St Andrews chosen to host Responsible Seafood Summit

St Andrews has been chosen to host the Responsible Seafood Summit – the largest international seafood summit of its kind - in early October next year.

Scotland was announced as the 2024 host country earlier this year, but the venue had not been finalised. More than 400 delegates are expected to attend the event, which will be held at the Fairmont Hotel, outside St Andrews.

The summit will be co-hosted by trade marketing body Seafood Scotland and summit organiser Global Seafood Alliance. The multi-day event will include a conference with international speakers focusing on production, sustainability, innovation, and market trends, as well as the opportunity for delegates to go on excursions to meet the people who work in the seafood industry and see its products.

The Scottish Government’s Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon, whose portfolio includes aquaculture, said: “I am proud that Scotland will be hosting attendees from across the sector in St Andrews next year. The summit provides a platform for the world’s seafood thought leaders to share knowledge and ideas and to participate in developing a healthy, responsible, global seafood community.

Celebration of Scottish seafood

“The Scottish Government published our Strategy for Seafood in October as a key component of the Blue Economy Vision, which sets an ambition for Scotland to be a global leader in providing healthy, high quality and sustainably produced and harvested ‘blue foods’ for consumption at home and abroad.

“I want to thank Seafood Scotland for their hard work with the Global Seafood Alliance on this, which will be fantastic celebration of our premium seafood on a global stage.”

Donna Fordyce, chief executive of marketing organisation Seafood Scotland, said St Andrews was chosen because of unrivalled facilities for visitors, and in recognition of its fishing communities around its beautiful coastline.

She added: “Scotland is one of the world’s most trusted seafood producing countries thanks to our investment in quality, innovation and sustainability.

“We produce over 60 species of seafood and export to over 120 countries globally. Our industry spans world-class fish markets and expert processors to stunning sea loch farms and hand dived shellfish. We will be ensuring our guests have an opportunity to experience the unrivalled seafood, latest innovations, and sustainable best practice we can offer from Scotland.”

Thrilled to return to Europe

Wally Stevens, interim chief executive of the Global Seafood Alliance, said: “Scottish seafood is highly prized in many key markets around the world and, having visited Scotland earlier this year, we already know that St Andrews is a prime location for the 2024 summit.

“Having spent the first two years post-pandemic in North America, we’re thrilled to be returning to Europe for our annual headline event and we’re expecting delegates from every corner of the globe to be in St Andrews, particularly now that Asia has fully opened up.”

The announcement, which was made at the world’s biggest seafood trade show, Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, comes against a background of uncertainty for Scottish seafood producers caused by Scottish government proposals to ban fishing and any form of aquaculture from at least 10% of the nation’s seas.

The proposal for Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) results from the Bute House Agreement between the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Green Party. The agreement gives the Greens an input into policy making in return for supporting the SNP in parliamentary votes.