Research areas

Aquacultural research is one of BUC´s four major strategic areas. Fisheries based on capture are declining globally, but aquaculture is a rapidly expanding sector worldwide. One of the main goals in the AFN research strategy is to generate scientific information that may contribute to more optimal production of cultivated aquatic organisms. Furthermore, sustainable exploitation of coastal marine resources by emphasizing ecological and ethical principles of production, is also essential.

The interrelation among the research areas in the aquaculture programme is shown in the following figure.  Professors and associate professors are included in the figure according to their main research areas.

Aquaculture nutrition and reproductive biology
These two fields of aquaculture research encompass aspects that are crucial for any successful aquaculture operation. Evidently, the development of the research activities at AFN in the first phase centre on these areas with themes relevant to regional and national programs, aimed at sustainable development of marine aquaculture. These fields are developed through a multi-disciplinary approach, intended to maintain uniqueness among the research groups in the country. Research in nutrition deals with issues related to the well-being of different life stages of a farmed organism. Research on reproduction covers biology, biotechnology, broodstock management, embryogenesis, and larviculture. Currently, several national and international research projects are ongoing and the further research projects are pending or in preparatory phase. For more information, see Research activity - Aquaculture nutrition and reproductive biology and Research activities - Sea urchin cultivation and ecology.

Seafood quality and aquaculture production
The quality of different seafood raw materials and products of; fish, shellfish and other marine species are analysed. The overall goal with aquaculture production is to optimise the growth and quality of the fish muscle. The muscle growth and quality of fish is studied by traditional microscopical, chemical, spectroscopical (NIR), and physical methods as well as by use of molecular biology and genomics.

Currently, several national and international research projects are ongoing on the effect of the environment, seasonal variation, different feed, feeding regimes, starvation, and maturation on the growth and quality of the fish muscle. The correlation between biological traits, chemical composition, texture muscle fibre density, collagen concentration and pyridinoline crosslinks are analysed with multivariate data analysis. For more information, see Research activity - Seafood quality and aquaculture production and Research activities - Sea urchin cultivation and ecology.

Genetics and molecular biology
Genetics and Molecular biology has become an essential part of modern biological research as well as in applied biotechnology. Marine science, including aquaculture science, is more and more dependent on molecular biology in order to study e.g. muscle development, reproduction, broodstock management, and ecosystems. The molecular biology section at BUC offers the essential equipments and methods for gene sequence analyses, and has the capacity to host PhD students, postdocs, and other researches from various project groups.  Current research covers marine taxonomy and population structuring based on e.g.  mitogenomic approaches. For more information, see Research activities - Genetics and molecular biology and Research activities - Sea urchin cultivation and ecology.

Aquaculture ecology
All aquaculture systems function in an ecological context where interactions with the surrounding environment are essential for sustainable operation. Improved understanding of these interactions and the limits of natural capacities are of vital importance for the continued expansion of coastal aquaculture.  Research in this area is multidisciplinary and is focused on minimizing the environmental impact of aquaculture while reducing the risk of ecological hazards on aquaculture operations as well as on natural resources, other industries and public interests. A long-term goal is to improve the ecological efficiency of aquaculture and to evaluate the potential of polyculture and integrated cultivation techniques for marine species. For more information, see Research activities - Sea urchin cultivation and ecology.