On the 10th of November the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) held their Annual Science Meeting, where a workshop on Diversity and Inclusivity in Aquaculture was held.

The workshop, organised by Dr Ingrid Kelling from Heriot-Watt University, was attended by representatives from the academic, industry and policy spheres of the Scottish aquaculture industry, and included presentations from Heriot-Watt University, the University of Stirling, Marine Scotland, Scottish Sea Farms and Women in Scottish Aquaculture on how the aquaculture sector is working to improve EDI and the challenges still faced. Members of the IoA’s EDI committee attended and presented on EDI in the science & research context, as well as the wider societal context of aquaculture.

This included discussions on what Equality, Diversity and Inclusion means for the Scottish aquaculture sector, how EDI fits into Scottish policy frameworks relating to aquaculture, how industry is working to improve gender inequality and HR policies, the challenges faced by academia with regards to EDI, and how aquaculture fits into societal dimensions of EDI such as public nutrition and access to food.

The outcomes of the workshop will be used to to develop a recommendation paper, the aim of it being to explain where we are and to set the agenda for future research in Scottish aquaculture’s EDI.