“My time at Marine Harvest has been amazing, and it isn’t easy to leave such an exciting company and such good colleagues. But when the position at Nofima came up, I knew I had to make use of this unique opportunity. Working with research with an opportunity to add research-based knowledge to the industry is incredibly exciting. I’m really excited to begin in the position on 1 August and look forward to good collaboration with the fish farming industry, one of the most exciting global industries,” she said.
Nofima’s aquaculture division is divided into five departments that cover the aquaculture industry’s entire value chain. All together there are just about 130 people who work in the division all over Norway. In Bergen, the Aquafeed Technology Centre is also being built up in collaboration with the University of Bergen and Uni Research among others.
The appointment marks the first time the institute has stationed one of its directors in Bergen – a reflection of the importance of western Norway to the aquaculture industry.
“Hordaland is the power centre for aquaculture and when we are so lucky to have Bente Torstensen on the team, it is obvious that she should have an office located in Bergen. This will make dialogue with many of the main players in the aquaculture industry, and collaboration with NCE Seafood Innovation much easier,” says Øyvind Fylling-Jensen, CEO of Nofima.
Nofima, with its main office in Tromsø, is divided into three divisions: food science, fisheries and aquaculture. The division management for land-based food production is located in Ås in the southeast, while the fisheries division has its management in Tromsø in the north. With the head of the aquaculture division in place in Bergen in the west, Nofima has an excellent geographical spread. The research institute also has branches in Stavanger and Sunndalsøra.
