The water entering the Barents Sea is not as cooled down as it used to. This has a large effect of the climate in the area and may lead to fish and other marine life migrating.
In the 2000s, the Norwegian and Russian authorities reduced the fishing pressure on cod and haddock in the Barents Sea. Combined with three good year-classes, that led to record populations.
In a major new initiative, scientists at IMR will study how to get more food from the ocean into our ovens – without putting our health and the environment at risk.
Able-bodied seaman Andreas Wolden takes 2,000-3,000 photos on each trip to the polar regions. As a keen photographer, he never tires of meeting polar bears.
Below the sea’s surface, the cod spawning season is now well underway. We have trapped cod in a pen rigged with cameras and hydrophones - you can follow the spawning live.
Researchers have combed data from almost 500 fish farms all over Norway. They found only a weak and variable effect of using cleaner fish in the battle against salmon lice.
Malnutrition is a bigger problem than hunger in the world today. Researchers hope that a small freshwater fish may prove to be packed with important micronutrients.
Millions of cleaner fish are used in farm cages to eat lice off salmon every year. However, there is limited research into how efficiently they do this job. Now scientists have gone through all published studies in the field – and found large knowledge gaps.
Right now, millions of northeast arctic cod (skrei) are migrating from the Barents sea to the Norwegian coast to spawn. They are the lucky few survivors.
Where do young marine researchers go to learn about the latest and greatest sonar technology? To a narrow fjord in western Norway, onboard RV “G.O. Sars”.
The ocean can supply much of the food required to feed an ever growing world population, primarily through the sustainable expansion of marine aquaculture. But not without improved ocean management and new technology.
Peter Haugan of the Institute of Marine Research has been asked to chair the national expert committee that will set the course for the Norwegian contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science.
Physically separating salmon from salmon louse larvae reduces infestation of salmon by 75 percent compared with a normal sea cage. This has now been scientifically demonstrated using a “snorkel” cage at a commercial fish farm.
They were testing methods to survey for corals when the IMR researchers discovered the “new” deep water coral reef Bukkarevet in the Hardangerfjorden threshold.
A new study by the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) shows that a major oil spill off the Lofoten and Vesterålen islands could produce long-term changes in the ecosystems in the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea.
If farmed salmon receive the minerals in their feed in organic forms, they need smaller amounts of them to grow big and strong. As a result, less of these minerals enter the environment.
The Institute of Marine Research has analyzed 182 Our Ocean commitments from the past five years. Overall, the commitments have mainly generated attention and funding. The direct impact on sustainable fisheries and management is less obvious.
Researchers used to enter their survey data into cumbersome spreadsheets. These days they have StoX – a free, open source program, developed at the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) that has now been documented in an international research journal.