The ASSG seeks to engage, encourage and support the research community having interests associated with bivalve shellfish and their natural environment, cultivation, consumption or social / economic significance.
In conjunction with the annual ASSG conference an Early Career Researchers (ECR) workshop was established in 2024 and continued in 2025. Run by the Roslin Institute of the University of Edinburgh the events brought together researchers from a range of disciplines and institutes both from within the UK and further afield.
In 2024 the Fishmongers' Company's Fisheries Charitable Trust supported a competition whereby individuals were encouraged to form teams and submit proposals for short term research projects. The emphasis was to enable early career researchers in various institutes to combine their skills and undertake research of relevance to the Scottish shellfish cultivation industry.
The call for proposals resulted in 3 separate projects receiving seed funding each judged to be of significant interest and importance to the Scottish shellfish cultivation sector. These were;
Coastal Local Observations Connection Hub (C-LOCH)
How environmental data could be cost effectively collected at shellfish cultivation sites and made open access for research and information purposes
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From Sea to Screen - An analysis of shellfish and tinned fish videos on TikTok
How social media represents seafood and shellfish consumption and the trends emerging
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Trends in Scottish Blue Mussel Spat Settlement for Aquaculture
Seeking to establish a standardised reporting system for natural recruitment at farm sites and the ability to forecast future occurrences
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It is clear that both the breath and depth of research expertise which currently exists within marine institutes and the university network coupled with personal interests and commitment to the shellfish sector should stand the industry in good stead in the coming years as researchers progress their careers.
Further ECR workshops are planned to accompany the annual ASSG Oban conference.
Membership of the ASSG offers numerous benefits to shellfish growers and those in allied sectors. Join now and support the industry.
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