Verdivurdering av Spitsbergen Travel AS

Denne mastergradsoppgaven er utført med det formål å gjennomføre en verdivurdering av Spitsbergen Travel AS. Oppgaven starter med utredning om bakgrunnen for problemstillingen og problemdefinisjon. Vi presenterer Spitsbergen Travel AS, historien bak selskapet og selskapet slik det fremstår i dag. Vi beskriver deretter den metodiske tilnærmingen og den teoretiske referanserammen vi har valgt for å kunne svare på problemstillingen ” Hva var verdien av Spitsbergen Travel AS ved utgangen av 2006, og i hvor stor grad påvirkes verdianslaget av endringer i selskapets rammebetingelser?” Vi gjennomfører en ekstern og intern analyse av selskapet for dermed å kunne si noe om hvordan vi mener det er sannsynlig at markedet vil utvikle seg og hvor godt selskapet står rustet for å møte utfordringene som møter dem i tiden som kommer. Vi ser på selskapenes historiske utvikling på parametre som omsetning, kostnader samt økonomiske prestasjonsmål. Ut i fra disse faktorene sammen med den interne og eksterne analysen har vi kommet frem til et budsjett for de neste ni årene. Dette trendfremskrevne budsjettet sammen med selskapets historiske utvikling danner grunnlaget for verdivurderingene vi har gjennomført for Spitsbergen Travel AS. Ved hjelp av ulike verdivurderingsmetoder har vi kommet frem til at verdien på Spitsbergen Travel AS ligger i området 270 MNOK. Vi har gjennomført en senarioanalyse der vi ser i hvor stor grad dette verdianslaget påvirkes av endringer i sentrale parametre som budsjettert omsetning, endring i kostnadene, evig vekstfaktor, selskapets egenkapitalavkastningskrav, samt hvor stor effekt det spesielle skatteregimet på Svalbard innvirker på verdivurderingen

Efficacy and safety of an inactivated vaccine against Salmonid alphavirus (family Togaviridae)

AbstractPancreas disease (PD) in salmonid fish is caused by an infection with Salmonid alphavirus (SAV) and remains as one of the major health problems in the European fish farming industry. Sequence studies have revealed a genetic diversity among viral strains. A subtype of SAV (SAV3) is causing an epizootic in farmed salmonids in Norway. Here we evaluate efficacy and safety of an inactivated virus vaccine based on ALV405, a strain of SAV3 that was isolated from Norwegian salmon. The vaccine provided an average relative percent survival (RPS) of 98.5 in an intraperitoneal challenge model, and induced nearly total protection against PD in a cohabitant challenge model. It provided significant protection against SAV-induced mortality also in a field trial under industrial conditions. Local reactions seen as melanization and adhesions in the visceral cavity were less severe than those induced by two commercial vaccines. Finally, we demonstrated that the protection is not impaired when the ALV405 antigen is combined with other viral or bacterial antigens in a polyvalent vaccine. The results confirm that efficient and safe protection against SAV infection and development of PD is possible using an inactivated virus vaccine, both alone and as a component in a polyvalent vaccine

Migration of Atlantic salmon post-smolts in a fjord with high infestation pressure of salmon lice

Understanding Atlantic salmon Salmo salar post-smolt coastal migration behaviour is crucial for predicting their exposure to ecological challenges such as the parasite salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis. We compared the migration of acoustically tagged, hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon post-smolts of wild and domesticated origins from the inner, middle and outer part of a 172 km long aquaculture-intensive fjord in western Norway. Additionally, we examined if the timing of the release or treatment with an anti-parasitic drug (prophylaxis) altered migratory behaviour. We found no significant differences in mean progression rates among the 3 release locations, among genetic groups or between treatments (range: 11.5−16.9 km d−1). However, individual variation in progression rates and migratory routes resulted in large differences in fjord residence times (range: 2−39 d). Ocean-current directions during and after release affected swimming speed, progression rate and route choice, and for most post-smolts, swimming speeds were much higher than their progression rates out of the fjord. The predicted lice loads based on lice intensity growth rates on smolts held in sentinel cages throughout the fjord indicated that individuals taking >10 d to exit the fjord in periods with high infestation pressure are likely to get lethally high sea-lice infestations. We conclude that, as migratory routes of S. salar post-smolts are hard to predict and migration times can stretch up to over a month, it is important to develop aquaculture management that keeps salmon lice levels down along all potential migration routes and during the full potential migratory period. Migratory behaviour · Salmo salar · Lepeophtheirus salmonis · Acoustic telemetry · Management · Fish farming · ParasitepublishedVersio

Non-respondents do not bias outcome assessment after cervical spine surgery: a multicenter observational study from the Norwegian registry for spine surgery (NORspine)

Background - The Norwegian registry for spine surgery (NORspine) is a national clinical quality registry which has recorded more than 10,000 operations for degenerative conditions of the cervical spine since 2012. Registries are large observational cohorts, at risk for attrition bias. We therefore aimed to examine whether clinical outcomes differed between respondents and non-respondents to standardized questionnaire-based 12-month follow-up. Methods - All eight public and private providers of cervical spine surgery in Norway report to NORspine. We included 334 consecutive patients who were registered with surgical treatment of degenerative conditions in the cervical spine in 2018 and did a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected register data and data on non-respondents’ outcomes collected by telephone interviews. The primary outcome measure was patient-reported change in arm pain assessed with the numeric rating scale (NRS). Secondary outcome measures were change in neck pain assessed with the NRS, change in health-related quality of life assessed with EuroQol 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), and patients’ perceived benefit of the operation assessed by the Global Perceived Effect (GPE) scale. Results - At baseline, there were few and small differences between the 238 (71.3%) respondents and the 96 (28.7%) non-respondents. We reached 76 (79.2%) non-respondents by telephone, and 63 (65.6%) consented to an interview. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in change in NRS score for arm pain (3.26 (95% CI 2.84 to 3.69) points for respondents and 2.77 (1.92 to 3.63) points for telephone interviewees) or any of the secondary outcome measures. Conclusions - The results indicate that patients lost to follow-up were missing at random. Analyses of outcomes based on data from respondents can be considered representative for the complete register cohort, if patient characteristics associated with attrition are controlled for

Ossification of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) – Developmental stages revisited

In studies of marine larvae, it is common to use days post-hatch as a developmental reference point. We show that age is a poor measure of morphological and physiological development in Atlantic cod. Therefore, we propose a set of five developmental stages of Atlantic cod fromstart-feeding until the juvenile stage, based on cranial ossification as previously done in Atlantic halibut. Cod follows a sequence of cranial ossification that is to a large extent preserved in most fish species examined. These stages are therefore tools to standardize sampling and to reduce growth dependent variation in the analysis of larvae during development. Weshow that several developmental stages are present in the same rearing unit at a given time. We also demonstrate that nutrition during early development is a vital foundation for robust skeletal development. Cod larvae supplied with copepods instead of rotifers followed by Artemia, develop less skeletal deformities at 10 cm standard length, despite given the same formulated feed from 1.8 cm standard length and onwards. Statement of relevance: This paper provides developmental stages that are vital for best practice protocols in aquaculture. By relating farming practices to developmental stages and not age, the right treatment ect may be provided. This manuscript does also highlight the importance of nutrition during live feed stages on events that may occur late in the production cycle.acceptedVersio

Inferring Atlantic salmon post-smolt migration patterns using genetic assignment

Understanding migratory patterns is important for predicting and mitigating unwanted consequences of environmental change or anthropogenic challenges on vulnerable species. Wild Atlantic salmon undergo challenging migrations between freshwater and marine environments, and the numbers of salmon returning to their natal rivers to reproduce have declined over several decades. Mortality from sea lice linked to fish farms within their seaward migration routes is proposed as a contributing factor to these declines. Here, we used 31 microsatellite markers to establish a genetic baseline for the main rivers in the Hardangerfjord, western Norway. Mixed stock analysis was used to assign Atlantic salmon post-smolts caught in trawls in 2013–2017 back to regional reporting units. Analyses demonstrated that individuals originating from rivers located in the inner region of the fjord arrived at the outer fjord later than individuals from middle and outer fjord rivers. Therefore, as post-smolts originating from inner rivers also have to migrate longer distances to exit the fjord, these data suggest that inner fjord populations are more likely to be at risk of mortality through aquaculture-produced sea lice, and other natural factors such as predation, than middle or outer fjord populations with earlier exit times and shorter journeys. These results will be used to calibrate models estimating mortality from sea lice on wild salmon for the regulation of the Norwegian aquaculture industry.publishedVersio

Movement diversity and partial sympatry of coastal and Northeast Arctic cod ecotypes at high latitudes

Movement diversity within species represent an important but often neglected, component of biodiversity that affects ecological and genetic interactions, as well as the productivity of exploited systems. By combining individual tracking data from acoustic telemetry with novel genetic analyses, we describe the movement diversity of two Atlantic cod Gadus morhua ecotypes in two high-latitude fjord systems: the highly migratory Northeast Arctic cod (NEA cod) that supports the largest cod fishery in the world, and the more sedentary Norwegian coastal cod, which is currently in a depleted state. As predicted, coastal cod displayed a higher level of fjord residency than NEA cod. Of the cod tagged during the spawning season, NEA cod left the fjords permanently to a greater extent and earlier compared to coastal cod, which to a greater extent remained resident and left the fjords temporarily. Despite this overall pattern, horizontal movements atypical for the ecotypes were common with some NEA cod remaining within the fjords year-round and some coastal cod displaying a low fjord fidelity. Fjord residency and exit timing also differed with spawning status and body size, with spawning cod and large individuals tagged during the feeding season more prone to leave the fjords and earlier than non-spawning and smaller individuals. While our results confirm a lower fjord dependency for NEA cod, they highlight a movement diversity within each ecotype and sympatric residency between ecotypes, previously undetected by population-level monitoring. This new knowledge is relevant for the management, which should base their fisheries advice for these interacting ecotypes on their habitat use and seasonal movements.publishedVersio

Annual report on health monitoring of wild anadromous salmonids in Norway 2017

Svært få funn av virus i tilbakevandrende laks selv om de samme virusene er vanlige i oppdrett Havforskningsinstituttet har undersøkt forekomsten av flere virus som er prevalent i oppdrett i tilbakevandrende laks fra Etneelva 2015-2016. Laksen stammer fra kultivert smolt som ble snutemerket og satt ut i Etne 2013 og 2014. Forekomsten av SAV-, PRV-, ILAV- og PMCV-infeksjoner ble testet ved å bruke sanntids RT-PCR metoden. Disse virusene kan forårsake sykdommene pankreassykdom (PD) og hjerte- og skjelettmuskelbetennelse (HSMB), Infeksiøs lakseanemi og kardiomyopatisyndrom (CMS, hjertesprekk) hos oppdrettslaks. SAV ble ikke påvist i den tilbakevandrende laksen. Derimot ble PRV1-, ILAV- og PMCV-infeksjoner påvist hhv. i 5 %, 1% og 3% av fisken. Infeksjoner med disse virusene er vanlig i opprett. Disse resultatene indikerer at villaksen ikke blir smittet i særlig grad, selv om de kan ha blitt utsatt for smitte fra oppdrett når de vandret ut eller på veien tilbake til elven. Samtidig kan vi ikke utelukke at syk villfisk ikke blir fanget fordi den er svekket og ikke går opp i elv, eller at den dørpublishedVersio

Attraction of cod Gadus morhua from coastal spawning grounds to salmon farms

Wild fish aggregate at aquaculture net-pens, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study examined how salmon farms attract coastal Atlantic cod Gadus morhua from their inshore spawning grounds. Acoustic receivers were deployed at 5 known cod spawning grounds and 6 salmon Salmo salar farms located at varying distances from these grounds in a mid-Norway study site. Cod were caught at each spawning ground annually from 2017-2019, fitted with acoustic transmitters and released (n = 535). A total of 289 tagged cod (54%) were detected at the salmon farms, with more cod detected at farms closest to the focal spawning grounds and at operational farms. The latter result is likely linked to the availability of feeding opportunities at farm locations. Those cod that were detected by the receivers spent less time at farms farther from their release locations. For the farm-associated cod, 70% were detected for 1 mo close to the farms, with 1 individual staying 720 d underneath the farm. A total of 135 cod visited 2 or more farms, with farms in proximity more connected in terms of inter-farm movement. Some of the cod utilizing these local spawning grounds likely have considerable dietary input from salmon feed.publishedVersio

Attraction of cod Gadus morhua from coastal spawning grounds to salmon farms

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