Investment boost to University’s marine aquaculture facilities

The University of Stirling’s marine aquaculture research capability will be strengthened thanks to a £3.84m investment in its Marine Environment Research Laboratory (MERL), at Machrihanish in Argyll.

Funded by the UK Government as part of the Argyll and Bute Rural Growth Deal - signed on Monday 10 March 2025 - the investment will enhance the University’s facilities in the Kintyre Peninsula, where the University’s Institute of Aquaculture already operates a marine aquaculture research base.

The Argyll and Bute Rural Growth Deal is a 10-year programme that will deliver £70m of investment to develop the region’s economic potential. The Scottish and UK Governments have each allocated £25 million to the programme. The Deal aims to foster economic growth through connecting the region’s high-value business sectors with national and international markets and linking local economic successes with national strategic priorities.

Aquaculture is one of the world’s fastest growing sectors, while the Scottish Government aspires to double the economic contribution of Scotland’s aquaculture industry to £3.6 billion by 2030.

Investment in the University’s MERL site will fund a repurposing of existing space, delivering an enhanced capability and increased capacity for environmentally controllable marine aquaculture research and innovation.

These marine facilities will complement the Institute’s new National Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Hub (NATIH), funded by £17m of UK Government investment through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.

Together with the University’s recently upgraded freshwater facilities at Buckieburn, near Denny, the new facilities will offer an enhanced, joined-up research and development capability across freshwater, tropical and marine environments. 

Professor Malcolm MacLeod, Senior Deputy Principal at the University of Stirling, said: “The fast pace of growth in the world’s aquaculture sector creates significant challenges. The University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that this growth is sustainable, addressing pressing issues from fish welfare to disease prevention.

“The UK Government’s investment in the University’s Macrihanish Innovation Campus is a further recognition of the Institute’s distinct role in driving a productive global aquaculture industry, while making a direct contribution to communities locally”.