Hello Everyone,

As some of you may have heard, I have recently completed my Master’s Degree in Sustainable Aquaculture! I couldn’t have done it without your support and generosity. Thank you once again.

It took a lot of hard work, but I was encouraged by the support you had shown me. I’m humbled to say that I was awarded a Distinction grade (British equivalent of an A+, or first class honours) for my degree. On top of that, I was awarded the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland’s (RHASS) Silver Medal for the best overall performance on the Sustainable Aquaculture programme (just in case you’re wondering, gold medals are only awarded for lifetime achievement), and the External Examiner’s Prize for the best overall manuscript.

Because of these achievements and the support I received from my community to get there, I’ve been nominated for a Scottish national aquaculture program’s Learner of the Year award.

So, what’s next? I’ve been offered two short term positions (as my UK Visa is only temporary): the first is working with colleagues at the University of Stirling in order to take my MSc research on utilising by-products, and convert it into a manuscript for publication. The second is at Otter Ferry Seafish as a Hatchery Technician working with lumpfish and ballan wrasse, two species of ‘cleaner fish’ that live symbiotically with farmed salmon. The cleaner fish are great at eating any lice that pop up, and reduce the need for chemical treatments.  

Keep an eye on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JSAquaculture/ for updates on our adventures in volunteering to pay your donations forward.   So far we have completed 260 hours of service... with plenty more to come ;-)

With gratitude and appreciation,

Julien

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year from Scotland! I am now beginning my second semester (of 3) in the Master's program, although it has been challenging, thus far, Angel and I have been very happy with the results!  

Since the first semester ended in December, I spent a couple of weeks volunteering with two small aquaculture companies, developing hands on experience and building industry contacts. In particular I'm excited about my volunteer work with Otter Ferry Seafish who are helping to revolutionize the salmon industry.  As some of you may know, one of the significant blights on the salmon industry (in the Northern Hemisphere) is their need to combat sea lice (a devastating parasite for the fish) with numerous chemical treatments each year. Otter Ferry is one of the first hatcheries in the world that are raising 'Cleaner Fish' that love eating sea lice - they live in symbiosis with the salmon, eating the parasites and either reducing or eliminating the need for chemical treatments used in salmon production.  Here in Scotland, the entire industry is now focusing their attention on these 'cleaner fish' and the impact has been dramatic and exciting. I feel quite fortunate to be here helping to positively change how Salmon and other fish will be raised.

Along with the volunteer time spent working with aquaculture companies, Angel and I have also kept busy with various volunteer projects.  Most recently I have begun teaching one of my classmates from Nigeria how to swim (as a future fish farmer, this is going to be very important for his confidence), and we will also be teaching more salsa classes this semester.

To see pictures from the service projects check out my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JSAquaculture/

Thanks for all your support!

Julien

Getting a close look at the lumpfish, one of the two 'cleaner fish' raised at Otter Ferry.

Preparing for one of my assessment reports.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to send out a quick update from Scotland. The Master's program here is fantastic! I'm halfway through the first semester. We've already completed short-courses on aquaculture nutrition, environmental analysis and assessment, and reproduction. In a few weeks we'll be hitting the road for 6 days to visit some of the countries newest aquaculture facilities. But today I volunteered along with a few classmates at the countries oldest aquaculture site, which has produced brown trout since 1881! In fact, for better or worse, if you have brown trout in rivers where they don't naturally live, then most likely back in the 1890's this is where they came from. Even New Zealand's trout population first came from Howietoun. Today, the site is a lot more focused on mitigating their environmental impact (than they were back then); now they only provide trout to rivers where they naturally occur. We spent the day moving the mature (reproductive) trout to the spawning tanks. If you like, you can check out a few more pics on my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JSAquaculture/

Thanks for all your support!

Julien

Hi guys,

   Angel and I have arrived in Scotland, and I begin the first day of my Master's degree program on Monday!

A couple of days ago we had some uncharacteristically sunny weather, and made it up to Stirling Castle.  We put together a short thank you video, photos are soon to follow:

https://www.facebook.com/JSAquaculture

You can also keep track of my volunteering and Master's degree developments on the same link.

Lots of gratitude and thanks from Scotland,

Julien

THANKS EVERYONE! 

Only 2 days to go!  Thanks everyone!

Exciting, my Pay-it-Forward project made the news! Check out the article!!  http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/your-marlborough/68359171/picton-man-paying-it-forward

Whoohooo 39% funded now! Thanks heaps everyone! It's so humbling to have your support. 10 more days to go to reach the goal to get to Scotland. Contributions can be made at https://hubbub.net/p/sustainable/     Every little bit helps!

Just reached 25% of my fundraising goal!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity! If you haven't yet contributed, please donate at https://hubbub.net/p/sustainable . Every little bit counts!

Already completed 10 hours of community service! Check out my Facebook project page to see community service updates and pictures http://www.facebook.com/JSAquaculture

Just reached 12% of my fundraising goal!!! Thank you so much for those that have donated! You can contribute at https://hubbub.net/p/sustainable . Every little bit counts.

Check out my facebook project page to see community service updates already had 2 salsa classes, and a environmental cleanup project is planned for the Waitohi Stream in Picton, New Zealand this Sunday the 26th of April http://www.facebook.com/JSAquaculture