The Institute of Marine Research is the largest marine institute in Norway and covers marine living resources, marine environment and aquaculture. The main task is to provide advice to Norwegian authorities on aquaculture and the ecosystems of the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea and the Norwegian coastal zone. The aim of research and management advice provided by IMR is to ensure that Norway's marine resources and aquaculture industry are managed and develop within a sustainable frame. IMR are making available both landbased (ELI) and cage-based (CEL) facilities in Matredal and disease research facilities (BDL) in Bergen.
IMR Matre has access to cultured and wild stocks of salmonids like Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout (only cultured fish), and Atlantic cod. In all these species experiments can also be designed with full-sib and half-sib groups. The available Atlantic salmon stocks include wild salmon from several Norwegian rivers, and wild cod stocks. The facilities has been used for species varying from salmonids to halibut, cod, herring and horse mackerel, and has also been approved for a variety of other species (e.g. mackerel, capelin, hake, sand eel, saithe, sea bass, sea bream and krill).
AQUAEXCEL2020 visitors will be invited to work in conjunction with one of IMR’s eighteen research groups and if appropriate with existing research programs. Our experience is that a close integration of visitors is stimulating and lead to development of mutual ideas and networks. The researchers that work in aquaculture related topics produce more than 100 peer-review papers every year and create a stimulating scientific environment. IMR will designate a contact person and together with the liaison officer and personnel from the technical and biological support groups make sure that the visitors will be given the same support as the local researchers. This support includes full access to e-mail, internet, office facilities, computing library and chemical lab facilities. We can assist visiting scientists with accommodation nearby.
IMR Matre has been a necessary part of the activities in several national projects and EU projects like PUBERTIMING, GUTINTEGRITY, WEALTH, FASTFISH, AKVAMAX, SALMOTRIP and LIFECYCLE and the scientists are involved in collaborative research with colleagues from within the EU and from North America, and we have frequent visits of guest scientists. Each year, trainees spend 1-3 month training periods at our research facilities. The trainees are funded by EU programs such as Erasmus, as well as from development cooperation countries (e.g. South Africa, Cuba, Thailand and Indonesia), or from the industry. Several important scientific achievements have been obtained by the users of the infrastructure. The studies leading to a seasonal independent production of salmon smolts and photoperiod control of growth and sexual maturation in Atlantic salmon and cod must be highlighted.
Name of the infrastructure: IMR-BDL
Location: Bergen, NORWAY
Website address: www.imr.no
Contact: Ragnar Nortvedt
Facilities
These facilities have a number of different tanks with a possibility for adjustments of salinity (0-35 ppt) and temperature (1-22°C). They specialized for challenge studies on fish and shellfish diseases and allow for customization of experimental parameters like diet, ration and salinities for fish sizes from first feeding fry up to approx 1-1.5 kg. IMR Bergen has access to the same fish stocks as IMR Matre, and disease studies can be carried out using enzootic agents on endemic species. The facilities are approved and have been used for a range of species including salmonids, halibut and cod.
Services currently offered by the infrastructure
Bergen BDL is used in challenge experiments pharmacological studies (e.g. treatment, treatment effects, and pharmacokinetics).
Research is supported by modern physiological, histological, genomic and molecular analysis and a modern microbiology lab.
Modality of access
On average each user or user group is expected to stay at the infrastructure for the first and last two weeks of one experiment to start and finish the activity (totally 3 weeks). In the period when the visiting scientist is not at the facility the experiment will be followed by the technicians in close contact with the visiting scientist.
Unit of Access
The unit of access is one tank week and a typical access consist of 108 units (9 tanks (3 groups x 3 replicates) for 12 weeks. A total of 108 units of access is available (1 project).