Features Recirc
Norwegian research centre to study closed containment

CtrlAQUA is one of the Centres for Research-Based Innovation (SFI), a major program created by the Research Council of Norway. Also involved are four Norwegian research institutions – Nofima, Uni Research, the University of Bergen and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Also involved are two foreign institutes – the Freshwater Institute in the United States, and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, along with several industry partners.

Eight year project

The primary goal of the SFI program is to strengthen companies’ capacity for innovation, and to develop leading industry-relevant research institutions. The centre has been given 200 million NOK over eight years to reach its goal of establishing closed-containment systems for salmon up to one kilogram.

The Norwegian Minister of Fisheries Elisabeth Aspaker visited the centre at Sunndalsøra as part of the opening ceremony. She said: “I have great expectations for the achievements of CtrlAQUA. Even though eight years is a long time, it is urgent that we find solutions to reach the goals. CtrlAQUA is an important part of this.”

Primary focus

The main focus of the centre is innovation in closed-containment systems for the most vulnerable periods of the salmon production cycle, such as the first seawater phase, when the fish weigh up to about 1 kilogram. The most important innovation in the centre will be reliable and efficient production of post-smolts in closed-containment systems on land or in the sea.