In just over three weeks, the aquaculture community will gather in Inverness, Scotland, for the Aquaculture Awards 2023, celebrating the outstanding achievements of individuals and businesses in the sector over the past year.
The awards, to be announced at a gala dinner on June 15, are presented annually to aquaculture’s game changers, trendsetters, leaders, and the farm staff who go the extra mile. With 13 categories – including, for the first time, Best New Start-up – this year’s awards will honor the hard work and high standards across the sector, both in the UK and overseas. On top of prizes for Farmer of the Year, Supplier of the Year, and Aquaculture Company of the Year, there will be awards, too, for Sustainability, Community Initiative and Animal Welfare.
The Best New Start-up award sees competition from Ireland’s Aqualicense, and the UK’s ThinkAqua and Wellfish Diagnostics, while the contenders for the Innovation award extend from Norway’s Marine Donut concept to Switzerland’s device for assessing salmon fillet pigmentation, to the Tassie Devil net cleaner from Australia.
British trout farmer Selcoth Fisheries and salmon giant Mowi are up against Kilbirnie-based W & J Knox for the Sustainability prize, while three more UK-based companies - Underwater Contracting, Tom Morrow Tarpaulins, and Ocean On Land Technology – vie for the Supplier of the Year award.
In perhaps the most hotly contested category, the judges had to select just three Rising Stars - Scottish Sea Farms’ Alison Brough, Mowi’s Eleanor Lawrie, and Kames Fish Farming’s Ben Leigh, all names to watch in the future.
The judges have been drawn from academia, sector bodies, marketing and the media and include Professor David Little from the Institute of Aquaculture; Heather Jones, CEO of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC); and Nicki Holmyard, communications specialist and mussel farming pioneer.
More than 300 sector figures will attend the awards to share their colleagues’ achievements and enjoy the unrivaled networking opportunities offered by this key event in the aquaculture calendar.
Cheri Arvonio, awards director, said that “the Aquaculture Awards are back by popular demand, with 13 coveted categories championing the successes of the year, both on a business and a personal level. We look forward to bringing the sector together again in the Scottish Highlands for a night of celebration, socializing and guaranteed fun.”
A handful of tickets remain for the Aquaculture Awards (gailh@divcom.co.uk). For the full Aquaculture Awards 2023 shortlist and further details on the awards night, visit aquacultureawards.com.
