Digital twins in the Arctic: How Svalbard is becoming a living lab for marine restoration
A new tool is helping researchers simulate erosion and climate change, turning data into action.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Life Below Water
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A new approach to cutting marine plastic pollution
Many measures have been initiated to reduce plastic pollution in Norway. Only a few of them will lead to extensive change and cleanup, a new study shows.
Regulatory loopholes, endangered wild salmon and suffering farmed salmon
How can we save wild salmon from extinction, and at the same time ensure farmed salmon a life free from lice and other suffering? Research uncovers critical challenges related to management, fish welfare, monitoring and control in the aquaculture industry.
Kelp-eating microalgae offer huge potential
Researchers have been studying algae that eat kelp instead of making their own sugar. The findings open up new ways of making all kinds of useful things out of kelp.
Scientists conclude: Here’s what we have to do to restore our oceans
It can take up to 200 years for damaged marine environments to fully recover by just stopping the destruction and leaving the ecosystems to themselves. That is why we must implement active restoration interventions.
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.
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.