Devon's Universities Say Britain Is Missing Out on the Land-Based Fish Farming Boom - Here's Why

Britain likes to think of itself as a seafood nation, yet when it comes to the next generation of fish farming, researchers are warning that the country is watching from the sidelines. A recent policy brief argues that global demand for seafood is rising rapidly, with international forecasts suggesting aquaculture production must double by 2050, and that the UK risks falling behind other nations unless it acts now. For a region with Exeter's marine research pedigree sitting right on its doorstep, that's not an abstract warning. It's a local opportunity slipping away in real time.

The report calls for serious investment in land-based seafood production, and specifically highlights recirculating systems as the technology Britain should be backing. One variant gaining attention in this space is Hybrid Flow Through, a system that blends partial water recirculation with a continuous flow of clean water. It's particularly suited to sites with strong natural water resources, which is part of why it's taken hold in Icelandic smolt production, but the underlying logic travels well to other regions with similar conditions. For facility designers and engineering consultants weighing up their options, FRP solutions for Hybrid Flow Through fish farming have become a fairly standard part of the conversation, mainly because they solve a problem RAS and Hybrid systems share: how to build structures that survive years of constant exposure to water without falling apart.

Why the Infrastructure Question Matters as Much as the Technology

Policy briefs tend to focus on the big picture: production capacity, food security, jobs. What they rarely mention is that none of it works without infrastructure that can actually withstand the environment these facilities create. Walkways, platforms, handrails and tank covers spend their entire working life wet, and in many cases they're also exposed to cleaning chemicals and salt. Steel corrodes under that kind of pressure, and once it starts, maintenance becomes a permanent fixture of the operating budget rather than an occasional task.

Where Fibreglass Fits Into the Blue Transformation Story

This is where fibreglass, or FRP, has quietly become part of the answer. It doesn't rust, it's considerably lighter than steel, and it holds up under the kind of sustained moisture exposure that would wear conventional materials down within a few years. None of this replaces the specialist technology that actually runs a Hybrid Flow Through system; the pumps, filtration, and water treatment remain firmly in the hands of process engineers. What fibreglass does is support everything around that core technology, the access routes and structural components that keep a facility running safely day to day.

Fiberline is one of several suppliers that has built a business around exactly this niche, working with engineering teams and facility builders to specify structures that are designed for the realities of aquaculture rather than adapted from general industrial use. It's not the most headline-grabbing part of the Blue Transformation story, but it's arguably one of the more practical ones.

A Local Opportunity With National Stakes

The University of Exeter's own research suggests the UK has a narrow window to build genuine expertise in land-based seafood production before other countries pull further ahead. That will mean more than policy support and funding rounds. It will mean getting the unglamorous details right, including what these facilities are actually built from, and whether they're designed to last.