This investment in R&D was targeted at the Skretting ARC fish trials station at Lerang, just outside Stavanger. It makes the Lerang fish trials station totally land based, even when conducting seawater trials.

Research in land-based tanks, says Skretting, offers greater options to control conditions such as temperature.

At the same time, by raising the fish in tanks, external threats such as attacks from seals, lice and seagulls have been eliminated.

Improvements to the facility include the installation of 42 saltwater tanks to accommodate ongrowing fish up to market size, on land.

This means there are no longer any trials in conventional net pens in the fjord where Lerang is based.

The tanks, which have sophisticated instruments controlling important variables like as temperature and feed intake, will give even more accurate data for R&D.

Wout Dekker, CEO of the Skretting parent company Nutreco, opened the

new facility together with the Mayor of Forsand, Norway, Ole Tom Guse.

“Skretting and Nutreco utilise the findings generated at Lerang worldwide," said Mr Dekker at the opening.

"The upgrading confirms the ranking of this trial station among

international leaders.”

The annual R&D budget of Skretting ARC is EUR 9 million. Activities are co-ordinated from Norway and the research results are implemented by Skretting companies around the world. In addition to the Lerang fish trials station, Skretting ARC runs a feed technology plant and a large, advanced laboratory.

Some 60 researchers of ten nationalities, many at PhD level, work at the centre and research facilities.

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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