Aquaculture site selection Report

Report on potential, selected sites for offshore aquaculture along the Spanish, Norwegian and Irish Atlantic coasts. European policy intends to expand the space available to aquaculture by cultivating sites that are offshore. This presents challenges in terms of building structures e.g. fish cages that withstand the effects of offshore weather conditions along the Atlantic coast. In order to establish possible future sites for offshore aquaculture production we intend to gather relevant wave, current velocity and water column structure measurements from the coasts of Ireland, Norway and Spain and use these data to validate site assessment models at ca. 200 m horizontal resolution of the potential new offshore aquaculture sites. This will result in a generic tool based on in-situ observations and model output over a hindcast period, coupled to existing site decision tools, so that potential license applicants can pinpoint sites for further exploration and site investigation

Rapid scavenging of jellyfish carcasses reveals the importance of gelatinous material to deep-sea food webs

Jellyfish blooms are common in many oceans, and anthropogenic changes appear to have increased their magnitude in some regions. Although mass falls of jellyfish carcasses have been observed recently at the deep seafloor, the dense necrophage aggregations and rapid consumption rates typical for vertebrate carrion have not been documented. This has led to a paradigm of limited energy transfer to higher trophic levels at jelly falls relative to vertebrate organic falls. We show from baited camera deployments in the Norwegian deep sea that dense aggregations of deep-sea scavengers (more than 1000 animals at peak densities) can rapidly form at jellyfish baits and consume entire jellyfish carcasses in 2.5 h. We also show that scavenging rates on jellyfish are not significantly different from fish carrion of similar mass, and reveal that scavenging communities typical for the NE Atlantic bathyal zone, including the Atlantic hagfish, galatheid crabs, decapod shrimp and lyssianasid amphipods, consume both types of carcasses. These rapid jellyfish carrion consumption rates suggest that the contribution of gelatinous material to organic fluxes may be seriously underestimated in some regions, because jelly falls may disappear much more rapidly than previously thought. Our results also demonstrate that the energy contained in gelatinous carrion can be efficiently incorporated into large numbers of deep-sea scavengers and food webs, lessening the expected impacts (e.g. smothering of the seafloor) of enhanced jellyfish production on deep-sea ecosystems and pelagic–benthic coupling

Three-Dimensional Atlas System for Mouse and Rat Brain Imaging Data

Tomographic neuroimaging techniques allow visualization of functionally and structurally specific signals in the mouse and rat brain. The interpretation of the image data relies on accurate determination of anatomical location, which is frequently obstructed by the lack of structural information in the data sets. Positron emission tomography (PET) generally yields images with low spatial resolution and little structural contrast, and many experimental magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) paradigms give specific signal enhancements but often limited anatomical information. Side-by-side comparison of image data with conventional atlas diagram is hampered by the 2-D format of the atlases, and by the lack of an analytical environment for accumulation of data and integrative analyses. We here present a method for reconstructing 3-D atlases from digital 2-D atlas diagrams, and exemplify 3-D atlas-based analysis of PET and MRI data. The reconstruction procedure is based on two seminal mouse and brain atlases, but is applicable to any stereotaxic atlas. Currently, 30 mouse brain structures and 60 rat brain structures have been reconstructed. To exploit the 3-D atlas models, we have developed a multi-platform atlas tool (available via The Rodent Workbench, http://rbwb.org) which allows combined visualization of experimental image data within the 3-D atlas space together with 3-D viewing and user-defined slicing of selected atlas structures. The tool presented facilitates assignment of location and comparative analysis of signal location in tomographic images with low structural contrast

Episoder med skadelige alger og maneter i oppdrett- hva kan vi lære av erfaringer fra merdkanten

Prosjektleder Trine DaleNoen ganger forårsaker oppblomstringer av alger og maneter skadelig for akvakulturvirksomhet og forårsaker fiskedød og redusert fiskevelferd. Et ferskt eksempel er oppblomstringen av Chrysochromulia leadbeateri i 2019 som forårsaket massiv fiskedød og store tap for de oppdretterne som ble berørt. Det er en bekymring for at havbruksnæringen vil oppleve økte problemer med skadelige alger og maneter i fremtiden grunnet klimaendringer. Et steg på veien mot et system som kan bidra til å forebygge og håndtere episoder med skadelige alger og maneter er å sammenstille eksisterende kunnskap, både den som finnes i forsknings- og teknologimiljøene og den som næringen selv besitter. I dette prosjektet har vi samlet vitenskapelig og erfaringsbasert kunnskap om hvordan skader grunnet alger og maneter kan forebygges og håndteres, og laget en prototype på et brukervennlig verktøy som tilgjengeliggjør dette kunnskapsgrunnlaget. Vi har innhentet erfaringsbasert kunnskap gjennom dybdeintervjuer med oppdrettere og fiskehelsepersonell fra Norge, Chile, Canada og UK. Her rapporteres resultatene fra disse intervjuene herunder respondentenes beskrivelser av hvordan episoder med skadelige alge og manetoppblomstringer arter seg, deres erfaringer med ulike avbøtende tiltak og hvordan disse har virket, tanker omkring hvordan man kan bygge beredskap for fremtiden.FHF – Fiskeri- og havbruksnæringens forskningsfinansieringpublishedVersio

Aquaculture operation Bulletin: Weather window nowcast/forecast Bulletin tool for offshore aquaculture operators

Use Case Title: Offshore aquaculture siting Environmental matrix of interest (Air, Ice, Mar. Water, etc.): Marine Study Regions: Shelf Seas in Norway, Ireland and Spain Dissemination Method: Web We will develop a weather window tool to give developers real-time access to observations and model forecasts of seas state to plan day to day operation

Report AtlantOS fitness for offshore aquaculture siting

European policy intends to expand the space available to aquaculture by cultivating sites that are offshore. This presents challenges in terms of building structures, e.g., fish cages that withstand the effects of offshore weather conditions along the Atlantic coast. In order to establish possible future sites for offshore aquaculture production AtlantOS T8.5 gathered relevant wave, current velocity and water column structure measurements from the coasts of Ireland, Norway and Spain and used these data to validate site assessment models of the potential new offshore aquaculture sites. This deliverable report assesses the fitness for purpose of the generic aquaculture decision support tool developed

ØKOKYST Subprogram Nordsjøen Nord, Annual Report 2018

Prosjektleder Trine DaleI ØKOKYST-delprogram Nordsjøen Nord ble deler av grunnprogrammet gjennomført i 2018. Prøvetakningen inkluderte 8 pelagiske stasjoner, 6 hardbunnstasjoner og 5 bløtbunnstasjoner, hvorav 2 pelagiske, 2 hardbunns og 1 bløtbunnstasjon var tilleggsundersøkelser (opsjoner). En stasjon fra Ferrybox er også inkludert i 2018-programmet. Det inngår 12 vannforekomster i delprogram Nordsjøen Nord, og 11 av disse ble prøvetatt i 2018. Tilstanden varierte fra «Dårlig» til «Meget god» i 2018. Vannforekomsten Maurangsfjorden fikk tilstand «Dårlig», og redusert tilstand var knyttet til kvalitetselementet makroalger. Vannforekomsten Aurlandsfjorden fikk tilstand «Moderat». Her var redusert tilstand knyttet til kvalitetselementet klorofyll-a. 5 av vannforekomstene fikk «God» tilstand, mens de resterende 4 fikk tilstand «Meget god».MiljødirektoratetpublishedVersio

Harmful Algal Bloom Bulletins

Use Case Title: Harmful Algal Blooms Environmental matrix of interest (Air, Ice, Mar. Water, etc.): Marine Study Regions: Shelf Seas in Norway, Ireland and Spain Dissemination Method: Web Providing near real-time and forecast information for the aquaculture industry along Europe’s Atlantic coast is of vital importance in mitigating the effects of HABs. In this task, In-situ and satellite data will be amalgamated in a decision support system. In-situ data include oceanographic data e.g. water column structure, current speeds, biological samples (e.g. algal toxins, phytoplankton cell counts, barcoding) and hydrographic and biogeochemical information where possible. The In-situ data will be used to inform and validate biophysical models and to produce circulation forecasts for the coming three to five days. These data will undergo expert interpretation to produce an early warning bulletin to the aquaculture industry in Spain, Norway and Ireland. The bulletin will be distributed over a specified production season to fish farmers and shellfish production facilities so that husbandry and harvesting techniques can reflect the prevailing HAB conditions at any point in time