November 1, 2019

Scotland pledges funding to support aquaculture career opportunities for women

The £20,000 (~US$25,902; £1 = US$1.30) government funding was provided for the Women in Scottish Aquaculture (WiSA) association, which encourages women to enter the aquaculture industry.

Mairi Gougeon, Scotland's minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment presented the investment to WiSA at the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers conference.

WiSA was launched on International Women's Day 2019 after a Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre discussion by 200 people in the industry to promote equality in the aquaculture sector and break down entry barriers for women to move into Scotland's aquaculture industry.

Anyone, regardless of gender, is allowed membership into WiSA as long as potential members are currently studying or employed in Scotland's aquaculture industry. Many aquaculture producers in Scotland have pledged their support to WiSA.

About £30,000 in grants have been provided by the aquaculture industry to WiSA. Funds have been used to help motivate women to enter the aquaculture industry, to provide a supportive network across the aquaculture sector and related academia, as well as support partners to bring out women's potential in aquaculture.

An online platform to support WiSA's growing membership network and a new mentorship programme in collaboration with Skillfluence will be developed using the government grant.

In 2018, 15% of shellfish farm employees and 11% of salmon farm workers were women.