Aquaculture in the Shetland Isles

A student from Shetland has created a video highlighting the opportunities available in the islands’ aquaculture industry.

Lori Smith, from Weisdale, is a fourth year student at Robert Gordon University studying towards a BSc Honours Degree in Forensic and Analytical Science. She made the video as part of a summer internship with the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre, which, because of the coronavirus pandemic, was delivered remotely online.

“Our home in Shetland sits right next to the shore, where we can see several mussel and salmon farms along with local creel boats. While growing up, I passed the farms regularly when travelling out the voe on our family boat and I always thought it was really interesting,” she says.

“During my internship I was given the opportunity to plan and execute an individual project. I was incredibly lucky to undertake this internship in Shetland, which enabled me to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities and information available to me on my doorstep. I decided I would create a video which incorporated both the promotion of aquaculture and Shetland since it is such an important industry to our local economy.”

Creating the video was a challenge, particularly with social distancing and other health and safety measures in place, but Lori received the full support of the industry.

“The local companies, namely Grieg Seafood Shetland and Shetland Mussels were extremely helpful in supporting me with my project whilst ensuring Covid-19 regulations,” she says.

Lori hopes the video will highlight to others the breadth of careers available in the aquaculture industry and show what the islands have to offer. The experience has also helped her to think about her own future beyond university.

“This internship has highlighted how many opportunities there are in Shetland within the aquaculture industry. It has shown me that my laboratory skills I have acquired through my degree would be very applicable and the knowledge I have gained from this internship has made me very passionate about the industry.”

Find out more about the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre here: https://www.scottishaquaculture.com/