Departments

The work in the Centre will be multi-disciplinary, as we believe that a strictly technological or biological approach cannot solve the challenges facing the salmon aquaculture industry. Thus, major innovations will be made through close collaboration between three departments:

Dept. Technology & Environment

Through close collaboration between technology suppliers, farming companies and the R&D institutions, this department will focus on

  • new innovations within semi-closed containment systems (S-CCS)
  • new process units and protocols within recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS)
  • novel sensor systems

Dr. Jelena Kolarevic at Nofima leads this department: jelena.kolarevic@nofima.no

Dept. Fish Production & Welfare

Will address factors that limit or compromise salmon physiological systems in closed containment systems (CCS); research that will be critical to support the technology development in the Centre. Innovations for engineering and management of CCS will include:

  • new databases on salmon environmental and biological requirements in CCS
  • new smolt and post-smolt quality assessment tools
  • a “Robust Post-Smolt Certificate”, which will be commercialized by user partners.

Dr. Tom Ole Nilsen at NORCE leads this department: tnil@norceresearch.no

Dept. Preventive Fish Health

In this department, CtrlAQUA partners and policy makers will identify challenges and generate the necessary biological knowledge on pathogens, epizootiology, and protective mechanisms. The experimental work will be linked to the activities in the two other departments. Markers and pathogens of interest will be identified and used to develop diagnostic assays and vaccines, which will be commercialized by the user partners.

Dr. Lill-Heidi Johansen at Nofima leads this department: lill-heidi.johansen@nofima.no

Training and recruitment

CtrlAQUA seeks to integrate technological and biological innovations with education and training of young scientists at a leading international level, and this is organized in the Department of Researcher training and recruitment. We believe that CtrlAQUA center provides an exciting, innovative and stimulating intellectual milieu for students, scientists and visitors alike. Recruitment and training of students and young scientists will be an integral part of the activities within the Centre. Students will be exposed to a wide range of methods and approaches to central questions in aquaculture technology, fish biology and fish health, combining both reductionist and holistic traditions. Study programmes for PhD students will be developed within the framework of the graduate schools established at Dept. of Biology at the University of Bergen (UiB), and Dept. of Chemistry at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Dr. Sigurd Stefansson at UiB leads this department: sigurd.stefansson@uib.no

Xiaoxue Zhang is one of 15 students who will do their PhD work in the CtrlAQUA centre. Photo: Per Henning, NTNU