UHI launches 'cutting edge' research centre
A fisheries scientist will launch a new research centre in Scalloway today, helping the venue set its sights on innovation and sustainability.
Professor Ray Hilborn, of the School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences at the University of Washington, will unveil the Centre for Sustainable Seafood at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Scalloway campus.
It comes as UHI Shetland seeks to advance the understanding of what sustainability means as it operates in partnership with industry and other stakeholders.
The new centre will draw on strong relationships and collaboration with others operating in the marine environment and their communities.
Using the knowledge and expertise of these partners to co-create research, staff will gather data and inform policy grounded in real-world knowledge and experience.
The centre will also work with industry and stakeholders to develop new educational courses and tools to encourage a wider interest in the seafood sector, and address gaps in skills and knowledge.
Principal of UHI Shetland Jane Lewis said: “The Centre for Sustainable Seafood will be a unique centre that will provide credible, robust, and targeted science, education, and training to meet the needs of a sustainable seafood sector."
Prof. Hilborn is the author of several books and over 200 peer-reviewed articles.
He is noted for his expertise in understanding global fish stocks and in 2016 received the International Fisheries Science Prize.