Chairmans Report for 2010

Another year gone, and it’s conference and AGM time again. I am obviously getting pretty old, because it has passed very quickly. So, now I have to do one of my least favourite jobs, which is trying to summarise all that has happened in the last twelve months in this report.

The most significant difference in this period has been the ability to engage much more with stakeholders and regulators, as part of the projects that we received funding for through EFF. The platform for much of this has been via the various aquaculture forums established by the Scottish Government as part of the programme known as “A Fresh Start: The renewed strategic framework for Scottish aquaculture”. This whole process has been supported by all levels of Scottish Government, including Ministers. There is a real desire to see our industry flourish, which is really very encouraging. The report commissioned to look at the prospects and opportunities for shellfish farming is a sign of this support, as is the amount of EFF grant money that has been awarded to the shellfish sector in the recent awards.

Formalising our relationship with the Shellfish Association of Great Britain is another high point of the past year. We can now share workloads and information to our mutual benefit. This is particularly useful to us in Scotland, as we are not a Member State of the EU, and in the past have had limited ability to influence decision making at a UK level. Leading on from this we now have a UK Aquaculture Forum, which has been very useful, bringing together industry and regulators from all parts of the country, for the first time. I continue to work with the European Mollusc Producers Association, but if I am unable to attend I can give my vote to SAGB. Recently I agreed to sit on the Strategic Co-ordination Group for the Water Framework Directive Implementation Strategy as the European shellfish representative which oversees how member states are fulfilling their obligations under WFD. I have not attended a meeting yet, but feel that this is a very handy table to be sitting round, if we have any concerns regarding water quality.

Our own Shellfish Forum has been particularly useful, bringing all regulators and stakeholders round the table for the first time. We will be meeting again the day before the conference, so I will be able to update you on progress at the AGM.

I have been able to assist members with various problems over the year, mainly water quality and planning issues. As I have said many times, I can only address your concerns if I am aware of them, so please keep me updated as to your current challenges.

One problem I have is that I am often asked by Local Authorities and Government what the aspirations of our sector are, and I find that very difficult. There is no point in making planning applications easier, and generally trying to remove barriers to growth if there is no hunger for it. I really need you to help me with gaining an understanding of where you would like our industry to be in ten years time. Are there other obstacles than the ones I am currently working on, which are finance, available space, good water quality, less regulation and market growth? If so please make me aware of them.

Another feature of this year has been the amount of consultations I have had to respond to on your behalf. I do hope this will decrease, as it is not a task that I particularly enjoy, but is obviously necessary. There have been positive outcomes as a result of past work, so it is not something I can neglect.

The most challenging issue for our Association going forward has to be finance. The EFF award I mentioned earlier has helped in the short term, but is not something we can rely on for the future. Involvement in projects such as SPIES-DETOX and MUSSELSALIVE bring in a little money, but not without an attached workload. What are we to do when the EFF money runs out? Is the shellfish industry willing to fund a trade association or not? Is there anything else we can do to raise funds? I certainly cannot answer the second question on your behalf. I do hope you will attend the AGM and we can have a discussion about it. One option to consider is to revert back to a subscription based on size of company, but would the larger members be comfortable with that? What about a levy?

Still on finance, I hope we have a good turnout at our conference this year, to ensure costs are covered. We have lost our sponsorship income from both Highland and Argyll and Bute Councils due to the current economic situation, and whilst SNH have kindly sponsored us again this year, there is no certainty about that being the case for next year. I can explore other funding options, but it is not going to be easy. The best way would be to attract more delegates without increasing costs, but I need input from members as to how that can be achieved.

I would like to thank the Management Committee for their support over the last year, Janet Brown for editing the Grower, Tristan for all his work looking after our website, as well as everyone at the SG Aquaculture division. Roger Thwaites is standing down from the management committee, so nominations are needed; we have two places to fill. To date I have one nomination, Philippe Heiniger from Celtic Sea.

Look forward to seeing you at the conference and AGM.

Best wishes, Walter Speirs
29th October 2010