Albany’s Professor Peter Cook recognised with honorary life membership of National Shellfisheries Association

The work of an Albany-based aquaculture researcher has been recognised with the awarding of a life membership into a US-based shell fishery association.

Professor Peter Cook, who works as an adjunct professor at UWA’s Albany campus, is the first Australian to be made an honoured life member of the National Shellfisheries Association.

The association is an international organisation of people involved in the shellfish industry and one which Professor Cook has a long history with, including editing several of their journals and giving the opening address at the association’s 2019 symposium held in New Orleans.

Professor Cook described the distinction as a “pretty big honour” and recognition of his research which mainly centres around marine aquaculture including oysters, mussels, abalone and fish, and its associated biology and physiology.

He first came to be interested in the field of aquaculture while working at the University of Cape Town because it was identified as a research gap — and he was a fan of eating oysters.

Professor Cook said aquaculture was one of the largest growing industries worldwide and was important for the future of food security because it provides an alternative to dwindling populations of wild seafood.

“With food demand increasing worldwide, an alternative is to grow your own, which is aquaculture,” he said.

“And so I think that for the future, it’s a really important industry.

“And the other thing is that shellfish aquaculture is very low in the food chain, which means it doesn’t have a huge environmental impact.

“Shellfish actually improve the environment, so I think it’s really important that shellfish aquaculture is expanded as much as possible, and certainly around Albany, particularly in Oyster Harbour and just outside Oyster Harbour, that’s exactly what’s happened.”