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Offshore Mariculture 2006

Offshore fish farming is a major growth area to fill the gap in European consumption left by dwindling wild fish catches. It has considerable potential benefits. It moves the site of production to clean areas away from lochs and fjords into large, deeper volumes of moving water. However the use of these farming structures has many areas needing development, consideration and, in some cases, international agreement: the technology itself (design, techniques, differences from inshore), logistics, communications, environment (including hydrography), social, legal and economic (including spin-offs). Mariculture 2006 will give an international review of developments in this new industry and relate them to the conditions experienced in European waters.

Increasing recognition of the importance of the maritime environment necessitates that mariculture development must be such that interaction between the physical elements of the water column and fish enclosures must be as positive as scientific awareness allows. Equally important is the location of such sites to minimise disruption to other commercial and recreational sea users.

The Malta Connection

The three-day event - two conference days and a fish farms visit day – will be held in Malta because of its progress in this area. Malta has a long history of mariculture activities involving an international expert, Professor Carmelo Agius, who is supporting the event and arranging the fish farms visits.

Aquaculture started in Malta in 1988 with the setting up of the National Aquaculture Centre (NAC) by the then Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Today there are seven commercial farms at nine sites producing 1,300 tonnes of seabass and seabeam annually. NAC continues research into new species such as Amber jack, octopus and the rearing of blue fin tuna. One commercial operator has recently been successful with a type of tilapia.

Malta, geographically is ideally placed for the mariculture conference, straddling the main Europe-east, Middle east and Orient traffic lanes with an equal interest in commercial mariculture development and commercial shipping. The Maltese Ministry of Rural Affairs, Fisheries and the Environment has given its support to this important conference.