PEOPLE IN PROJECT 5.1 BIOQUAL

Project leader is Professor <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Björn Thrandur Björnsson, PhD, of the Göteborg University. He has led an internationally recognized research group in fish endocrinology for 15 years, and published close to 100 papers on fish endocrinology and aquaculture. His major field of expertise is the regulation of physiological processes such as development, growth, metabolism, appetite and osmoregulation by the growth hormone – insulin-like growth factor I system and other hormones. In SEAFOODplus, his most important role will be to elucidate how lipid and protein metabolism in fish is regulated, helping to establish a knowledge-based approach to production of tailor-made seafood. In addition to holding several larger national research grants, he’s participated in two 4FP EU RTD projects (ENDOCONAQUA and AQUAWILD) and is currently the coordinator of two 5FP EU RTD projects (GUTINEGRITY and ARRDE), as well as a partner of the Thematic Network FORM<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 Thrandur.bjornsson(at)zool.gu.se

Key persons in BIOQUAL:

Professor Ian Alistair Johnston, PhD, University of St. Andrews, is an internationally recognised authority on fish muscle and the author of 250 primary research articles on the subject over the last 31 years. His current research is at the forefront of efforts to exploit post-genomics approaches to investigate the genetic basis of growth and quality traits in teleost fish. He was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1987 and was awarded the Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London in 1984. He is currently Chandos Professor of Physiology and Director of the Gatty Marine Laboratory at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and has served on numerous national scientific committees including the Councils of the Natural Environment Research Council, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Marine Biological Association UK and the Society of Experimental Biology.

Dr. Einar Eg Nielsen, DTU Aqua is an internationally recognised senior research scientist in population genetics of anadromous and marine fishes, with more than 20 papers in highly ranked scientific journals since 1996. He has been among the very first to exploit the genomic revolution to study genetic variation among populations of fish in the wild and in aquaculture. In SEAFOODplus his main activity will be to identify genetic variation for quality traits in natural populations, which can form the basis of broodstock selection. He is a member of several scientific committees and the coordinator of the genetic work in the 5FP EU project METACOD, and a member of the scientific steering committee of the Thematic Network SALGEN.

 een(at)difres.dk

Dr. Anders Aksnes, NIFA is biochemist and nutritionist. He has long experience with analyses of water soluble components that are relevant for marine raw material and nutritional evaluation of fish feed ingredients, fish feed and farming. Freshness, impact of processing, taste and attractants are among the work that is performed and published. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Johnson Seafarms Ltd. is the largest independently owned and family run fish farming company in Shetland, an innovative marine fish/shellfish production company. It is managed and run by Gordon Johnson, who has been involved in the fish farming business for over twenty years. The main production has been Atlantic salmon (8000 tonnes annually). Recent diversification programme includes a successful pilot project on cod, and trout, haddock and mussels are also being grown. The company is moving into value added processing, and has modern equipped and well appointed facilities, maintaining a well trained and experienced management and workforce, employing 22 people in the Shetland <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />village of Vidlin. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Ellinor Helland,  from the BioMar Group. The company is developing, manufacturing and marketing fish feed with 12-20% global market share within the segments of salmon, coho, trout, sea bass and black sea bream. The company has factories in 6 countries and an annual capacity of 505 000 tonnes. The sale and distribution of BioMar cover Europe, Chile and selected markets of Asia. The BioMar R&D Group includes 16 scientists in Norway, Scotland, Denmark, and Chile, and has access to pilot facilities for production of experimental feed at BioMar’s Technology centre in Brande (DK), and freshwater tank facilities at Hirtshals (DK) and for seawater at Doenna (N). BioMar cooperates with fish farmers and research institutes, and drives development of commercial feed with expertise in fish physiology and nutrition. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Jonny Innvær manager at AGA Halibut AS. The company is situated in Dønna, Northern Norway, and is a holding company for integrated halibut and cod production, carried out by three fully owned daughter companies. It focuses on ongrowing juveniles (5-500 g) through the company Dønna Marine Settefisk A/S and production of market size fish through the company Donnamar Halibut A/S. DMH buys juveniles from alliance partners. The company has 25 persons employed and is locally owned. Halibut are stocked in 40 land-based rearing tanks as juveniles and ongrown sea cages. AGA Halibut is one of the leading companies in Norway within marine fish aquaculture and plans an output of 0.5M halibut and 1M cod annually.

Dr. Dave Robb, EWOS Innovation, is an expert on salmonid flesh quality parameters. EWOS Innovation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cermaq ASA, and is a sister company to the EWOS and Mainstream group of companies.  The four companies in the EWOS group are located in Norway, Chile, Scotland and Canada and produce feed for farmed fish species, mostly salmon and trout. The three companies in the Mainstream group (located in Chile, Scotland and Canada) produce farmed salmon and trout. The role of EWOS Innovation is to support these operating companies with specialist technical expertise related to production of feed and fish and to conduct and commission R&D projects where further knowledge is required. The company is based in South-West Norway, it has 3 R&D fish farms and employs 70 people, including 18 scientists. Research topics include replacement of marine raw materials in feed, optimisation of feed formulations, optimisation of extruded running conditions, and methods for improving environmental conditions for fish health, welfare and product quality.

Dr. Elisabeth Jönsson Bergman, Göteborg University, is carrying out research on the endocrine control of food intake, energy balance, lipid metabolism and growth in fish. The main focus is on the role of the brain-gut hormone ghrelin in these processes, and its functional relation to the growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I system.
She has previous research experience from the EU project GUTINTEGRITY and participates in the thematic network FORM.