Environmental assessments

Akvaplan-niva has long experience with environmental monitoring of both of freshwater and marine aquaculture sites in Norway and abroad. Through such monitoring and follow-up programs, fish farmers can maintain optimal production with good environmental conditions. It is important to avoid site degradation since it can lead to lower growth rates and increased risk for outbreak of fish diseases and longer site recovery periods.

In Norway, there is a tiered approach to environmental monitoring of marine fish farms:

Type A monitoring is voluntary. It can be done by the fish farmers themselves. It is done with sediment-traps and measures the amount of deposited feed waste and faeces over a period of 14 days.
Type B monitoring is a simple trend monitoring of the sediment quality under the cages. It should be done by a competent company during the period of highest production, and involves both and chemical analysis. Sampling is done with a Van Veen-grab, and the Redox potential is measured as a indicator of organic pollution.
Type C monitoring is to be done by accredited environmental consultant companies. Sediments are sampled from both under the cages and elsewhere in the recipient. The main indicator of organic pollution is the fauna, and a full quantitative benthic analysis is done according to NS 9423 Environmental monitoring of marine fish farms.

Akvaplan-niva is accredited for environmental monitoring of fish farms according to Norwegian Standard NS 9410 Environmental monitoring of marine fish farms. We performs both Type B and C monitoring, and are a major supplier of taxonomical services to other inspection companies who are not accredited.

Project examples:

Contact information:

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