Significant parts of the Norwegian coast is today unavailable to industrial fish farming due to remoteness and exposure to harsh wind, wave, current and ice conditions. Regular as well as infrequent operations are challenging.
The Exposed Aquaculture Operations Centre (EXPOSED) draws upon Norway's strong position in the aquaculture, maritime and offshore sectors to enable safe and sustainable seafood production in exposed coastal and ocean areas.
EXPOSED is a Centre for Research based Innovation (SFI), a funding scheme administered by the Norwegian Research Council's Division for Innovation[1]. A SFI has the main objective to enhance the capability of the business sector to innovate by focusing on long-term research based on creating close alliances between research-intensive enterprises and prominent research groups. The EXPOSED Centre brings together global leading salmon farmers, key service and technology providers, SINTEF Ocean and other strong research groups, including AMOS (the Norwegian Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems).
The centre initiated its activities in 2015, and in 2016, there is full project activity. Eight projects have started, covering fundamental research and applied studies, innovation activities, establishment of research infrastructure and recruitment of six PhD candidates. In addition, several associated projects carry out additional activities and involve supplementary candidates.
To support cross-disciplinary innovation and good communication within the centre, the centre arrange a two-day EXPOSED Days during spring and a one-day EXPOSED Day during autumn. In addition, more targeted events are arranged within projects, across projects and for students, such as PhD/post-doc workshops.
There is still a significant industrial, as well as political interest in EXPOSED and its objectives in 2016. This interest is driven by a combination of:
- An ambition to increase salmon production, given that key environmental challenges are addressed
- Increasing salmon prices
- Low oil prices and suppliers to the oil & gas sector looking for other industries
- Industrial and political will to adapt competence and capacity from other industries in to seafood
- A new opportunity for farmers to apply for development concessions regime that drives innovation towards technological concepts for more exposed farming.
Also internationally, the topic of exposed farming raises significant interest. The research areas of the centre have been presented in various national and international forums to support future collaboration with other stakeholders.
Four new partners were accepted to become new members of the consortium in 2016.
