The Vaccination of Salmon Smolts
ment of Ocean Forest, a partnership between the Bellona Foundation and the Lerøy Seafood Group.
The aim of Ocean Forest is to develop and establish new forms of biomass production tied to aquaculture. The objective is to solve aquaculture’s environmental challenges
and help remove CO2 from the atmosphere while being economically
sustainable. Ocean Forest uses the
world has enough of – saltwater,
algae and CO2, to produce something that we have too little of:
food, feed, energy and fuel.
In the sea, interactions between a
number of species and the environment they live in develop naturally.
The results are harvested in the
form of higher output and a better
environment. Seaweeds, also called
macro algae, can be grown on a
The author visiting a salmon farm in Norway
large scale together with farmed
fish. So can mussels, benthic and
microalgae. Large-scale cultivation
of algae and shells will help to reduce climate change through its
uptake and storage of CO2. Ocean
Forest wants to build plants that
remove more CO2 than it generates
and thus develop key environmental solutions through synergies between biology and technology.
These solutions will create better
production conditions for existing
industry and creating the basis for
new products such as food, feed
for fish and animals in a world with
significant population growth. Energy and fertilizer are other products that can result from the Ocean
Forest concept.
Ocean Farming:
As part of a pilot project launched
November last year, the Norwegian
Institute of Marine Research in Norway
Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs announced it would grant free
development concessions for up to
15 years for projects promoting
technology that can solve the environmental and acreage challenges
facing the aquaculture sector. If the
projects fulfill a set of fixed criterions, the license can be converted
into commercial licenses at a cost of
NOK 10 million. The conversion is
based on the fact that they have
made big investments that benefit
the industry.
As of February, at least eight Norwegian companies had applied for the
new development licenses. Masoval
Fiskeoppdrett has sought three concessions for its salmon delousing
ship HeliXir. AkvaDesign has applied
for six concessions for its compact
closed cage system, while Marine
Harvest together with Hauge Aqua
have applied for 14 licenses towards
a competing egg-shaped closed
farming concept.
Conclusion:
Norway is taking the lead in conservation marine aquaculture practices.
The world is three quarters ocean,
and the sea holds the key to solving
many of our food security challenges. The sea can produce biomass for
food, fish feed, materials, fuel, and
pure bioenergy. Algae attracts CO2
and combat acid seas, and removes
CO2 from the atmosphere. It is time
that we utilize this resource to the
best for the future conservation of
our planet.
E-mail: [email protected]