CURRENT PROJECTS
In the Small Fish Matters project, we're partnering with Victory Farms and Tunga Fees to explore the potential for smallholder cage production of small tilapia for rural Kenyan consumers. Traditionally in Kenya, producers target fish with a 400g average body weight because consumers report that they prefer bigger fish; yet, our consumer survey work found that rural populations are actually buying smaller sizes due to their lower price point. In the first part of this project, we trialed multi-staged harvests. This produced a larger portion of fish with 200g average body weight, improved cash flow for the farmer, and better FCRs. As farmers have trouble sourcing monosex fingerlings, our upcoming trial will replicate the multi-staged harvests and compare monosex to mixed sex production. This project is funded by the KTN Agrifood Africa Innovation Awards.
Food or Feed? Value-adding freshwater shrimp as a supplement. In Lake Victoria, small freshwater shrimp are produced as a by-product from small silver cyprinid fisheries. In Kenya, these shrimp are dried and typically used as chicken feed, despite being a popular food source in other African countries. The tilapia cage culture industry has a growing interest for this shrimp as a local feed supplement. Thus, its potential use as an aquafeed ingredient has strong economic drivers, particularly considering the rapid growth of intensive aquaculture in Lake Victoria and current reliance on imported aquafeed ingredients. Yet, aquaculture generally has been criticised for diverting food resources from nutritionally-vulnerable communities. This project aims to assess ochonga as an ingredient in aquafeed and a nutritional supplement in infants’ porridge to inform policies concerning aquaculture and feedmill development around the lake. The assessment will include nutritional, economic, acceptability, and pallatability studies. This project is also in partnership with Victory Farms and funded by the KTN Agrifood Africa Innovation Awards.
SmartAqua4FuturE (SAFE) - The main objective of SAFE project is to reduce the environmental impact and improve the viability of the FW aquaculture by applying circular economy (CE) approaches to the valorisation of solid and liquid wastes from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems. The economic viability of FW aquaculture will be improved through major advances in management systems and the integration of waste streams from FW aquaculture systems (FWAS) into the aquaculture feed chain. SAFE will enable the uptake of these solutions through local and regional scale demonstrations across the EU and will document the necessary management and governance conditions for successful transferability. This is an EU Horizon Europe project with 12 partners and three associated partners, including the University of Stirling. It is led by Eurofish International Organisation. Stirling staff are leading the workpackage on Sustainability, acceptability and governance, which includes work on greenhouse gas emissions, value chain analysis, consumer acceptance, regulation and economic modelling. Visit the Project Website
Improving Farmed Fish Welfare in Asia - With funding from Open Philanthropy, this project aims to combine research, education and outreach on the benefits of improving fish welfare practices in Thailand and Vietnam - two of the leading aquaculture producers in Southeast Asia. In the first phase of the project we will build links with people and organisations with interests in the aquaculture sector-from the provision of inputs through to production and marketing for cooperation in research and project communications. Virtual meetings will be held to help develop future project activities. In the second phase of the project, local organisations will be funded to carry out different types of research with industry and consumers. Financial and academic support will be provided for small consortia of both researchers and non-researchers to deliver on activities leading to improved (1) welfare of farmed fish and (2) understanding of the benefits of good fish welfare for both fish and people. A fully funded studentship to attend the Institute of Aquaculture MSc Aquaculture or Aquatic Pathobiology course will also be provided for one candidate from Thailand and one from Vietnam, linked to projects in those countries. Visit the Project Website.
EATFISH is a multidisciplinary European Union Horizon 2020 research project aimed at integrating the biological, technical, socio-economic, and governance aspects for achieving sustainable and profitable aquaculture. The project has multiple partners 13 universities and research institutions, including the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling as well as 4 private and 6 academic sector partner organisations. From 2021 to 2024, Stirling staff are leading two sub-research projects: (1) Understanding the societal perception of aquaculture, and (2) Improving aquaculture governance. These subprojects will involve work on consumption behaviour, value chain and life cycle analysis, and regulation and economic modelling. Visit the Project Website
Completed Projects
PEDIGREE was a one year ‘research into use’ project funded under the BBSRC International Flexible Interchange Programme (I-FLIP). PEDIGREE built on findings of an earlier project IMAQulate (2015-2019). IMAQulate developed a indicator-based prophylactic health product (PHP) inventory, risk & efficacy prediction tool based on label-information and other secondary indicators. Primary focus was on the probiotic and prebiotic PHP class. PEDIGREE disseminated this tool and increased awareness of issues around risk & efficacy of PHPs in order to: (i) support improved voluntary (industry) and statutory regulation of safety and quality assurance; and (ii) deliver more effective and safe small-holder aquaculture health management in Bangladesh. Further information is available at: https://www.pedigree.stir.ac.uk
GAIN (Green Aquaculture Intensification in Europe) was a European Union Horizon 2020 research project led by the University of Venice (IT). The partnership included the Alfred Wegener Institute (DE), IBM (IE), University of Stirling (UK), Longline Environment (IE), Wageningen University (NL), SPAROS (PT), NOAA (USA), Dalhousie University (CA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (ES), and Salten Havbrukspark (NO). GAIN started on May 1st, 2018, ran for 42 months, and was designed to support the ecological intensification of aquaculture in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA), with the dual objectives of increasing production and competitiveness of the industry, while ensuring sustainability and compliance with EU regulations on food safety and environment. Further information from https://gain2020.com
Aquapreneurs Malawi Zambia This 3 year GIZ WFC funded “Aquapreneurs” Small scale inclusive aquaculture value chain business models project built on the progress made in the previous Scottish Govt funded Aquaculture Enterprise Malawi AEM and SHASP small scale hatchery projects, both based in Southern Malawi. Project partners included WFC Zambia and Imani Development Malawi, with the projects aiming to support and develop to standalone financial viability of 30 small scale “aquapreneurs” across the nascent but now growing aquaculture value chain in Malawi. The project also worked in northern Zambia developing their small scale tilapia hatchery business models and also other associated small scale business start ups across the value chain eg feed, equipment, services, post harvest etc. For more details contact William Leschen at williamleschen@gmail.com
The Sustainable Seafood Consumption Initiative (SSCI) was a collaboration and network of researchers and professionals interested in promoting sustainable seafood consumption across the globe. The initiative aimed to produce high-quality research that can be used by policy-makers when developing sustainable food security strategies, and create interdisciplinary and cross cultural connections to further understand the important issues around sustainable seafood consumption, worldwide.
The SSCI was formed in early 2018 to identify research and information-sharing priorities. An event supported by the University of Stirling and the BBSRC/NERC ARCH UK programme attracted over 50 individuals drawn from a wide range of disciplines and countries, including five fish-dependent LMIC in Asia (Bangladesh and Cambodia) and Africa (Ghana, Malawi and Zambia). Self-funded researchers from a range of OECD countries also participated to share their knowledge and commit to further collaboration, including the production of a scoping review of publications around seafood consumption in relation to food security.
Learn more about the project on our website.
AQUAEXCEL2020 was an EU Horizon 2020 project which linked the leading European aquaculture research infrastructures and makes them more accessible for SMEs and other researchers from both within and outside Europe to conduct experimental work that is relevant to the continued development of sustainable aquaculture. The Institute of Aquaculture was involved in several aspects of the project, including the development and maintenance of isogenic fish lines and better definition of humane end points for experimental work. Members were involved in managing the programme of transnational access to the 39 research installations participating in the project. This project has now been continued as AQUAEXCEL3.0
For more information see http://www.aquaexcel.eu
TAPAS (Tools for Assessment and Planning of Aquaculture Sustainability) was an EU Horizon 2020 large collaborative research project. It was coordinated by Prof Trevor Telfer and the project team of Dr Lynne Falconer, Mr Ainars Blaudums, and two PhD students (Mr Akpo Ekpeki and Mr Tasos Baltadakis). The four year project, which started in March 2016, had 15 academic and SME partners from 9 European countries. It aimed to consolidate the environmental sustainability of European aquaculture by developing modelling tools, approaches and frameworks to aid more efficient aquaculture licensing through effective use of physical-ecological-production-social carrying capacity.
The project outcomes will support EU Member States in establishing a coherent and efficient regulatory framework to implement Strategic Guidelines for the sustainable development of European aquaculture, supported by a computer-based decision framework (the TAPAS-Smart Decision Support Toolbox) for sustainable growth into the future.
For more information see: www.tapas-h2020.eu
Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/tapas_h2020
ClimeFish was a four year EU Horizon 2020 large collaborative project which began in April 2016, and was coordinated by the University of Tromso. The aim was to develop production scenario forecasts to serve as input to socio-economic analysis to identify risks and opportunities within fisheries and aquaculture related to climate change. The underlying biological forecasting models were based upon single species distribution and production, and multispecies interactions. Strategies to mitigate risk and utilize opportunities were identified in collaboration with stakeholders, which can be used to improve long term production planning and policymaking. The project addressed three production sectors: marine aquaculture, marine fisheries and lake and pond production, including 16 case studies and involving more than 25 species. The output of the project was the ClimeFish Decision Support Framework, containing guidelines, databases and the ClimeFish Decision Support System. The Stirling team of Prof. Trevor Telfer (PI), Dr Lynne Falconer and Dr Bruce McAdam developed production forecast models for farmed salmon, mussels and oysters, and coordinated a shellfish production case study.
For more information see: climefish.eu
EURASTIP was a three year EU Horizon 2020 project which started in January 2017 and was coordinated by Ghent University. The full title was "Promoting Multi-Stakeholder Contributions to International Cooperation on Sustainable Solutions for Aquaculture Development in South-East Asia." The project evaluated and prepared for the launch of an international multi-stakeholder platform (MSP), to provide a new mechanism to create and reinforce international cooperation on sustainable aquaculture between Europe and South-East Asia focusing on actions that provide mutual benefit to both regions. The Sustainable Aquaculture Research Group (SARG) at the Institute of Aquaculture led activities that developed and support 3 National Pilot multi-stakeholder Platforms (NPPs) in major aquaculture producing countries (Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh) and developed road-map models for others in the region, providing the foundation for an international MSP. These activities helped develop and reinforce the networking needed for the promotion of Business to Business Partnerships, using European and SE Asian networks and also helped strengthen cooperation with research, regulatory and other sector participants. SARG will also be also contributed to activities that reinforced professional skills and competences in industry and research, using European and SE Asian education networks, industrial apprenticeship opportunities and Open Educational Resources. Other workpackages in the project helped identify and address common standards for aquaculture site planning, animal health, food product safety and farm governance, supporting sustainable aquaculture development. The project produced a range of vision documents, strategic research and innovation agendas (SRIAs), priorities and proposed actions; these should in turn help influence national and regional policies, leading to reinforced long-term international cooperation efforts and opportunities.
For more information see http://www.eurastip.eu
SNIPH was a BBSRC/DFID inter-disciplinary funded collaborative research project investigating development of alternative sustainable fish feeds to promote human health using novel non-conventional indigenous ingredients affectionately termed Sustainable New Ingredients to Promote Heath (SNIPH). The ultimate aim of SNIPH was to improve the Omega-3 status of farmed carp and tilapia in India, Kenya and Tanzania for the benefit of local populations by identifying indigenous, non-conventional feed ingredients. In this context, the project aimed to assess the feasibility and potential of a range of local materials including macrophytes (freshwater plants), macroalgae (seaweeds) and microbes as ingredients for fish feeds. Selected novel ingredients were then tested in feeding studies for ability to support growth, development and health of farmed fish and, above all, to enhance nutritional quality through enhanced Omega-3 content. For further details see project website or contact Professor Douglas Tocher d.r.tocher@stir.ac.uk
Zambia - Curriculum Upgrade at Vocational Training Institutes - 8 month NORAD funded project worked with WFC Zambia to upgrade and improve aquaculture curricula at NRDC and Kasaka Colleges respectively. Partners include Pisces Learning and Imani Development. The project also developed the colleges links with growing private sector in Zambia with fit for purpose student job placement scheme. For more details contact William Leschen at williamleschen@gmail.com
The group lead a short research project for the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum (SARF) on "Closed containment sea pen production for some life stages of salmonids." This was carried out in conjunction with commercial partners to investigate the feasibility of using closed-containment systems during the early grow-out period of the rearing of salmon and trout in sea water. The rationale is to protect the fish from infection by sea lice and hence reduce the impact of the parasite on welfare and production economics. The Final Report is available on the SARF Website and shows the technology is developing rapidly but would increase the cost of production slightly. An associated benefit of capturing waste solids is also considered in some detail.
The Darwin Sherbro Oyster Project, funded through the Darwin Initiative (2014-2019) worked with remote communities in the Sherbro River Estuary in Southern Province, Sierra Leone to offer sustainable income for local women through the culture, processing and marketing of native mangrove oysters.
Mangroves here remain in relatively good condition. Mangroves act as a nurseries for many of fish and shellfish species and, as one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on the planet mitigate climate change. In 2012, the Sherbro Estuary was designated a “Marine Protected Area” (MPA). Promotion of environmental stewardship by decentralised local management committees relies on development viable alternative livelihood options to offset MPA restrictions on harvesting of aquatic resources. To address this challenge, the project brought together experts in social and environmental sciences, food technology and marketing from the Institute and partner Sierra Leone institutions Freetown and Njala Universities.
Working closely with female oyster gatherers, the project explored collective ways to increase the value and profitability of their products which could in turn incentivise environmental stewardship. Remoteness and limited mobility result in value-chains are short and unspecialised. Producers, mainly women, harvest, process and stockpile sacks of smoked oysters for wholesale at the nearest mainland weekly market (‘lumi’) for modest gain. The project has supported a Sherbro Women's Oyster Marketing Association (SWOMA) to develop and retail more profitable smoked oyster snacks tailored to requirements of strategic (less price-sensitive) inland markets. The project is also raising harvester awareness of the adverse effects of cutting roots on which the oysters grow and helping create a brand that rewards more prudent management and fuel-efficient processing. The 'Sherbro brand' is being promoted through local radio and annual ‘Bonthe Oyster Festivals’ staged in the district capital. UK commercial partner, the Whitstable Oyster Company, has committed funding to sustain the marketing cooperative, including staging a further five annual Bonthe Oyster Festivals. A report on the most recent mission covered on BBC Worlds ‘Focus on Africa’ program is available here.
We welcome any donations to support this on-going initiative through the following link: https://www.whitstable.rocks/sierra-leone/
Rapidly growing demand for seafood products for domestic and export markets is driving intensification of aquaculture sectors still dominated by small-holders in much of Asia and Africa. Ensuring effective health management has become the single most important challenge for sustainable intensification of the smallholder sector just as restrictions on antibiotic use are being imposed. Farmers are increasingly dependent on a proliferating range of prophylactic products (including pre and probiotics), often of uncertain provenance & efficacy. Furthermore, the emergent markets for these products lack appropriate regulatory frameworks and the economic burden of unjustified claims is likely to fall most heavily on small-holders. An independent cost-benefit assessment of the efficacy, costs and benefits of such products is urgently required. Working across a range of major commodity farmed species and system types, the project also assessed the potential for novel low-cost alternatives to contribute to improved animal health and profitability of intensified smallholder operations.
This is a BBSRC Newton Funded project led by the University of Stirling with the following partners: the Quadram Institute, the John Innes Centre, the Royal Veterinary College, the University of St Andrews and the University of Liverpool (UK); Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Cochin University of Science & Technology (CUSAT) and Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) (India); Bangladesh Agricultural University and WorldFish Bangladesh (Bangladesh) and Machakos University and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (Kenya). It started in April 2016 and ended in March 2019.
You can read more about the IMAQulate project on Facebook and Twitter.
Fostering growth in the Blue Economy by developing an action plan for Innovative European Aquaculture VET and harmonised qualifications (BlueEDU) was an EU Erasmus+ Sector Skills Alliance. The BlueEDU partnership, led by NTNU (Norway) and involving the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP), The University of Stirling, Guri Kunna Upper Secondary School (Norway), and Pisces Learning Innovations Ltd (UK), was established in response to growing concerns about the difficulties many European fish producers face when trying to recruit qualified staff with up to date aquaculture knowledge and skills. The skills needs and future demand for education and training were investigated for cage farming operatives (husbandry and supervisor). The application of new learning and communication technologies that can improve the quality and accessibility of education and training for remote work based learners, was also explored. The supply of ‘formal’ aquaculture education and training by the public sector and private trainers was evaluated alongside the un-certificated short courses and in-company provision which serve such a valuable role. The BlueEDU partners believe that a new working relationship between the education and training sector and industry can be catalysed, leading to a more responsive aquaculture education and training system in Europe.
For more information, reports and videos see www.blueedu.eu
PrimeFish (EU Horizon 2020) - The overall objective of PrimeFish was to enhance the economic sustainability and competitiveness of European fisheries and aquaculture sectors. The project studied and analysed the European seafood market in general and five specific seafood supply-chains in particular; cod, herring, trout, seabass, seabream and salmon. The main aim was to develop simulation / forecasting models for analysing changes in competitiveness, prediction of instability of demand and supply including that of warning signs for “boom and bust” cycles and for indication of potential for product innovation success. Stirling workpackage 3 on value chain analysis.
For more information and final reports see http://www.primefish.eu
BOLTI EGYPT: Behavioural prophylaxis informing improved culture system design and management for enhanced fish health and sustainable intensification of the Egyptian tilapia industry
This was a Newton Institutional Link Project coordinated by researchers from Stirling University (David C Little, Sonia Rey Planellas, Simon Mackenzie and William Leschen) and Kafrelsheikh University (Wael Eltras and Mahmoud Eltholth) in collaboration with Europharma UK, WorldFish Centre Egypt and Egyptian Union of Fishermen Cooperatives
Egypt is the second largest tilapia producer globally providing affordable protein for millions of low income Egyptians based on using low cost earth pond systems. The sustainable intensification of the industry is dependent on the maintenance of fish health but growing mortalities believed to be related to common pathogens are becoming a challenge. Lab-based research has shown that tilapias challenged by common pathogens are capable of improving their immune response and survival if they can select an optimal temperature regime (behavioural prophylaxis). The aim of this project was to assess how modifications in pond system design and management that improve water quality and allow behavioural adaptation by fish can enhance health outcomes.
For more information see: https://sites.google.com/view/egyptian-bolti/home
The Systems Group was a key partner in an EU 7th Framework Research Programme, PROteINSECT which facilitated the exploitation of insects as an alternative protein source for animal and human nutrition. Working with international partners, we developed innovativeinsect production systems in Ghana to produce two types of insect larvae (Domestic housefly and Black Soldier Fly) that can be used as feed ingredients in both ICPC and European aquaculture. The project successfully tested the insect larvae meal as ingredients within feeds for juvenile salmon and tilapia. Further information at http://www.proteinsect.eu
The INSPIRE (International Strategic Partnerships in Research and Education) programme was funded through the University Grants Council through the British Council with the aim of fostering enduring research and teaching partnerships between UK and developing-country HEI partners.
Our INSPIRE project ‘SALTIRE’ was based on a partnership between SARG (PI Dr. Francis Murray) and Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU: PI Abdullah Al Mamun), a young university recently established in southern Bangladesh. SALTIRE was one of only four of 23 INSPIRE funded-projects extended into a third-year of operation to March 2017. Over this period we have partnered 4 of our MSc Aquaculture students with 7 NSTU student counterparts to carry-out field-based research on a range of topics linked to coastal aquaculture.
A key theme was to understand the resilience of shrimp and prawn farmers to changing salinity patterns along a shifting ‘ inter-saline-freshwater convergence zone’ (ICZ) located within an extensive polderised estuarine flood-plain; first detected in an earlier UoS lead project SEAT
The ICZ phenomena has provided us with a living ‘socio-physical laboratory’ to study salinization affects linked to natural and anthropogenic salinization influence in real-time. Prof. Dave Little and Dr. Francis Murray also visited NSTU to support capacity building; contributing to the further development of staff, their professional skills and international research competencies.
Health & Welfare of Lumpfish in Hatchery Production and Deployed in Scottish Salmon Cages. This 2-year SAIC funded project focused upon one of the cleaner fish species used for salmon delousing at Scottish sea farms. The Sustainable Aquaculture group provided expertise in modelling growth, mortality, welfare indicators and other life history processes for cohorts of lumpfish under different hatchery and deployment protocols to provide information for improving health and welfare of both the lumpfish and salmon in production. Further information at https://www.stir.ac.uk/research/hub/contract/417968
AQUACULTURE CARRYING CAPACITY AND WATER QUALITY IN INDONESIAN LAKES AND RESERVOIRS - This project looked at four lakes in Indonesia to examine the country’s aquaculture industry and how to mitigate the harming effects of waste materials. Primary objectives of the project were the estimation of the lakes' carrying capacity for aquaculture through the application of simple-mass balance models, and human resource and capacity building by bring together leading aquaculture scientists from the U.S., the U.K. and Indonesia to conduct teaching, research, and outreach in support of sustainable development of Indonesia’s aquaculture industry. Partnering institutions were Rhode Island University (U.S.), University of Stirling, Bogor Agricultural University (Indonesia) and Surya University (Indonesia). The project was funded by the U.S. Department of State.
Sustaining Ethical Aquaculture Trade (SEAT) (EU FP7): "Trade in aquatic products is the largest global food sector, by value, and Asia represents the main external source of aquatic products into the EU. Current EU policy supporting international trade between Asia and Europe concentrates on issues of food safety as measures of quality, whilst market-forces drive development of standards and labels that identify social and environmental parameters. This project developed an evidence-based framework to support current stakeholder dialogues organised by a third party certifier which contributes to harmonising standards, helping consumers to make fully informed choices with regards to the sustainability and safety of their seafood. An ‘Ethical Aquatic Food Index’, a qualitative holistic measure of overall sustainability to support consumers’ purchasing decisions, was developed based on detailed research centred around a Life Cycle Assessment of current processes involved in ensuring aquatic products reach consumers, aligned with analyses from the sustainable livelihoods approach and systems thinking. SMEs based in the EU participated in this project, particularly the action research phase, enhancing their relative competitiveness. By strengthening the knowledge base surrounding EU-Asia seafood trade the project provided the evidence required to support further expansion whilst ensuring a fair deal for producers who are meeting appropriate social and environmental goals and offering a safe and sustainable product for consumers. The sectors covered represent the main aquaculture products reaching EU markets; tilapia, catfish, shrimps and prawns. Case study stakeholders included SMEs in Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Vietnam where sustainability is essential in the face of rapid growth.
Sustainable Aquaculture Research Networks In Sub-Saharan Africa (SARNISSA) EU FP7 2008-2011 - ongoing. SARNISSA www.sarnissa.org was developed to provide a comprehensive online repository of information and also interactive vehicle for individuals working in African aquaculture development to communicate and share information and contacts, often leading towards mutually beneficial collaborations. The network has continued to grow and flourish post EU funding into an internationally renowned, self sustaining network with, by November 2015, over 2700 members from across all sectors of African aquaculture. For daily updated news and information on African aquaculture Follow the SARNISSA Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/sarnissaafrica/?fref=ts . To Register for the SARNISSA English and French language African aquaculture Email fora Register at www.sarnissa.org