Sunday, October 29, 2017

30/10/2017: At the forefront of the aquacultural technological revolution

Record attendance - up 30 percent in 2017

The development of commercial aquaculture in Norway began around 1970, and with the majority of its towns and cities being coastal, it was and remains a prime country for the marine aquaculture industry to absolutely boom


 
www.aqua-nor.no
Salmon farming is by far the heart of Norwegian aquaculture production, amounting for more than 80 percent of the farmed fish. Rainbow trout, which features this month as International Aquafeed’s ‘Expert Topic’, is also very important, alongside cod, halibut and shellfish species such as blue mussels and oysters, all of which are in the process of become commercially viable sectors.

Of course, aquaculture itself in Norway dates back to 1850 when the first brown trout were hatched, with a history this rich in the practice it is unsurprising that by 2015 nearly 1.4 million tonnes of aquaculture production was recorded.

It is for reasons such as these that events such as Aqua-Nor and Nor-Fishing are so imperative for the global fish farming industry. Not to mention that in today’s industrial climate technology is this region is an absolute hot spot for development and research – and the focus for which Aqua-Nor is so internationally famous for.

The Crown Prince of Norway
Speaking of famous, as aquaculture is such an integral part of Norwegian culture it makes sense, but still a notable privilege, that the event was attended and enjoyed by Crown Prince of Norway, HRH Haakon Magnus, who even partook in some of the VR (Virtual Reality) opportunities that were on offer.

Occurring between August 15-18, 2017, the event, which was held in the Trondheim Spektrum Centre in Trondheim and organised by Ola Eriksen (who features as this month’s interview in International Aquafeed also), boasted record-breaking figures.

The show reported that no less than 27,110 visitors enjoyed the exhibition, representing an increase of more than 30 percent compared to the 2015 edition.

Kar Steinsbø, Project Manager, Nor-Fishing Foundation, commented on the event, as “A strong professional programme, excellent stands, professional stand personnel all round the exhibition and a good feeling through all four days have made Aqua-Nor 2017 an exhibition to remember.

In addition, there has been a marked increase in the number of students visiting Aqua-Nor and this holds great promise for the future of the industry.”

Visitors per day
Tuesday – 6550
Wednesday – 8043
Thursday – 8211
Friday – 4306
Total – 27,110

The visitors came from 71 countries, including the International Aquafeed team from both the UK and Argentina, and there was a solid increase in the number of exhibitors also. A total of 600 exhibitors showed off their technology and shared their expertise at the stands displayed across the many exhibition areas. Exhibitors represented 25 countries.

However, there was pressure on space both from a display point-of-view and from visitors attending. Good weather on the opening day made it pleasant in the forecourt of the complex as visitors queued to register or to collect their badges. However, wet weather did visit Trondheim on the third day of the show.

Work is now underway to increase the exhibition areas, by replacing several of the halls making up the sports complex with new facilities to be constructed in time for both Nor-Fishing 2018 and Aqua-Nor 2019. There are also plans to improve access and parking and to capitalise on the ‘harbour area’ where demonstrations of fish cages and floating equipment were on display.


Read the full show report, HERE.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by
Perendale Publishers Ltd

For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news

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