Page 24 - Seafood, Fishing & Aquaculture 2017-2018

blue revolution center pushes

aquaculture farther offshore

Marine Harvest and researchers plan to develop a fl oating laboratory for
radical exposed fi sh farming technology to help the sector grow sustainably.

By Valeria Criscione

The Norwegian aquaculture industry has of technology for raising salmon farther long fl oating hoses, taking up much of the
the potential to grow its production volumes offshore. Marine Harvest currently has two area from fi shermen. Another research area
fi ve-fold from 2010 levels to 5 million tons of its most exposed fi sh farm sites nearby is remote-operated subsea drones capable
by 2050. But it has been hindered lately by at Tennøya and Valøyan connected to of swimming back and forth on a line. These
biological conditions. Norwegian salmon the barge. In the future, the center could could monitor fi sh swimming patterns and
will increase only 2-4% in volumes this year also be tied in to test Beck, a new type of see, for example, if the fi sh are stressed after
to 1.2 million tons -- still below 2012 levels – subsea cage. a delousing treatment.
partly because of sea lice, according to the
Norwegian Seafood Council. “This is to test technology that otherwise “I think there is a lot of potential using
would not have been invented,” said Ragnar drones,” said Bård Wathne Tveiten, SINTEF
“If there was a solution for sea lice, we could Joensen, Marine Harvest group manager Ocean vice president. “You get real time
have grown with the given technology,” said technology. “Many of these new technology indicators for fi sh welfare. You can change
Alf-Helge Aarskog, Marine Harvest chief companies don’t have a place to test.” the operational conditions in an instant.”
executive during its third quarter results
presentation this past November. “We will “This is also an opportunity for universities Happy Fish
need radical new technology.” to take students out to the fi sh, rather than SINTEF Ocean will contribute with
just teach them in Trondheim or Oslo,” he technology, IT and sensor competence,
Offshore Research Barge added. while Marine Harvest will be responsible for
One potential answer is to move the industry management and operations on this project.
further offshore to more exposed sites. Among the different concepts that could be NMBU, which specializes on biology, health,
Norway’s Marine Harvest, the world’s tested at the offshore lab are subsea fi sh veterinary medicine and bio production, will
largest producer of Atlantic salmon, has feeding concepts with submerged hoses have a particular responsibility for research
joined forces with SINTEF Ocean and the and condensed mooring systems. Currently on fi sh welfare and health at the Blue
Norwegian University of Life Sciences most fi sh feeding occurs at the surface via Revolution Center. Genetics and breeding
(NMBU) on developing a new research
platform, the Blue Revolution Center, which
will test new aquaculture technologies in the
highly weather-exposed sites of Frøya.

As part of that vision, the trio has sought
six technology-focused Research and
Development licenses from the Norwegian
Fisheries Directorate to build a dual
laboratory-auditorium on a specially
designed fl oating fi sh feed barge that could
host up to 30 visitors and test new types

Marine Harvest, SINTEF Ocean, and NMBU
are developing a new research platform, the
Blue Revolution Center, to test new aquaculture
technologies in exposes sites.
© Marine Harvest

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