Aquaculture Research

Aquaculture research

Aquaculture has become a major industry in the Faroe Islands. We know from experience, however, that significant setbacks can occur very suddenly. Ensuring that farmed fish thrive and that there is due consideration for the biological environment are fundamental prerequisites for the industry’s sustainability. 

The Faculty of Science and Technology is committed to generating knowledge about currents and waves in fiords and on the Faroese shelf, developing aquaculture equipment, promoting the welfare of both farmed fish and those working in the industry as well as to producing information about the interplay between fish farms and the surrounding biological environment. The Faculty pursues these commitments through joint projects with companies and institutions in the Faroes and abroad. 

PhD projects

In 2003 Statoil Group funded a PhD project, which builds on research from a joint project with the trawl company Vónin and the Faroese Food, Veterinary and Environmental Agency. The PhD research was carried out in cooperation with the University of New Hampshire, USA, and companies and institutions in the Faroes, it harnessed the results of several smaller scale projects.

The impact of aquaculture on the environment

This project studies the impact of organic matter from fish farms on the surrounding seabed and seawater. It mainly relies on measurements from the fiord Kalbaksfjørður. The work is carried out at the Faroe Marine Research Institute in cooperation with the Faculty of Science and Technology.

International cooperation

The Faculty of Science and Technology cooperates with research groups around the world developing fish farming equipment for exposed sites, both coastal and open ocean. Most of these research groups are small units working separately. The Faculty has contributed to developing cooperation between them and hosted the first Open Ocean Aquaculture Engineering workshop in 2005.

BSc dissertations

BSc students at the Faculty of Science and Technology conclude their studies with a dissertation, to which they dedicate between three and five months. Some of these dissertations were written on aquaculture-related topics.

These include:

• Preventing fungus (Saprolegnia) on rainbow trout roe. Studies carried out in cooperation with the Faroese Food, Veterinary and Environmental Agency.
• Control system for smolt transport. Electronic system for controlling the oxygen content of smolt transport containers. Cooperation with JT-Electric in Kambsdalur.
• Common mussels can signal environmental threats. New method for detecting environmental stress. Studies carried out in cooperation with the Faroese Food, Veterinary and Environmental Agency and the University of Iceland in Reykjavík.
• IPN and stress according to size in salmon fry.Studies carried out in cooperation with the Faroese Food, Veterinary and Environmental Agency and the research centre Fiskaaling.
• Control system for trimming tables in the fisheries industry. New control system for fish trimming tables developed in cooperation with ComData in Klaksvík.
• Wireless low-energy telecommunications system.Computer communication system for fish farms. Developed in cooperation with Datronic and Faroese Telecom.