“In recent years our scientists have made major progress in the areas of both catch handling and capture-based aquaculture of cod. With increased funding we will be able to produce even more research results that will benefit the entire industry,” says Managing Director Øyvind Filling-Jensen.
Nofima is an industry-oriented research institute that aims to provide a competitive edge for the entire industry. This year Nofima has, amongst other achievements, highlighted the value of capture-based aquaculture of cod that has provided a very high quality of stockfish.
Intensive research efforts are also being made in the area of catch handling, so that the fishermen can deliver the best possible quality.
The draft national budget states that:
“It is proposed to increase Nofima’s appropriation by NOK 10 million as part of the package of measures for the cod industry. In collaboration with the Norwegian Seafood Council, NOK 5 million of this will go to long-term strategic marketing for whitefish, and NOK 5 million to accelerate efforts with catch handling and capture-based aquaculture.”
“We are currently working on a new business plan and with the provisions from the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, which is our largest shareholder, it is clear that the cod industry will benefit from the efforts of our scientists in the years to come,” says Filling-Jensen.
Overall, the food research institute Nofima is satisfied with the draft national budget for 2014.
The draft increase in the grant is NOK 16.2 million, which is index-linked by 3.5 per cent for inflation. In total, the proposed figure from the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs for 2014 is NOK 95.1 million. This constitutes around 18 per cent of the total turnover of just over 500 million for the research institute, which has its head office in Tromsø.
Nofima carries out contract research for the industries and funds its activities through grants from the Research Council of Norway, the industries’ research funds, Innovation Norway, the EU and the industry, amongst others.
