When fish are caught in the trawl, seine or purse seine and handled on board the boat, they are subject to various forms of physical stress. Fatigue leads to poor quality fish, which in turn leads to lower prices.

When fishing there is limited opportunity to find out what it is that negatively affects the fish, and how to change this. Nofima, therefore, built a swimming tunnel to mimic conditions fish experience, such as how far and fast the fish has swum before coming on board.

“In the swim tunnel we conduct various experiments and find better ways to capture and handle the fish. If the tests indicate, then we may be able to develop better gear and better treatment of the catch on board the boats,” says Nofima researcher Øyvind Aas-Hansen.

“After we have done the tests, we hope to acquire knowledge that will help the industry be more profitable and the consumer will get a better quality of fish products,” says Aas-Hansen.

The swimming tunnel was completed at Tromsø Aquaculture Research Station and the scientists are ready to begin the tests. Electricity, water quality and other variables are controlled from a control base next to the pool.

The tunnel is part of the project CRISP (Centre for Research-based Innovation in Sustainable fish capture and pre-processing technology) which is led by IMR and Nofima is responsible for quality and value.

The goals of the project are to optimize the fishing industry's added value and product quality.

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