There are several species of marine fish that are suitable for cultivation in UK waters.

Cod

· With the decline of natural cod stocks and a large and stable market for cod in the UK, there has been increasing interest in the cultivation of cod, both for stock enhancement and commercial aquaculture.

· A successful three-year pilot project by Seafish, with funding from Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Marks & Spencer plc and others, resulted in the first 10 tonnes of UK farmed cod going on sale in January 2000.

· With the successful opening of commercial cod hatcheries in the UK, cod farming is now a commercial enterprise in the UK.

· Farmed cod, rather than competing with locally caught fish, could potentially replace imported cod, which currently stands at around 60 per cent of the cod sold in the UK.

· Unlike halibut, cod broodstock will spawn spontaneously in captivity and fertilisation rates are relatively high. There is also a high post-hatch survival rate.

· Recent research has shown that continuous light can delay sexual maturation and improve growth, making the utilisation of photoperiod manipulation a viable option.

· To be economically viable, cod farming will have to be market-led and sustainable. Positive aspects include the low requirement for fish oil (only a third that used for salmon) and the fact that cod do not get the salmon louse.

Haddock

· As wild haddock stocks continue to decline, there continues to be a strong market demand for large (>1.5kg) haddock, but very few fish of this size are now caught in the North Sea.

· As a result, more haddock fillets are being imported from Iceland and Norway, but this means the UK fish processing businesses which depend on haddock are losing out.

· As the market price continues to rise, the development of haddock farming becomes more pressing. On the back of the successful cod farming project, run by Seafish, a similar initiative has therefore been developed.

· The aim of the project, with funding from Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Marks & Spencer plc and others including feed company, Ewos, is to develop economically viable and environmental sustainable, cultivation techniques for haddock, delivering 50 tonnes of cultivated haddock for market trials.

· A critical outcome of the project will be an appraisal of the market prospects and potential commercial viability of haddock farming.

· Haddock grow relatively fast up to around 600g and the first harvest of fish from the first year of the project was achieved at the end of 2002.

· Broodstock management, egg incubation and dietary requirements, which are relatively unknown, are all being addressed. The acceptance of inert diets by haddock fry is seen as one of the significant hurdles to a viable hatchery production.

· Indications are that there is a god potential for the viable development of farmed haddock production in the UK over the next few years. This will give the UK aquaculture industry another species in which to diversify as well as producing a product for UK processors of consistent quality, size and price.

Halibut

· Halibut is a high value commercial fish, which is now landed in only very limited quantities by the UK commercial fishing fleet due to the scarcity of the fish. It is much sought after by the top-end of the consumer market.

· In 1983, halibut was identified as the best prospect for diversification by salmon farmers. Breeding trials by Seafish Aquaculture produced the first UK reared halibut juveniles in 1987.

· The British Marine Finfish Association, in collaboration with partners Seafish Aquaculture, University of Glasgow, and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), is in the final year of a three-year project investigating rearing protocols for Atlantic halibut larvae.

· The project, funded by LINK Aquaculture, concentrates on the transition between endogenous (yolk-sac) and exogenous feeding feeding. This critical period is a time of high mortality and a major bottleneck to commercial production of the species.

· Current production is small but it is envisaged that around 10,000 tonnes of halibut will be harvested each year by 2012.

Several other species also have good potential in the UK, particularly turbot farming in England and Wales. Fish such as lemon sole are also being investigated.