The University of Stirling’s marine aquaculture research capability will be strengthened thanks to a £3.84 million investment in its Marine Environment Research Laboratory (MERL), at Machrihanish in Argyll.

Funded by the UK government as part of the Argyll and Bute Rural Growth Deal, the investment will enhance the university’s facilities in the Kintyre Peninsula, where the University’s Institute of Aquaculture already operates a marine aquaculture research base.

The Argyll and Bute Rural Growth Deal is a 10-year program that will deliver £70 million of investment to develop the region’s economic potential. The Scottish and UK governments have each allocated £25 million to the program. The deal aims to foster economic growth by connecting the region’s high-value business sectors with national and international markets and linking local economic successes with national strategic priorities.

Aquaculture is one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors, and the Scottish government aspires to double the economic contribution of Scotland’s aquaculture industry to £3.6 billion by 2030.

Investment in the university’s MERL site will fund a repurposing of existing space, delivering an enhanced capability and increased capacity for environmentally controllable marine aquaculture research and innovation.

These marine facilities will complement the institute’s new National Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Hub (NATIH), funded by £17 million of UK government investment through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.

Together with the university’s recently upgraded freshwater facilities at Buckieburn, near Denny, the new facilities will offer an enhanced, joined-up research and development capability across freshwater, tropical and marine environments.