Does adapting to a warmer climate have drawbacks?
When animals evolve to tolerate higher temperatures, those evolutionary changes might have other negative effects. Or maybe not.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Life Below Water
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Immediate action is a key factor for successful marine restoration
It could take up to 200 years for our degraded ocean habitats to fully recover if we just leave them alone. So, we must intervene. The good news is that it works.
High mercury levels found in Svalbard birds
Norwegian seabirds are struggling. Svalbard seabirds have mercury levels above the threshold for deleterious effects on reproduction, researchers have found.
PFAS: found 180 times more ‘forever chemicals’ in birds
These man-made toxic substances are often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’. There are thousands of different variants, and researchers are finding more and more of them.
How scientists will prevent plastic pollution in the ocean
Ropes and fishing gear used in the fisheries and aquaculture industries are a major source of microplastics in the ocean and littering along the coastline. A multidisciplinary international research team has now drawn up a plan that will help to reduce pollution.
Autonomous robots track plankton in the Arctic Ocean
Underwater robots, combined with simple instruments from 100 years ago, are helping researchers unlock the secrets of microscopic marine organisms called plankton.
Found hundreds of species using DNA barcoding
There are millions of species on Earth that we still know nothing about. Researchers call these species ‘biological dark matter’, but new methods can provide us with a better overview more quickly.
Flushing rubbish down the toilet has impacts on nature
Out of sight, out of mind? Far from it! Urine, faeces and toilet paper are the only things you should ever flush down the toilet. Anything else has a negative impact on marine life.
Cracking the planetary code
Imagine if everyone were to agree to do everything they can to help the planet. Right now. What sort of state would we and the planet be in in 2050? And what would we have to do?
Researchers work to promote phosphorus recovery and recycling
Here’s how Norway can limit the loss of an all-important substance, phosphorus.
Fish residues can compensate for raw materials shortages and improve our health into the bargain
More than a million tonnes of fish residues can rescue the food and cosmetic industries from raw materials shortages – and create new jobs. The key factors here are oils rich in omega-3, collagen and gelatin.
Researchers surprised by penned fish responses to robots
Norway leads the world when it comes to the use of robots in the aquaculture sector. But how do these robots actually impact on the fish? Cyberneticist Eleni Kelasidi is surprised by just how much.
A ‘new’ fish may soon be finding its way onto fresh food counters
Research is revealing that a cod-like fish called ‘cusk’ may soon be making a big splash on Norwegian dinner plates. But you will have to search long and hard to find it on sale today.
Is it safe to feed farmed salmon with bristle worms raised on fish excrement?
It is currently prohibited to provide animals with feed derived from the same animals’ own ‘value chain’. But this legislation is not based on science.
If we can’t untangle this mess, Norway’s blue industry will never be green
For the first time, researchers have investigated how ropes and fishing lines are handled by the Norwegian commercial fishing industry. The fishing fleet loses almost 400 tonnes of rope in Norwegian waters every year.
Ultrasound can save fish in hydropower rivers
Shooting sound waves through water can remove dissolved gas that results from hydropower production in rivers. This gas can harm fish. Researchers are now ready to test techniques to reduce the risk in real hydropower plants.
Climate change in Greenland could cause trouble for arctic char
Greenland’s glaciers are melting and the surrounding seawater is getting warmer. How are arctic char coping with climate change? Scientists are in the process of figuring it out.
Copepods – tiny creatures that can help reduce the need for soya imports
In the sea, fish feed on species lower in the food chain. Can these same species form the basis of a new feed industry supplying the fish farming sector?
Norway needs to know much more before actually mining the deep sea
Norway’s law on mining seabed minerals is too unclear, the knowledge base too flimsy, and the Storting’s White Paper on seabed mining does not hold water.
Norway will be the first in the world to approve seabed mining. Is it a good idea?
The transition to a greener, renewable economy will require large amounts of minerals, and society has to get them from somewhere. Norwegian politicians have reached an agreement approving deep sea mining, in a proposal that has reaped both cheers and frustration from scientists and activists alike. Here’s what our scientists think.
Cultivated kelp can now be as good as wild kelp
Norway already exports large amounts of valuable alginate, but new research findings can make this industry even larger and more sustainable.
Researchers surprised at levels of toxicity in standard plastic products
Tonnes of waste from standard plastic products have been uncontrollably released into the world’s oceans, where they gradually break down. But how harmful is this plastic to living organisms, and what is it in these plastics that is so damaging?
Who should collect, manage and have access to data from the oceans?
Research institutions from Norway and other countries have collected a great amount of data from the northern oceans in recent years. Many people want access to this information.
Early whaling eradicated species from local waters
Several whale species disappeared from Europe long before whaling became a major industry. Two of the most common species are no longer found here, and one of them is almost extinct.