Scottish Rural Awards 2016
The Scottish Rural Awards highlight the true industry, innovation dedication and aspiration of those who live and work in rural areas in Scotland and after nine months of nominations, deliberations and judging the results were announced at a gala dinner and awards ceremony at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on 31st March 2016. Nearly 400 guests and over 20,000 people watching on live Facebook feed, held their breath as the winners were announced across all 10 categories open for nominations.
The Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery were nominated for the prestigious award in the category of Aquaculture. Nominees who displayed enterprise and ingenuity, either by managing in-shore resources or indeed developing on-land aquacultural enterprises, were of great interest to the Scottish Rural Awards judges.
An esteemed panel of industry leaders and experts, went through a rigorous multi-stage process, including pre-scoring by the awards administration team, where entries were discussed and evaluated in detail to decide a shortlist of six finalists in each category. Judges then visited finalists before further reviewing and evaluating to decide the winning entries.
The Scottish Rural Awards really do show the true industry, innovation, dedication and aspiration of those who live and work in rural areas, highlighting their triumphs and the difficulties they have had to overcome in order to thrive. Having this award allows the hatchery and all other winners to be recognised for efforts in creating a business that adds to Scotland’s rich and diverse culture.