Aquaculture experts from throughout the UK and further afield will hear from a former governor of Scotland’s largest jail when they gather for their industry’s flagship annual event in Aviemore in May.
Robbie Glen, who was in charge of Barlinnie in the east end of Glasgow for a spell, as well as Castle Huntly Young Offenders Institution near Dundee and Cornton Vale women’s prison in Stirling, is the after-dinner speaker at the Aquaculture UK 2016 Awards gala dinner on Wednesday, May 25.
Now in its 10th year, the Aquaculture UK conference and exhibition are firmly established as a key date in the UK industry’s calendar.
More than 100 exhibitors and about 1,000 visitors from 30 countries are expected to attend this year’s event at Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort on May 25 and 26.
The event offers exhibitors a valuable opportunity to launch new products, meet decision-makers and promote their products and services.
“No other event in the UK provides aquaculture professionals with such direct access to qualified buyers and suppliers from all over the globe representing all aspects of the aquaculture industry,” organiser AquacultureUK says on its website.
According to official Scottish Government figures, Scotland’s aquaculture sector is worth more than £1.75billion to the economy annually and supports about 8,000 jobs across the supply chain.
Scotland’s Aquaculture, a website backed by the government, the Crown Estate, Food Standards Scotland, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and quango Marine Scotland, says the industry helps to underpin sustainable economic growth in rural and coastal communities – particularly in the Highlands and islands, where many people depend on the jobs and revenue it provides.
The sector is dominated by salmon farming, which directly supports an estimated 2,200-plus jobs and thousands more in the supply chain.
Aquaculture UK 2016 dinner guests have been promised some of “dry Scottish wit and natural timing”, thanks to the choice of after-dinner speaker.
The late William Mcllvaney based a short story called The Prisoner, part of his book The Walking Wounded, on Mr Glen after he visited him at Dungavel.
Mr Glen’s time in the hotseat at Barlinnie put him in charge of a prison which has over the years been home to inmates including gangland killer Jimmy Boyle, Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne, footballer Duncan Ferguson, boxer Scott Harrison, Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, Scottish politician Tommy Sheridan and “naked rambler” Stephen Gough.