of this new phase, SAIC recently announced a call for expressions of interest in new financing projects, which, we now learn, has received an unprecedented level of participation from the sector.
"We've been hugely encouraged by the volume and quality of expressions of interest we've received since we shared our initial plans for a new funding call. It's clear that right across the sector—from finfish and shellfish to seaweed and emerging species—there is real appetite to push forward with collaborative R&D," said Chair of SAIC Rob Wilson.
"The calibre of the people who have joined the sector advisory committee gives us even greater confidence in SAIC's future direction," Wilson added, commenting on the appointments. "Together, they bring an exceptional breadth and depth of experience, as well as valuable insight from across the sector."
"Their collective knowledge will ensure we can support projects that deliver meaningful impact for producers, the supply chain, and the wider Scottish aquaculture community," SAIC's Chair concluded.
The Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Cluster noted that innovation is widely seen as critical to helping Scotland's aquaculture sector—which contributes GBP 468 million in annual gross value added (GVA) to the economy—grow sustainably. From its inception in 2013 to the beginning of 2026, SAIC has already invested GBP 10.8 million in collaborative R&D projects and brought in GBP 70.6 million in additional funding.
