CandRAS Kompetanse og utdanning innen landbasert produksjon av laks i resirkuleringsanlegg

A central part of this project is the development of competence in the industry, and our introductory course for RAS biology is well established. This year it attracted 29 participants from five different farming companies, in addition to representatives from R&D, teachers from high school with aquaculture education. The course attracts a broad group of attendees, as we would expect form an introductory level education. The content have been adjusted based on evaluations from participants, as we try to ensure that they get the intended learning outcomes from the course. In this respect, water chemistry proves to be challenging. We have made successful adjustments to the teaching material, and continue working in collaboration with institute of chemistry to improve. The advanced EVU course started last autumn with 15 participants - BIO-6002 EVU RAS biology/15 ECTS – and was finalized in June. Five different farming companies were represented, as well as employees from Tromsø Aquaculture Research Station. We also have staff from Fagskolen Nord that contribute to lab teaching and also sit in on all the other activities. A project funded by the Direktoratet for høyere utdanning og kompetanse (HK Dir) makes it possible to run this course with the activities decentralized, with workshops in Lakselv, Skjervøy and Ringvassøy. We include company visits and case-based teaching at the facilities visited. Plans for a study program at UiT have been well received by the faculty management. The suggested program is in line with the growing need for a specialized education aimed at production biology and RAS, but the economic situation, which applies to all Norwegian universities, currently makes it very challenging to establish new study programs. We are working on alternatives for funding of new developments of our existing and future studyprograms to align the educations to meet the need of “first day competence” in the industry. The project group has specific research and teaching expertise and continues the dialogue about possibilities for a joint international master's program in RAS biology. The project has succeeded in recruiting a post-doc in water chemistry, with a candidate that holds broad competence in analytical chemistry. He has spent the first period getting acquainted to fish farming and challenges related to production in RAS. UiT has employed two PhD-students who are associated with activities in the project. One has a central role in initial testing of RASforsk with experiments related to intensive production and fish performance and welfare, while the other works with effects of water quality (ammonia) on development in early life. The issues are relevant in relation to challenges in the industry, and research questions based on discussions in this project. Work on testing the different systems in our new research facility (RASforsk) has been ongoing this period. With all necessary certificates and approvals in place, we could start initial testing with live fish in June. A full capacity test has been organized, and start up only awaits stable conditions in the biofilters with regard to capacity of ammonia denitrification. Two master students will also be involved in this work, focusing on water quality and fish welfare respectively, with the latter already employed by one of the industrial partners in CandRAS. A researcher from DTU Aqua visited two of the industrial partners, with the intent to learn more about scale and practical operation to improve future teaching material. Together with staff, he identified several areas that potentially could improve water treatment, and specific water sampling regimes for documentation have already been established. We are also involved in planning of another 2 new master thesis projects in collaboration with other industrial partners. Through joint meetings, we have identified relevant issues for the industry in the region, and several have led to joint projects with the involvement of project-affiliated researchers and research fellows. In addition to two university funded PhDs, we also have a business PhD associated with the project, and will open a call for a project financed PhD to start working in 2025. A new project based on challenges in the industry, and involving several project partners – including industry, recently got funded by the Norwegian Research Council. As part of the own funding, UiT will fund a PhD student, so by the end of 2025 we expect to have 5 PhD students linked to CandRAS. The project has also been visible at international meetings this year, as one of the PhD students presented a poster at the EAS conference in Copenhagen. The poster was based on work that is also recently accepted for publication in Aquaculture. The most important channel for communication for the project is through teaching and teaching materials.

Havbruksnæringen i Norge er i ferd med å gjennomføre en omstilling av settefiskproduksjonen fra tradisjonelle gjennomstrømmingsanlegg til gjenbruk av vannet ved å ta i bruk lukkede resirkuleringsanlegg (RAS). Målsettingen med prosjektet er å utvikle kunnskap og bygge kapasitet og forskningskompetanse for verdiskaping og omstilling/nyskaping i havbruksnæringen og tilknyttet arbeidsliv med særlig vekt på Nord-Norge. CandRAS prosjektet vil bidra til å styrke samarbeid mellom forsknings- og utdanningsmiljøene og næringslivet ettersom FoU aktiviteter og undervisningstilbud tilpasses næringens kort- og langsiktige behov. Per i dag finnes ikke spesifikke kurs eller studieprogrammer for RAS biologi i Nord-Norge, og utvikling av kursmateriell, EVU kurs, og utdanningsprogrammer på videregående og universitetsnivå blir sentrale deler av prosjektet. Dette vil bidra til å øke næringsrelevant utdanningskapasitet og forsker-kompetanse i regionen. En post doc stilling planlegges i tidlig fase av prosjektet for å komme raskt i gang med forskningsoppgavene, Post doc stillingen vil være tilknyttet institutt for kjemi ved UiT og ha fokus på interaksjoner mellom fisk, system og vannkvalitet. Dette arbeidet vil gi grunnlag for å utarbeide en problemstilling for en stipendiatstilling, finansiert av prosjektet. UiT vil finansiere to universitetsstipendiatstillinger som skal jobbe med næringsrelevante problemstillinger, der driftskostnadene dekkes fra prosjektet. Det er også planlagt, og søkt midler for, en nærings-PhD som også vil bli tilknyttet prosjektet. Prosjektet vil videre styrke fagmiljøene innen havbruk med RAS kompetanse og bidra til utvikling av kompetanse og kapasitet på analytisk kjemi ved UiT. Prosjektet vil også styrke samarbeidet mellom Universitet og instituttsektoren, både regionalt og internasjonalt.