Collaboration agreement with Russia

Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Minister Helga Pedersen and leader of the Russian Government Fisheries Committee Andreij Krainij were present when Nofima and VNIRO signed a memorandum of understanding.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by Nofima President - CEO Ørjan Olsvik and his counterpart at the Russian research institute VNIRO, Boris Kotenjov.

"This paves the way for a series of projects and Nofima and VNIRO are both ready to get started," said Olsvik during the formalities at the signing ceremony at the Russian Government Fisheries Committee's office in downtown Moscow.

He played up the perspectives for future collaboration.

"We jointly manage a garden or pasture in the Barents Sea, which can provide people greater access to healthy food," said Olsvik.

Algae as feed

His Russian counterpart, Kotenjov, mentioned the aquaculture industry as one area where a lot can be derived from the collaboration, particularly with a view to a scarcity of food.

"By using algae as feed, we could increase earnings for producers and provide ordinary people cheaper seafood," said Kotenjov.

"This collaboration has been established to increase access to food at a time when there are shortages".

Kotenjov also referred to the fact that possible farming of mussels in connection with fish farming can provide major environmental benefits and would enable larger yields.

"It's important to put collaboration in place between scientists, and we see that collaboration in the industry is already well underway," he said.

The memorandum of understanding covers research projects within areas including finance, market, aquaculture and fish health.