In Ísafjörður, there is a great boom in research related to cod farming and it has been decided to hold a meeting on new and extensive projects that have received funding recently. The Minister of Fisheries, Einar K. Guðfinnsson, will chair the meeting, which will begin on Wednesday 21 June. at 9:30
In Ísafjörður, the emphasis in aquaculture is on the physiology of cod and then first and foremost on sex cod and the effect of light control on the growth, sexual maturity and quality of farmed cod. The focus is also on genetic factors that can be linked to physiological factors such as product growth and quality.
Four new research projects related to the development of industrialized cod farming in experimental fish farms in Ísafjarðardjúpur have recently received funding from domestic and foreign funds.
The projects will, among other things, study the effects of light control and the main goal of these studies is to delay or prevent premature puberty, which is a major problem with cod farming. The total turnover of these projects, including the contribution of participants in the projects, is just over ISK 300 million and the turnover (scope) for the west is a total of ISK 103 million. Grants from research funds for the projects amount to a total of ISK 155 million, of which ISK 50 million goes directly to the operation of the projects in Ísafjörður. In the cod fishery in Westfjords, there is a big difference in funding from the European Union, which is a total of 93 m.kr. The share of the Icelandic participants in the grant is significant, or about 34 m.kr. Two cod farming producers with fish farms in Álftafjörður are taking part in this project, i.e. Hraðfrystihúsið Gunnvör hf and Álfsfell ehf.
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| Worked on sampling from fish farms in Álftafjörður | Dr. Þorleifur Ágústsson takes blood samples from live farmed cod |
Due to this extensive development of cod farming research, Jón Gunnar Schram, MS in fisheries science, has been hired to work at the Fisheries Research Institute in Ísafjörður. Jón Gunnar will start work on July 1, but in addition to him, Dr. Þorleifur Ágústsson at IFL's aquaculture department in Ísafjörður.
Rannveig Björnsdóttir, head of the aquaculture department at IFL and lecturer at the University of Akureyri, is, together with Þorleif, an instructor in a research-related master's program that deals with cod farming research in Ísafjarðardjúpur. The role of the student is the development of methods and measurements of the effect of light control on the growth of cod in collaboration with Dr. Björn Þránd Björnsson Professor at the University of Gothenburg. Björn Þrándur, is one of Europe's leading experts in the field of fish physiology and has also been hired part-time at IFL, and he will take part in IFL's policy in this field.