Skretting upgrades R&D facility
Research activities for Skretting are conducted through the research organization Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) in Stavanger, Norway. This latest EUR 2.8-million investment in R&D was targeted at the Skretting ARC fish trials station at Lerang, just outside Stavanger.
Improvements include the installation of 42 saltwater tanks to accommodate ongrowing fish up to market size, on land. This means there are no longer any trials in conventional net pens in the fjord where Lerang is based. The tanks, which have sophisticated instruments controlling important variables as temperature and feed intake, will give even more accurate data for R&D. Wout Dekker, the CEO of the Skretting parent company Nutreco, opened the new facility together with the Mayor of Forsand community, Ole Tom Guse.
“Skretting and Nutreco utilize the findings generated at Lerang worldwide. The upgrading confirms the ranking of this trial station among international leaders,” said Wout Dekker at the opening today.
The annual R&D budget of Skretting ARC is EUR 9 million. Activities are co-ordinated from Norway and the research results are implemented by Skretting companies around the world. In addition to the Lerang fish trials station, Skretting ARC runs a feed technology plant and a large, advanced laboratory. Some 60 researchers of ten nationalities, many at PhD level, work at the centre and research facilities.
The upgrade makes the Lerang fish trials station totally land based, even when conducting seawater trials. Research in land-based tanks offers greater options to control conditions such as temperature. At the same time, by raising the fish in tanks, external threats such as attacks from seals, lice and seagulls have been eliminated.
Wout Dekker, the CEO of the Skretting parent company Nutreco, opened the new facility together with the Mayor of Forsand community, Ole Tom Guse
