Fish farming in Lake Malgomaj. Photo: Johan C Thorburn

Primary production

Primary production was one of six research areas in Period 1 (2021-2024). You can find the research areas of period 2 on the research page.

Objectives

The main objective of Research Area 1 is to strengthen primary production of seafood in a sustainable way.

This will be done by
  • promote sustainable aquaculture through new knowledge and development of new aquaculture systems for existing, new and under-exploited species.
  • Clarify the potential for commercialization of our underutilized marine resources.

Knowledge gaps and methodology

To increase seafood production, many challenges need to be addressed.

Existing production and harvesting systems need to be adapted for new species and environments. To address challenges related to primary production, we will use innovative research and methodology development, for example for production systems in freshwater, brackish water and marine areas:
  • Eliminate barriers to aquaculture development by:
    • production of seeds and seedlings for unseeded, extractive species
    • developing growth and harvesting systems for unfed species
    • evaluate co-cultivation of complementary fed and unfed species
    • develop semi-closed systems that capture dry matter from open bags
    • optimizing land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)
    • promote the expansion of multi-purpose offshore platforms combining aquaculture and energy production
    • develop cultivation and breeding protocols for new farmed species
  • Explore the use of new and underutilized species from different environments, including, for example, invasive species, lake fish and small pelagic species such as herring, sprat and spike.

Expected results

An in-depth knowledge of how primary production of seafood in Sweden can be increased in a sustainable way by:
  • Increasing production of underutilized species through both aquaculture and sustainable fisheries
  • Development of commercial scale cultures, pilot scale prototypes and protocols for new aquaculture technologies and species in Sweden.
  • One PhD student specialized in co-cultivation of species and two PhD students specialized in health and welfare and aquaculture development respectively