Photo: SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture

Norwegian researchers and manufacturers of aquaculture equipment have pooled their knowledge and expertise to investigate how farming conditions could be even better exploited. Their focus is on fish welfare. The Norwegian authorities are encouraging this initiative by adapting the regulations and providing the necessary funding. One of the results of this cooperation is the research-based innovation centre CREATE.

According to Akvaforsk, a Norwegian research institution, salmon farming is twice as efficient as the production of chicken meat which is considered the most efficient meat to produce when it comes to ordinary animal husbandry.

In the late 1970s, fish farming constituted as little as one per cent of the total meat production in Norway. Today, it represents 70 per cent. This major expansion is the result of close cooperation between industry, researchers, and the authorities. In addition, Norway’s landscape is an excellent starting point for aquaculture.

Norwegian research with global relevance
CREATE is a research-based innovation centre based on cooperation between researchers and manufacturers of aquaculture equipment. The objective of the Centre is to supply the aquaculture industry with new technology and knowledge that can be applied nationally and internationally. The goal is to enable Norwegian aquaculture equipment manufacturers to continue supplying global markets on the longer term. The Centre will develop the technology and knowledge that will be useful in when the fish are growing, i.e. when they are in the grow-out facility.

Research Centre Director Arne Fredheim Photo: Gorm Kallestad, Scanpix/NTNU Info

Fish welfare yields higher profitability
Producing healthy and high-quality farmed fish is crucial inorder to succeed. For this reason, the environmental aspects of fish farming are at the very top of the researchers’ agenda. Fish welfare has become a highly relevant topic within the Norwegian fish farming industry. If the fish thrive, they will grow well and taste better. Understanding the fish enables us to develop equipment that will consider the welfare of the fish. That is why technologists emphasize the knowledge that biologists can give. With this interdisciplinary thinking researchers can realize more profitable business activities.

”We see a clear connection between fish welfare and financial profit,” said Research Centre Director Arne Fredheim. He is a specialist with in-depth knowledge of the factors affecting the quality of farmed fish.

Control through sensors
CREATE is planning to place sensors on experimental fish in order to determine how much the fish are moving and their cardiac activity. If the fish are stressed, their level of motion increases. Where the fish move it may also be an indication of temperatures and currents. By employing this information, researchers can determine the best time to feed the fish, even though this varies between species. Some fish species need feeding once a day, others four times. In general, fish need a good oxygen supply when eating.

Equipment that can monitor fish behaviour already exists, but it is rather simple and incomplete. Research is being conducted to rectify matters.

Photo: SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture

Escapes may threaten wild salmon
The escape of farmed fish, disease andnutrient pollution are among the environmental problems that are currently being researched. Less than 1% of the farmed fish escape, but attention is nevertheless devoted to the phenomenon since escapes could have consequences for wild fish stock. Among the dangers of escapes is the threat of genetic contamination of wild fish. Farmed fish can also spread diseases to the wild fish.

Yet another problem is fouling. The nets in the cages stiffen in salt water and provide fertile conditions for various plants and organisms. The denser the growth, the less water that flows through the mesh, reducing the oxygen supply for the fish which leads poor fish welfare.

Stabile conditions in deeper waters
There is increasing interest in moving fish farms from the shoreline to deeper waters where the water quality is better. In the open sea the temperature is more stable, and the oxygen supply as well as the water flow is better. In Norway, it is common to place the net cage in the shelter of an islet.

In other countries, the topography is often different to Norway, so applying Norwegian technology abroad brings other demands. In the Mediterranean, for instance, there are stable weather conditions with the occasional storm. Here, the solution could be to lower the cage deeper into the water during rough periods. That would reduce the risk of the cage tearing loose when a storm breaks out. The Norwegian coast, on the other hand, is exposed and has rough weather over longer periods of time. Here, it will not be optimal to keep the net cage deep in the water as this will cause difficult operating conditions. The varying environmental factors require adapted technologies.

Photo: SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture

International differences
Marine fish farming was first introduced in theearly 1970s. At the time, Norway was one of the pioneers. The first species used was trout, but salmon gradually became more common. Cod is up and coming, but salmon is still the most sought-after species.

On average, each Norwegian employee produces 300-400 tonnes of fish. In other countries this figure is usually under 100 tonnes per employee. The difference is due to different work cultures, high skill of Norwegian workers, and more extensive use of technology. The Norwegian aquaculture industry’s excellent access to research and technology is also a factor to consider. On the other hand, the industry has a hard time recruiting new staff because the coming generation does not find aquaculture exciting enough. The aquaculture industry today is mainly located in rural areas, which means that the constant migration to the cities is a threat to the industry.

Growing markets
Norwegian equipment manufacturers export about 30-40% of their products. The largest market is Chile, which produces approximately the same amount of salmon and trout as Norway. However, the infrastructure in Chile is very different from Norway so logistics poses a challenge there. Several other countries are in the market for Norwegian equipment: Scotland, Ireland, and Canada also have marine fish farming. The USA wishes to expand its rather modest fish farming industry, and Asia is in the process of developing marine fish farming. China, in particular, as it faces a rapidly growing need for food supply. The only problem is that large parts of Asia have very unstable sea temperatures, which is a challenge in connection with fish farming. Some Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Turkey are interested in intensifying their aquaculture activities.