Kvarøy Arctic is proud to officially announce the winners of their 2022 Women in Aquaculture Scholarship: Abigail Ebachi Tarchie from Ghana and Eliza Syropoulou from Greece! Recognized for its forward-thinking and product innovation by Expo East’s NEXTY Award, the sustainable salmon brand is in its third year of awarding two $10,000 scholarships to recipients who are passionate about the future of food and stewardship in sustainable aquaculture. One of the scholarships is dedicated to applicants from all around the world and the other is designated for applicants from countries in Africa only.
This year, Kvaroy Arctic received double the number of applications from 85 different countries. “We’re beyond thrilled by the recognition our scholarship is receiving as achieving gender equality and empowerment for women in aquaculture is something we at Kvarøy Arctic are deeply passionate about,” says Jennifer Bushman, Chief Marketing Officer. With this in mind, the family-owned company developed the first-of-its-kind, international scholarship in 2020; a fully immersive learn/work experience focused on eliminating boundaries and helping women build their careers in aquaculture.
Kvaroy Arctic worked with Imani Black from Minorities in Aquaculture and Julie Kuchepatov from Seafood and Gender Equality as the judges, as they too believes in educating and encouraging women and minorities to pursue a career in all aspects of aquaculture. The scholarship aims to not only support women but to act as a leader in an industry that lacks gender inclusion by eliminating boundaries and opening the door to women for a career in aquaculture.
Abigail Ebachi Tarichie from Ghana is a PhD student at Kwame Nrumah University of Science and Technology. She centers her studies on fish nutrition and welfare with a focus on sustainable resources research. Abigail comes from the coastal area of western Ghana where fishing is the main livelihood for natives. “It is in this vein that I developed an interest to study aquaculture in order to acquire knowledge and insight so that I can help these farmers through training and sensitization. My aim is to educate more people about aquaculture to increase fish production and thereby improve livelihoods and enhance nutrition security, especially for the most nutritionally vulnerable,” says Abigail.
The scholarship was also awarded to Eliza Syropoulou, from Greece. Eliza is a PhD student at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, focusing her studies on fish welfare and nutrition specifically as it relates to R.A.S. and microbiology, ultimately optimizing water treatment methods in recirculating aquaculture systems. She also wants to find ways to benefit the community of women in aquaculture.
Please join us to celebrate the winners! We are happy to share more information on the judging committee, what Kvarøy Arctic is doing to arm women with advancement opportunities in an increasingly important and relevant industry, as well as more details on the outstanding women who received this scholarship.
