Today, businesses across Norway, Scotland, Iceland, Canada and increasingly the Middle East are competing for many of the same people.

That creates an interesting challenge.

While investment in production systems, fish health, feed, genetics and technology continues to accelerate, the pool of experienced leaders and specialists is not growing at the same pace.

In many cases, organisations are no longer competing solely with their local market. A Fish Health Manager in Scotland may receive approaches from Norway. A Farming Director in Norway may be considering opportunities in Canada or the Middle East. Increasingly, leadership and specialist talent is operating within a global market.

What makes this particularly challenging is that many of the most capable people are not actively seeking a move. They are already successful, already well regarded and often deeply embedded within their organisations.

This is where market intelligence becomes increasingly important.

Understanding who has delivered growth, who has managed transformation, who has developed new operations and who may be open to a future opportunity often provides a significant advantage over traditional recruitment approaches.

The emergence of land-based aquaculture adds a further layer of complexity. New projects require leadership teams that combine aquaculture expertise with experience in engineering, capital projects, operations, technology and commercialisation. Those skills do not always exist within traditional talent pools.

As investment continues across established and emerging aquaculture markets, organisations that understand the leadership landscape and plan ahead for critical appointments will be best positioned to succeed.

The competition for talent is unlikely to reduce.

The organisations that build relationships, develop succession plans and take a longer-term view of leadership capability will have a significant advantage in the years ahead.