Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen will open the fair itself on Tuesday August 8 and will hold the closing speech of the conference on the same evening. Keynote speeches will be given by Ulrik Jes Hansen, SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture (the Flume Tank in Hirtshals, Denmark) and Kjell Ramberg, Simrad.
The intention of the conference is to create a forum for communication and discussions among scientists who are concerned about conservation of the marine environment, improving working conditions onboard fishing vessels, efficient utilisation of input factors (biomass, energy, capital and manpower), food safety and quality, and maximising the value of catches.
Fishing technology and efficiency, conservation of the environment and safety at sea are all closely linked to an overall long-term goal of ensuring that we have clean, rich and productive oceans for wealth creation and sustainable use. This requires an ecosystem approach to fisheries research and management, and poses new challenges to basic marine research, observation and harvesting technology, ecosystem assessment, modelling and prediction, and improved management tools and strategies.
The NFTC 2006 conference will focus on a new agenda for fisheries development capable of meeting the need for sustainability. Contributions that deal with improving sustainability in the capture and on-board processing of fish and other marine products will be given priority.
The main topics to be dealt with by the conference are:
Macro-effects of technology, Platforms for fisheries research, Safe and efficient fishing vessels, Technological improvements in fishing gear, Ocean forecasting and climate effects, and Catch handling and processing technology.
Between 40 and 50 scientific papers will be presented.
NFTC 2006 introduces a new medium for posters: the Electronic Poster.
The conference is being organized by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the Institute of Marine Research, SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture Ltd and The Nor-Fishing Foundation.
Arrangements will be made to enable delegates to conveniently visit the Nor-Fishing Fair 2006, which will open on Tuesday August 8.
For more information: www.nftc.no
