TRAINING
CONTAINMENT SPECIAL
Workshops promote the sharing of best practice
SSPO EVENTS HELP ENSURE SARF FINDINGS ARE FOLLOWED UP A
series of eight workshops promoting the sharing of expertise and knowledge of containment has recently been complet- ed by Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO). A total of 115 people attended the workshops from 19 fish farming companies and related organisations. Held in Argyll & Bute, Highland, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles between July 2010 and January 2011, half of the attendees were managers or senior managers, with a quarter being fish farm workers.
Entitled ‘Best practice on con- tainment - understanding and minimising potential risks’, the workshops presented the find- ings of the recently-completed research study undertaken by Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum (SARF), which reviewed the causes of escape incidents and operating practices and compared the Scottish industry with other countries.
The SARF project included in- depth interviews with representa- tives from nearly every company that had suffered a breach of containment since statutory report- ing began in 2002 and many who have never suffered a loss.
Workshop aims
Organised by the SSPO and delivered by the author of the SARF report, envi- ronmental consultant Mark Taylor of Thistle Environmental, the aim of the workshops was to present and discuss the causes of escape incidents from across Scotland and provide the opportunity for farmers to learn from others in the industry.
FOCUS ON TRAINING 78
Consideration was given to hole in net incidents, cage and mooring problems and a range of other incidents, such as those con- cerned with smolt transfer, screen failure and flooding - each of which included examples from real incidents. Farmers were also updated on the management of predatory wildlife fol- lowing the introduction of new legislation, the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
The half-day event concluded with a work- shop session in which delegates were divided into small groups and asked to discuss a number of questions. These were designed to raise the most important issues and to help facilitate discussion of good practice, as well as focus minds on what more could be done by both companies and individuals.
Workshop feedback
The overwhelming majority of attendees (87%) would probably or definitely recommend the workshop to others. A further 10% would possibly recommend the workshop, giving a recommendation rate of 97%. Training was mentioned as many times as equipment by delegates as the single most important factor in promoting containment of farmed fish. Individual comments included that the event was ‘very informative,’ ‘very interest- ing’ and that ‘all staff should do this.’ Another said that ‘it is very good to have different com- panies, as you learn from each other.’ The short courses followed a previous pro- gramme of five containment workshops run by the SSPO between 2007 and 2008. The latest initiative was part of the work of the Scottish Government’s Improved Containment Work- ing Group (ICWG). The SSPO has committed to developing further workshops and discus- sions are on-going regarding the practicalities of creating a hands-on session which may be rolled out on an industry-wide basis. The salmon industry’s commitment to im- prove its performance on containment is dem- onstrated by its record in 2010. The overall total represents the lowest number of lost fish since statutory reporting began in 2002. The previous lowest total was in 2008.
IT WAS USEFUL
TO LEARN FROM DIFFERENT COMPANIES
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