The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Fish Veterinary Society (FVS) have welcomed the Scottish Government’s launch today (Wednesday 23 May) of the 10 Year Farmed Fish Health Framework.
The new framework sets out workstreams and activities for delivering improvements across a range of areas including information flow, gill health, licensing and climate change. It was launched this morning by Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, on the opening day of the UK Aquaculture Conference in Aviemore.
Melissa Donald, BVA Scottish Branch President, said: “This framework is a welcome and wide-ranging piece of work, which has been produced in collaboration with organisations that have a deep-seated understanding of the aquaculture industry in Scotland and the challenges and opportunities it faces.
“By coordinating this framework, the Scottish Government is signalling that it recognises that optimising fish health and welfare is vital to the aquaculture industry’s continued success and future growth.”
Matthijs Metselaar, FVS President, said: “Aquaculture is a major Scottish success story and makes a substantial contribution as a building block of the country’s economy.
“FVS played a key role in producing this framework, which sets out clear recommendations for how government and industry can work together to ensure that the aquaculture sector is sustainable and thriving over the next decade. Vets have an integral part to play in ensuring that high standards of fish health and welfare continue to be embedded at all stages of the supply chain.”