Sustainable development was the dominant phrase coming out in discussions held about the future of marine finfish farming in Scotland during the British Marine Finfish Association annual general meeting held in Inverary this week.

Gathered together along with industry members were stakeholders in the marine environment, invited to give comment on this exciting new development in Scottish aquaculture.

Richard Slaski, executive director put forward his vision for the industry which includes a production of 25,000 tonnes of cod, 5,000 of haddock and 10,000 to halibut per annum by the year 2010, bringing with it 600 new direct jobs and up to 2000 indirect jobs and a first sale value of £100m.

Councillor Campbell Cameron from Argyll and Bute Council was extremely pleased to hear about the prospect of new jobs for the area and said the Council was very optimistic about marine finfish farming and the positive aspects it could bring to the Argyll area.

"The BMFA is talking about a significant number of jobs here and that is good for the local economy. We see a lot more positives than negatives in aquaculture and as local authorities we want to work alongside the Scottish Executive to make sure a sustainable industry develops that brings jobs to the area and helps the Scottish economy generally," commented the Councillor.

David Wyman of the Scottish Executive Environmental and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) emphasised the Executive's support for new species development in aquaculture and wished the BMFA well. "We are behind the industry and hope it succeeds in developing in a sustainable way."

Sustainability was the key word mentioned by all stakeholders and the Association is acutely aware of the fact that for the industry to be truly successful it must also be sustainable. This is why it is helping to fund a whole series of research and development work into all aspects of marine finfish farming.

Richard Slaski commented that the vision he forsees is a powerful one - good for the economy and for the local area. He is hugely optimistic and it seems that the stakeholders are also behind the development of a sustainable marine finfish farming industry.