We are delighted to welcome Polly Burns to Fisheries Management Scotland, to support the management of interactions between farmed and wild salmonid fish. This new post is funded by Crown Estate Scotland and Marine Scotland with the aim of protecting and restoring wild salmonid populations.

Polly most recently worked with Lloyds Register where she managed the teams that assess fisheries and fish farms under the Marine Stewardship Council, Aquaculture Stewardship Council and other certifications schemes. Prior to that, Polly worked as the Assistant Biologist with the Spey Foundation, where she gained extensive knowledge of the natural history of salmonids, the interactions between wild and farmed populations and the passionate stakeholders within the sectors.  Polly graduated with a marine science degree from the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, and in 2017 was given a sabbatical to study a Masters by Research at the University of York, producing a thesis which reconstructed the history of the marine environment around Ascension Island, a UK overseas territory in the South Atlantic.

Commenting on her new role with Fisheries Management Scotland, Polly said “I am delighted to be joining Fisheries Management Scotland at such an interesting and pivotal time for wild and farmed salmonid interactions. I am excited to work on effectively and sustainably managing the impacts of aquaculture developments in Scotland. It is great to see the work that has already been done and I look forward to continuing the progress made. I am really looking forward to working with all those involved.”