Friday, March 7, 2014

07/03/14: Aquaculture Under The Conference - Spotlight at Oceanology International 2014.

English: St Paul's Cathedral and the remaining...
English: St Paul's Cathedral and the remaining tower of St Augustine, Watling Street, which was otherwise destroyed during World War 2. This is a HDR panoramic stitch, comprising 60 frames (3 exposures * 20 segments). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
For the first time a full day’s discussion on aquaculture features at Oceanology International, the world's largest exhibition for marine science and technology taking place Tuesday 11 - Thursday 13 March 2014 at London’s ExCeL. This reflects the growing importance of this industry in the marine environment and heralds opportunities for technology transfer.

Chaired by Dr Neil Auchterlonie as Programme Director Aquaculture and Food Security, Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, a role developing science and providing technical advice to Defra, and Professor Peter Davies of the Department of Civil Engineering, Dundee University with interests in fluid mechanics in relation to aquaculture systems, the aquaculture ‘panel discussion’ session takes place on Wednesday 12 March, and, like all the component parts of Oceanology International, is free to attend.

Looking forward to Oceanology International, the Co-Chairs say: “This is enormously exciting, and reflects aquaculture’s position as the fastest growing protein sector with an average annual growth rate of 6.9% globally, according to the FAO. Other strategic initiatives for aquaculture development have been developed, or are developing, at the EU level, and within the UK, where the sector is well placed to support domestic food production and rural development agenda.

“This inaugural OI session will be focused on promoting collaboration between academia, aquaculture industry, and other marine industry, in areas where there are opportunities for technology transfer. As a relatively young industry, we see that there are likely to be some advances to be made in aquaculture through the adoption of some of the technology from other marine industry, rather than develop industry-specific solutions to some of the issues that are faced.

“We have specifically highlighted the subjects of remote sensing and the environment, engineering and operations, and modelling and planning as the most important areas to be investigated in relation to technology transfer in this first session. This presents opportunities not only for the aquaculture sector itself, but also for the marine industry that has the opportunity to enter into the new markets associated with aquaculture development.”

A Steering Committee of six technical and scientific experts has guided the subject areas of the OI 2014 Aquaculture session, in addition to Dr Auchterlonie and Professor Davies they are:
  • Alex Adrian, Aquaculture Officer for The Crown Estate, reflecting TCE’s aquaculture business interests around the UK in relation to finfish, shellfish and macroalgae
  • Dr Kenneth Black of the Scottish Association for Marine Science, a researcher in marine science with particular expertise on the environmental impact of aquaculture
  • Dr Mark James of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology in Scotland, covering strategic interests related to the commissioning of science and technical advice on aquaculture 
  • Prof Jimmy Turnbull of the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, a veterinarian with expertise on health and welfare of farmed aquatic animals

The programme for the day is far ranging and includes a session covering the current status of the aquaculture industry, aspirations and challenges and includes the following presentations:

  • Fish Farming: More than Just Salmon, Tom Pickerell, Seafish
  •  Aquaculture Risks - Constraints to Future Expansion, Dan Fairweather, Willis Aquaculture
  • Scope & prospects for growth of UK aquaculture: A Crown Estate perspective, Alex Adrian, The Crown Estate
A series of short 1-hour sessions, including both presentations and discussion follows covering the areas of aquaculture in oceanic environments (including engineering, mooring, operations, and how these are carried out in harsh environments); automated activities and remote sensing (will include real-time data capture, video-imaging, health and welfare monitoring); the location of aquaculture operations with other marine industry (e.g. wind farms); and water treatment and processing (filtration in recirculation systems, wellboat technology and live transport). The full programme together with details on confirmed speakers from the UK and overseas is available on the OI 2014 website.

Also on the conference scene
Ocean science and technology lie at the very heart of OI 2014, with the conference programme picking up on each major technology strand featured in the exhibition. As well as the traditional areas – ocean observing systems, hydrography, geophysics, and site investigation; and dealing with UUV development, there are two new conference programmes this year – underwater positioning and metrology; and underwater communications.

Oil & gas ‘Operating in Extreme Environments’; marine renewables; and maritime security also come under the conference spotlight. In addition to aquaculture, the new topical panel discussions looking at areas which are creating a growing demand for marine science and technology also cover ballast water, and subsea mining.

Aquaculture in the Exhibition

Established in 1969, Oceanology International attracts those involved with all aspects of marine science and technology from all over the globe – total attendance was 7,669 in 2012. The exhibition this year is the largest ever with the 520 exhibiting companies from over 35 countries taking an additional 10% more space than at the record-breaking 2012 event.

The exhibitor directory on the show’s website at www.oceanologyinternational.com/Exhibitor-Directory/# categorises exhibits with aquaculture firmly on the list.

Visitors can also see an array of vessels dockside, including survey and windfarm support vessels and dockside demonstrations; and there is an expanding programme of associated events run by supporting organisations.

Further information on all aspects of Oceanology International, and free online registration, is at www.oceanologyinternational.com

About Oceanology International
Oceanology International is the global forum where industry, academia and government share knowledge and connect with the marine technology and ocean science community, improving their strategies for measuring, exploiting, protecting and operating in the world’s oceans. Established in 1969, Oceanology International features the world’s largest exhibition for marine science and technology, multiple agenda-setting technical conferences, and a visiting vessels and waterside demonstration programme.

The Oceanology International portfolio includes
Oceanology International China 2013 (held 3-5 September 2013, INTEX Shanghai, China): this launch event was developed with the local government and industry associations and provided organisations with the opportunity to capitalise on China’s rapidly growing offshore energy and marine industries. The next Oceanology International China event will take place 3-5 September 2014 in Shanghai. For more details: www.oichina.com.cn/en

Oceanology International 2014 (11-13 March 2014, ExCeL London, UK): Over 550 international exhibitors and 8,000 attendees are expected to take part in this global forum. Eight one-day conferences and three panel discussion on key industry topics will take place during the three days of the show, as well as waterside demonstrations. For more details: www.oceanologyinternational.com

Spillex
(11-13 March 2014, ExCeL London, UK): Spillex is a dedicated area inside the Oceanology International 2014 exhibition hall and features the latest technology and service solutions for assessing the potential of spill related impacts, mitigating against and, if necessary, responding to them. For more details: www.oceanologyinternational.com/Spillex/

Catch the Next Wave conference (10 March 2014, London): at this international conference, now in its second year, global experts will speak about disruptive technologies and where they are emerging in the marine sector. The first Houston-based Catch the Next Wave conference will be held in Autumn 2014. For more details: www.ctnwconference.com

Oceansp@ce: Oceansp@ce is an online and free-of-charge resource which delivers hand-picked news from the world to the marine science and ocean technology community. For more details: www.oceanspacenews.com
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