NAFC IN RUNNING FOR AQUACULTURE AWARD

NAFC in running for aquaculture award. The NAFC Marine Centre UHI has been shortlisted for a prestigious international award for its aquaculture training courses.

The Centre has been shortlisted for the Aquaculture Awards 2020 which give recognition to those making an exceptional contribution to the global aquaculture industry.

NAFC’s shortlisting in the ‘Aquaculture Supplier of the Year’ category recognises the range of innovative training courses that the centre has developed for the aquaculture industry over the last few years. With its close industry connections, the centre has been able to develop and adapt training courses rapidly to allow aquaculture businesses to stay compliant with regulations, demonstrate best-practice and better educate their staff.

The centre now has aquaculture Modern Apprenticeship students in every corner of Scotland, as well as an increasing number in England, in salmon, trout, halibut and shellfish farming companies. A new online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) award in Aquaculture Management was launched in 2019.

Online delivery of this CPD, and short courses in topics which include Fish Welfare, Fish Farm Containment, RAS Water Quality Awareness and Fish Vaccination is giving NAFC’s training a truly global reach. More than 250 students from Mexico to Russia, and many countries in between, have enrolled on short courses in the last year.

Welcoming the announcement that the centre had been shortlisted, NAFC Principal Willie Shannon said, “Getting to this stage of an international award is a tremendous achievement and a tribute to NAFC’s aquaculture training staff whose experience, hard work and commitment have been responsible for the success of centre’s aquaculture training programme. For the team to go out and be so successful is testament to both their enthusiasm and expertise. They really are doing Shetland proud.”

The winners of the Aquaculture Awards 2020 are due to be announced in September at the Aquaculture UK exhibition and conference, the UK’s largest event of its kind.