Marine biology student wins prestigious fish welfare award 

Marine biology student wins prestigious fish welfare award

A talented marine biology student from Rochdale has achieved a top prize for his joint research project on positive measures of welfare in farmed fish.

Ollie Duke, 21, was presented with the prestigious award, sponsored by RSPCA Assured, along with his research partner, Lottie Oulson. They both received a certificate of recognition and a £100 voucher.

Ollice completed his research project at Swansea University’s Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research and carried out a practical assignment using Operational Welfare Indicators, as part of their Aquaculture & Fisheries module. 

The winning project focused on positive welfare linked to dietary choice for Nile tilapia, one of the world’s most farmed fish. The findings indicated that dietary choice might improve fish welfare in an artificial environment, allowing the expression of more natural behaviours.

The project was praised for its potential to open up a promising avenue for introducing new measures for positive welfare on farmed fish.

Emilie Wix, Head of Farming Engagement at RSPCA Assured, said “We are delighted to again support these excellent fish welfare projects undertaken by the students at Swansea University. 

“Farmed fish welfare is an important issue and we hope that by sponsoring awards such as this, we can help to encourage the fish industry specialists of tomorrow to prioritise improving welfare standards.

“We are proud that the RSPCA Assured scheme and the RSPCA higher welfare standards for farmed Atlantic salmon and trout have been a catalyst for change for over the last 20 years, and we look forward to seeing what Ollie does next.”

The RSPCA’s higher farmed animal welfare standards cover each of the major animal species farmed in the UK, including salmon and trout.

All farms on the RSPCA Assured scheme must comply with the RSPCA’s welfare standards which go above and beyond ‘standard’ or typical UK production to ensure animals have what they need for a better quality of life.

Professor Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, director of the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research at Swansea University, said: “We are excited to make this Award to Ollie for this outstanding research into dietary choice for farmed fish which could lead to higher welfare in the future.

"He showed excellent knowledge of the challenges faced by the aquaculture industry and we hope he will contribute to improving fish welfare in his future career.

“We are grateful for the support of RSPCA Assured by sponsoring this Award which aims to inspire our students to contribute to a greater understanding of how to improve welfare in the aquaculture industry.”