Nofima’s cod roe receives certification
Roe and broodstock production at Nofima has now been certified. “This means that the entire cod farming value chain is certified, which makes the industry more competitive,” says Nofima’s Hilde Toften.
She is Administrative Director of the National Breeding Programme for Cod, which is commissioned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and sells cod roe to fish farmers through an annual auction.
Previously, the certification has only included production from the juvenile stage. This year, version 6 of the Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) IFA Aquaculture standard was launched, which means that roe production also requires specific certification. That process has now been carried out at Nofima, which has also certified the broodstock production of cod.
For a fish farmer that has certified its own production, Nofima’s certification means that the entire value chain is now certified.
Global GAP is an international standard for the production of farmed fish. It is a global standard that specifically focuses on food safety, environmental protection, the working environment and animal welfare. The new version 6 of the standard has stricter documentation requirements and a greater focus on health and welfare than previous versions. Stricter requirements have also been put in place for subcontractors used in operations. The company Kiwa has certified the production of cod roe and broodstock. This production takes place at Tromsø Aquaculture Research Station’s Centre for Marine Aquaculture.
“I must compliment the staff at the Centre for Marine Aquaculture for the great work they have done in putting this in place,” says Toften.
There have been no significant changes in production as a result of the certification.
“What we have improved on is documentation and even better procedures that ensure the health and welfare of the cod. We have a quality assurance system in place that shows how we work and enables us to document it along the way,” says Toften.
The certification also applies retrospectively for all roe sold up to this point.
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About the facilities
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Tromsø Aquaculture Research Station
Tromsø Aquaculture Research Station, of which we are part-owners, is a modern research facility for experimental studies of marine fish, freshwater fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other aquatic organisms.
Fish and aquatic organisms are available for testing in natural and controlled environments. The Tromsø aquaculture station consists of 5,000 square meters of research areas, laboratories, meeting rooms, teaching rooms and offices.
Here you will find:
- The Land based Research Facility (Landanlegget) is adapted for studies in controlled conditions.
- The Fish Health Laboratory (Fiskehelselaboratoriet) is designed for challenge studies involving fish.
- RASforsk for research in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)
- Centre for Marine Aquaculture (Senter for marin akvakultur) is the production facility for the Norwegian Cod Breeding Program. Nofima has the overall responsibility for the centre, while Tromsø Aquaculture Research Station is responsible for the practical operation.
The aquaculture station has permits for the production of 81 species, work with all known fish diseases, as well as work with genetically modified organisms. If necessary, permits, species and experimental units can be obtained.
The aquaculture station is owned 50 percent by Nofima and 50 percent by Uit The Arctic University of Norway.
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Skarsfjordvegen 860
9131 Kårvik
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Centre for Marine Aquaculture
The centre and associated sea facilities are used for the production of and experiments with farmed cod.
Nofima has been commissioned by the government to operate a national breeding programme for cod, the aim of which is to improve the production characteristics of cod in aquaculture.
We offer:
- A large number of tanks of different sizes
- Advanced water treatment, including heating and cooling
- Brood stock tanks with lighting control
- Live feed (rotifers and artemia)
- Automated initial feeding with the aid of a feeding robot
- Laboratory and office facilities
- Experienced operating staff who can assist in performing trials
- Nofima annually puts fertilised cod eggs up for auction. This is announced every autumn on nofima.no.
The roe and broodstock production of cod is certified according to version 6 of the Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) IFA aquaculture standard.
The onshore facility
The onshore facility, which is located on Kvaløya (15 km from the centre of Tromsø), has been built to produce the fry of marine species.
The facility has sufficient capacity to provide initial feeding for up to 300 groups of fry simultaneously. It is therefore particularly well suited to breeding and trials that require a large number of tank units.
The main tasks of the facility are to produce family groups of cod, which are marked and put out into cages for further growth, and to produce cod eggs for commercial hatcheries. The facility has developed streamlined production for these purposes, with good routines to ensure stable and predictable production.
The facility is particularly well suited to research into the early life stages of marine fish, covering areas such as feed, water quality, genetics, health and production records. More recently, the facility has also begun to be used for research into areas other than breeding and species other than cod.
The marine facility
The marine facility is located at Røsneshamn on Ringvassøya. This is a steel cage facility with integral service fleet.
Fish are kept in this facility from initial stocking until they become sexually mature after three years. The best fish are then selected to become the parents of the next generation and are brought back to the onshore facility.
The facility has been specially designed for breeding purposes. For hygienic reasons, to prevent infection, the facility is exclusively used for growing on cod from the onshore facility.
Questions and enquiries
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Salarøyvegen 979
9103 Kvaløya
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Breeding programme for cod
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