Introducing the SAIC Science Panel: meet Anton

Professor Anton Edwards, physical oceanographer, regulatory scientist and marine consultant.

The SAIC Science Panel consists of 14 eminent scientists who will help us drive innovation in Scottish aquaculture. In this interview series we introduce each panel member, giving you some insights into their interests, aspirations, and predictions for the sector.

In this instalment, we hear from Professor Anton Edwards – physical oceanographer, regulatory scientist, marine consultant, botanical journal editor and renaissance man.

FISH FARMING ORIGINS

As a physical oceanographer, Anton was attracted by fish farming in 1971 when asked to advise Marine Harvest (now Mowi Scotland) on Loch Ailort. “In contrast to the then spirit of my institution,” he explains, “I felt strongly that science should be applied where apt. I became more involved as the industry spread in Scotland, so over the next two decades I surveyed and assessed privately the suitability of about 60 west Scottish sites belonging to many owners.”

As a researcher and a regulatory scientist with a fondness for simple models, he also initiated three regulatory models: Depomod benthic effects; water body nutrient enhancement (ECE), and the cage-local BathAuto.

Anton says: “To do all this peripherally to my main jobs has been a remarkable opportunity, sadly no longer feasible for a young person in today’s well-manned, diverse, procedurally constrained and technologically developed industry.”

EARLY SURPRISES

Given his involvement in the sector from such early days, we wanted to hear if anything has surprised Anton during his career. “An early surprise was that I thought I was providing expertise to clients,” he says, “but I quickly realised that they assumed competence and that I was actually providing confidence.”

On the topic of his clients in the sector, Anton adds: “Despite the surprisingly huge variety of their backgrounds and circumstances, no-one I ever worked with or for in aquaculture could be stereotyped; they were all shrewd and able. And they all paid their bills.”

We also asked about the best piece of advice Anton has ever received during his working life. He recalls: “Grumbling to my boss in the 1970s about something to do with promotion, he commented drily ‘It’s happened to better men than you.’ He was right.”

A RENAISSANCE MAN

When talking to Anton, it quickly becomes obvious that science is only one of his fields of interest. We asked him to expand on some of his passions within the humanities, or on any alternative career paths he may have chosen. “When young I had some facility in languages; French, German, Russian and others,” Anton says. “I loved the correspondences, patterns and irregularities. Even today I enjoy the challenges of understanding and context, which is why I still act as an editor. But to practice language in an age of automatic translation is a demanding thought, so I am glad I never took up the opportunity back then.

“I also have dilettante enthusiasms for botanical beauty and creative gardening, for art, the rational discourses of history, and recognising the commonalities of human nature. Many of these are the reasons I edit a botanical journal that combines imagery, botany, prose and authors’ individualities.”

In terms of an alternative profession, Anton tells us that he arranged a place in medical school after his physics degree, but ended up an oceanographer. “I have wondered what I would have become,” he muses. “I have come to believe I am a problem-solver rather than a shaker and mover of men and schemes, so I might have ended up in surgical A&E, where the many problems could be solved as best but then passed on for more routine care.”

REJOINING THE PANEL

Anton is by no means a newcomer to the SAIC Science Panel – he was an invaluable contributor for many years while SAIC was hosted by the University of Stirling. We wanted to hear what motivated him to join this new iteration of the panel. Anton’s answer lies in the value he sees in the sector: “For half a century, Scottish aquaculture has provided me and multitudinous others with nutritious, attractive, healthy, reasonably priced and otherwise unobtainable proteinous food. Thousands of responsible and permanent jobs have been given to a region that seriously lacked opportunities for able people to live and thrive there.”

Anton has seen additional detail of that interaction between community, livelihood and landscape during his time as rector of the University of the Highlands and Islands, and believes in the immense social and economic value that has been created. He continues: “I wish to remain part of that enterprise by promoting, assessing and advising on good science and its application to the development of the fish farming industry.”

PROBLEM-SOLVING AND CONTINUED LEARNING

Anton lists the ways in which he hopes SAIC Science Panel can influence the direction of research and innovation in aquaculture, both in Scotland and internationally:

• “Encourage work that solves known problems or clarifies obscure notions, rather than inflates lesser-known or marginally effective issues;
• Encourage work with clear endpoints that allow the success of the research to be judged;
• Promote projects that develop national capacity in techniques and staff;
• Welcome quantification and statistical recognition of uncertainties;
• Favour projects whose conclusions are likely to include explicit developments and applicable results over those likely to be limited to ‘We did what we said we’d do’.”

We also asked if Anton is personally hoping to gain any benefits from being a Science Panel member, to which he replies: “To learn more of the wide spectrum of academic expertise needed for a successful industry; to learn more of the likely industrial needs that would benefit from the rigour of the best academic methods; and to keep up-to-date as an independent.”

FUTURE TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

The most important challenges facing aquaculture over the next decade, Anton predicts, will be to maintain feed supplies in the face of changing meteorological and societal climates in the producing areas of the world; to promote a unified regulatory system that is more generic than now and less dependent on minor differences between production sites; and to reconcile legitimate achievement of economic success and satisfaction of customer demands with doctrinaire opposition to aquaculture.

As to the emerging trends or technologies that could have a big impact on growth in Scottish aquaculture, Anton says “The present trend to examine critically some aspects of regulation might remove bottlenecks, speed development and, by simplifying perceptions, make methods and decisions more transparent – and perhaps more acceptable – to critics.”

He believes AI is already usefully knitting together several aspects of husbandry and fish behaviour. “AI is also generally applied to combining the vagaries and fluctuations of supply with those of retail demand. The scale of these integrations seems likely to increase, over ever longer periods, and over ever more unified connections of site operation, business decisions and market satisfaction.”

SCIENCE AND POLITICS: UNEASY BEDFELLOWS

We have been keen to hear from our panel members how – in a world of soundbites and 'post-truth' culture – they feel we can best communicate the value, integrity and fascination of science. Anton sets out his thoughts as follows:

• “Scientists offer truth; what you do with it is your own choice. Despite fashionable doubt, there is actually great trust in science, but little trust in politicians; we are particularly tainted by those who mix science and politics. See this article in Nature: ‘Have people stopped trusting science? The data tell a surprising story’
• We should tell tales that can—in principle at least—be verified.
• We must always try to respect others. So we should: use straightforward language; not dominate or put down; try to build someone’s informed views by first understanding their ill-informed ones; rely on persuasion rather than prestigious authority; be honest about our motives and admit any benefits we derive; make clear that we value truth above personal gain; and stress that science advances by admitting and correcting error.
• We have to be patient – the drip-drip of truth may eventually wear away the lies.”

INTERNATIONAL INNOVATION

At the core of SAIC’s work is the belief that collaboration is key to problem-solving and growth in our sector, so we asked Anton what he sees as the greatest opportunities for collaboration within Scottish aquaculture. “I suspect that existing Scottish industry-academia collaboration could be profitably enhanced for the general economy by increased aspiration for, and recognising the potential of, the international application of the results. Perhaps this means involving other nations’ representative bodies,” he replies.

Anton continues: “SAIC has long and successfully promoted industry-academia collaboration under a financially supportive umbrella. In general, wherever such money exists, there is a slight temptation for researchers to conjure projects that chase it. It would therefore be nice to see this funding model complemented by an all-industry group formulating and supporting pieces of collaborative research purely and hard-nosedly funded by commercial need, with little or no funding from the umbrella. I have no doubt that the intellectual challenges and prizes for academic researchers are none the less for this approach.”

 

Coming back to the topic of international innovation, we ask Anton: If you could spend time at any aquaculture site in the world, where would you go to and why? “Innovation is the key,” he says: “I have seen so many innovations and changes in scientific emphasis since 1970, I think it must continue as we adapt and explore opportunities. One of the most convincing examples of integration with other industry is Nordi Innovation’s OFFWOFF colocation of wind energy and aquaculture. That is my first choice to visit.”

SEAFOOD CHARMS

Like most of us who work in aquaculture, Anton is a seafood enthusiast. But which is his favourite fish, and why is it so special? Anton’s hopes rose when the first halibut farms opened, he recalls. “I even briefly advised the Gigha venture about water quality problems, but my hopes fell again as the difficulties with this fish became clear. I love the clean bone-free presentation of halibut, equivalent in its meaty charm to the oily succulence and complex flavours achievable with good salmon (smoked, kiln-roast, or wifely baked).”

A TOUCH OF QUICKSILVER

As a final question, we have asked many of our science panel members what their superpower would be. Anton replies that he would like “to be as quicksilver-minded as Paul Merton.” Those of us who know Anton, however, might argue that this particular superpower is already in his possession.

We’re very grateful to Anton for sharing his thoughts and insights with us. You can read his bio on the SAIC website here.