Published 2009-12-17
By David John Smith
Norway is one of the world leaders within aquaculture and bio-marine activities. With a coastline measuring over 25,000 kilometers, this is a country that knows the sea, and it is home to two of the few fish breeding companies worldwide; Aqua Gen for salmon and GenoMar for tilapia.
The Oslo region plays a central role in Norwegian efforts within marine biotechnology. This has been the basis for the establishment of MareLife, a bio-marine member organization which mobilizes leading representatives from industry, R & D, venture capital groups and the public to develop concrete projects and cooperation within the Biomarine sector.
Virtually Unlimited Potential
According to MareLife Project Manager Øystein Lie, “Aquatic and marine genetic resources are virtually unlimited if we apply more knowledge-based sustainable management.” Biomarine activities are R&D and business “motors” in both the regional and national context. Oslo Teknopol was a key initiative driver behind the establishment of MareLife. The membership is truly cross sector, embracing leading international players and trend setters from industry, finance, public and private investors, universities and a range of science and technology organizations.
Focus activities include common generic R&D and innovation projects addressing the big issues like aquaculture diseases, sustainable feed resource exploitation, understanding the structures and dynamics of living aquatic resources. The organization is also strongly involved in communication and reputation building and working at optimizing the frameworks for the marine sector
For more information: www.marelife.no
 |
A tiny egg that will one day become a cod © Institute of Marine Research |