Sibley Media

I will not be attending the Boston show for SENA this year. However, I do plan on attending Aqua Nor in August, and I would love to talk all things aquaculture there. Don't hesitate to reach out for a Teams call in the meantime. I wish I could be at the Boston show next week to connect with everyone who has reached out. Best of luck, and I hope to see you in Trondheim!

200 salmon farms might sound like a lot… but their actual footprint? Tiny. Despite producing Scotland’s most valuable food export, salmon farms take up just 0.002% of the country’s coastal waters—less than half the size of Edinburgh Airport! How is that possible? Because aquaculture farms in three dimensions. A single pen, just 50 meters across, can hold over 40,000 cubic meters of water, with 100 times more water than fish inside. A little space goes a long way in the ocean. Join James as he puts Scottish salmon farming's coastal footprint into perspective.

Fallowing is just as important in aquaculture as it is in traditional agriculture. Just as farmers let soil rest between crops or livestock cycles, salmon farmers leave their pens fallow after harvest to allow the seabed to recover naturally. The seabed, much like soil, is home to bacteria and other organisms that break down organic material, making fallowing a key tool for maintaining a healthy marine environment. In our latest video, James explores the benefits of fallowing in salmon farming and how this practice supports both environmental sustainability and farm maintenance. He insists he's not playing hooky.

The Faroe Islands—never thought I'd find myself here in February. It’s been a stunning week with Mowi, visiting their sites in Oyndarfj?reur, Laxá, and Haldórsvík. Each region of the world has its own unique approach to aquaculture, carefully adapted to local advantages and challenges. Experiencing these firsthand has been eye-opening as I gradually see, learn, and understand more. In time, I’ll put together full videos to showcase Mowi Faroes' impressive operations, but for now, I wanted to share some photos from the week. A few videos won’t be enough to fully capture this place. A huge thank you to everyone who made this visit such a success! More and more aquaculture operations are embracing proactive content, and I’m excited to be part of this critical shift.

Sit back, relax, and get ready to learn about Scottish rope mussel farming! This is a long video, but trust us—it’s worth it. Last month, James spent a week in Shetland exploring the island community’s deep and evolving connection to the sea. From fishing to energy and now aquaculture, Shetlanders have relied on the ocean for thousands of years. After experiencing Lerwick’s Up Helly Aa, James joined Sam Laurenson at Blueshell Mussels, the UK’s largest mussel farming operation. Sam has been working on his father’s farm for 12 years, wearing many hats—but today, he’s the skipper on a harvest. Rope-grown mussels are among the most nutritious proteins available—and one of the easiest to prepare. What really stood out to James was the unparalleled sustainability of this form of aquaculture, which actively enhances the marine environment. Sam’s story reflects both his deep knowledge of mussel farming and his passion for the work. The future of mussel farming will be led by people like Sam. You’ll see exactly what we mean in the video below.

Questions about salmon feed ingredients are consistently among the top five we receive across our channels. As consumer demand for 'natural'-feeling products and processes grows, maintaining food system literacy is more important than ever. If consumer preferences push feed development backward—reducing innovation, sustainability, and nutritional integrity—it could have serious consequences for the farmers, the environment, and consumers themselves. James originally created this video for our audiences outside LinkedIn, but we hope some of you enjoy seeing how we can make feed milling engaging!

Inverlussa Marine Services' hybrid support vessel has been turning heads in Orkney’s harbors and waters recently. The Laurence Knight represents a key step forward in the next generation of aquaculture in Scotland. James joined the Laurence Knight’s skipper, John-Daniel MacMaster, along with Salmon Scotland for a few days of salmon farm work out of Stromness. We had the opportunity to see the latest technology that’s making fish farms even more sustainable and efficient. But this vessel isn’t just hybrid—it’s smart. With a skilled crew, it’s proving that support vessels can cut emissions without compromising adaptability at sea. If you can handle the islands' rough waters, Inverlussa’s next-generation fleet, led by the Laurence Knight, is a must-see. This video was made possible by Mowi Scotland and Salmon Scotland as part of their initiative to increase aquaculture literacy in Scotland and abroad.

Last week, James joined the Scottish Association For Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban to learn about the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP), one of the world's most diverse algae banks. From emerging biotechnologies to marine restoration, and even the future of sustainable foods, algae are shaping our world in surprising ways. CCAP cares for a growing collection of over 3,000 strains of algae from around the world. Here, researchers are discovering how to utilize algae to their full potential, whether it be for emission reductions, improved fertilizers, nanotechnologies, and more. This group also cultivates samples at scale for commercial purposes, providing external partners with the algae they need to keep pushing the boundary. We hope this video sparks your interest in the fascinating world of algae! A huge thanks to Euan Paterson and Pauline Clifford for coordinating this successful visit, to Cecilia Rad Menéndez for enthusiastically taking James through her work at the CCAP, and to Elaine Mitchell for providing electron microscope imagery of coccolithophores.

Welcome to Norway, the salmon capital of the world. ?? ???? At Mowi’s Nordheim hatchery, innovation is transforming aquaculture. Using emerging marine farming technologies, they’re raising salmon to post-smolt size on land, significantly reducing their time at sea. Why is this important? Larger, more resilient fish face fewer environmental risks with less time in open waters, paving the way for a more sustainable future in salmon farming.?Today, follow James as he joins 200,000 post-smolts on their transfer to sea pens off Fr?ya’s coast. It was a long, cold, dark trip, but an incredible adventure nonetheless, and it's exactly the reason James has such a strong passion for aquaculture. A huge thanks to Rebecca W. and Ernst Georg ?kland for organizing this trip, as well as the Nordheim and S?lvtrans crews who enthusiastically taught us about their cutting-edge work. This video was made possible by Mowi as part of their initiative to increase modern aquaculture literacy. ? ? ? #fishtok #seafood #salmon #atlanticsalmon #aquaculture #farmraised #farmedsalmon #smoltification #nordheim #fr?ya #norway #postsmolt

Today, we explored a groundbreaking Ballan wrasse farm initiative in North Wales, where biologists are learning how to raise this species from eggs over multiple generations. It's an exciting step towards domesticating a brand-new fish for aquaculture! This site was retrofitted by Mowi Scotland recently to support the development of wrasse farming techniques. Curtailing existing aquaculture practices to a new species is no easy task, nevertheless, these folks are up for the challenge. James Sibley visited this multi-facility hatchery in late 2024, where he spent two days learning the ins and outs of wrasse farming at the cutting edge of its development. A huge thanks to the team in Wales for enthusiastically teaching us about your exciting work! ??