[Norway] The Norwegian government has allocated NOK 10 million ($1.1m) to fund aquaculture research in the wake of the severe algae outbreak earlier this year, reports Government Europa.

Funding will go towards measures such as surveillance systems along the Northern coast of Norway, so that fish could be moved promptly to a non-contaminated location.

Announcing the aquaculture funding measures, Norway’s seafood minister Harald Nesvik said: “We need to have better knowledge and be better prepared if future attacks occur, especially in the early stages of an algae bloom.”

“The coastal areas offer great opportunities for employment creation and investment, so it is important that we try to protect them. The algal bloom in Northern Norway in the spring hit the aquaculture industry and the local communities hard; and a lot of money was lost.”

Norwegian Seafood Council estimated Norway’s aquaculture sector suffered economic losses of as much as NOK 2.2 billion ($240m) due to the bloom, which was Norway’s worst algae outbreak in nearly 30 years. Scientists have suggested that the magnitude of the event was exacerbated by warming ocean currents caused by climate change.

 

View original article at: Norway announces $1m funding to protect salmon farms from algae blooms

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