OFFSHORE fish farming is a major growth area and has been tipped by industry experts as one of the top four trends likely to shape the industry’s future. This dimension will come sharply into focus at Offshore Mariculture 2006, to be held in Malta from October 11-13.

The event will give an international review of developments in the offshore context and relate them to the conditions experienced in European waters. The topic has recently attracted a lot of interest. In 2004 BIM held the Farming the Deep Blue conference in Ireland. It was attended by 250 delegates from 25 countries. Furthermore, there was a great deal of interest in the offshore aquaculture sessions at AQUA 2006 in Florence.

The Offshore Mariculture conference is a three-day event featuring an international two-day conference and exhibition, and a fish farm visit in order to explore the feasibility of farming the oceans beyond the territorial seas.

The conference has an impressive line-up with speakers from Malta, Ireland, the US, South Korea, Canada, the UK, Norway, Brussels, Denmark and Hawaii.

Malta is a particularly apt location for hosting the conference. It is ideally placed as a deep water centre for fish farming in the Mediterranean and balances the need for a clean maritime environment for fish farming with its function as a centre for commercial shipping.

The conference is scheduled to include sessions on topics such as the environmental benefits of offshore mariculture, held by Dr Richard Langan, Director of the Atlantic Marine Aquaculture Centre and the Open Ocean Aquaculture Project; Professor Carmelo Agius who is an International aquaculture consultant will to talk about practical experiences of Mediterranean, North African and Middle East fish farms, International market researcher Edward Garner is to speak about ‘How high quality farmed fish can meet the changing market needs’. In session two, the conference is to hear of the global experiences to date with speakers from among other countries Canada, Norway, Scotland and Malta.

The following day, the third session is scheduled to raise the question of constraints to growth which will identify and examine what is or could be holding back the growth of offshore fish farming.

The EU fisheries commissioner Dr Joe Borg, is to give a speech on EU environmental monitoring protocols, as a speaker from the University of Malta. In the fourth session, Karol Rzepkowski, the Managing Director of Johnson Seafarms in the Shetland Islands is to give a presentation called ‘Green Fish or No Catch – the business case for organic cod farming’.

The conference will also feature a debating session called ‘What is holding us back’?

Chaired by professor Charles E. Helsley, debate themes include: Technology, the Environment, The Market and Socio-Economic Considerations. The last day features technical visits to some of Malta’s offshore fish farms, which are farming tuna, sea bream and sea bass and the visit will also offer lunch at a famous seafood restaurant in a rural setting.

The three-day event is organised by the Society for Underwater Technology, The Greenwich Forum and Conference Business and is supported by the European Commission, the European Aquaculture Society and the Maltese Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment.

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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