Introducing the SAIC Science Panel: Meet Tom

Dr Tom Wilding, Associate Professor of Innovative Environmental Assessment, SAMS

The SAIC Science Panel is a group of internationally renowned scientists who will help us drive innovation in Scottish aquaculture. This interview series introduces you to each panel member, providing insight into their opinions, aspirations, and interests.

In this instalment we hear from Dr Tom Wilding, Associate Professor of Innovative Environmental Assessment at SAMS, who is developing methods for assessing the sustainability of aquaculture.

AN EQUITABLE SECTOR

Tom’s motivation for joining the SAIC Science Panel was to facilitate the development of a demonstrably environmentally and economically sustainable and equitable Scottish aquaculture sector. “I’m keen to bring my aquaculture-impact, data-science and multi-sector team-working experience to SAIC to help steer R&D across multiple disciplines,” he explains.

Each of our panel members has distinct hopes about how their work with SAIC will influence research and innovation in aquaculture. Tom says: “I hope that SAIC-funded science will collegiately and collaboratively provide the steer necessary to optimise the outcomes from the AI-tsunami we are currently surfing, both nationally and internationally.”

Tom also envisages that participation in the panel will provide reciprocal opportunities to learn: “I hope to benefit by learning about innovative applications of emerging and establishing technologies, and how the sector is diversifying.” Tom is also keen to understand more about the broad range of challenges facing the sector, and how these drivers interact and link back to environmental carrying capacity. 

DIVERSIFICATION IS KEY

Some of the most important of the sector’s future challenges, predicts Tom, are climate change, increasing demands on coastal space, diversification, and ensuring that all production is demonstrably environmentally and socially responsible. He comes back to the topic of diversification: this is key, Tom thinks, and will include integrating lower-trophic level aquaculture into the sector and maximising the efficiency of existing approaches. “Technologies driving this will include human-in-the-loop AI across multiple parts of the sector, based on computer vision, image-analysis and focussed ‘omics’ technologies.”

The need for diversification also applies to how we work together within and outside of the sector. “There is scope to further enhance cooperation between the established aquaculture sectors and the regulatory community and broader stakeholder groups,” Tom says.

SYNERGY OF SPECIES

Tom has a strong interest in multitrophic farming and its relative impacts When asked where he would choose to go if he could visit any aquaculture site in the world, Tom replies: “The Chinese multitrophic sites are on an impressive scale; it would be fascinating to see those, assess the surrounding seabed, and understand more about any trade-offs particularly in relation to the use of space.”

Among the multitude of aquatic species, we wonder, which is Tom’s favourite? “Seaweed is special,” he says, “because it such potential. I’m not sure when it will replace the cod in my fish-supper though!”

AQUACULTURE AND BEYOND

Tom’s experience in the sector spans several decades. Given his interests in field-sampling, scientific diving and data science, he was teamed up with colleagues at SAMS (the Scottish Association for Marine Science) in 2002 conducting aquaculture impact research, and that started his path into the sector.

Throughout his career, Tom has combined the academic with the practical: “I’m a big fan of mending, reducing, reusing and recycling,” he says, so if he were to choose an alternative field of expertise, “waste valorisation would be of particular interest.”

OUR PLACE IN NATURE

Finally, we sought Tom’s views on how best to communicate the value and integrity of science to a non-scientific audience: “As a science community, we need to resolutely showcase the value of evidence-based approaches that address environmental and other challenges, and this includes owning and quantifying uncertainty,” he says, continuing: “Our integrity is best demonstrated by data and decision transparency, always acknowledging where there is uncertainty. Our science endeavours enable us to understand the workings of nature, and humanity’s place in it – fascinating.”

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