To establish sustainable value chains for exploiting the abundant resources of mesopelagic fish, zooplankton and phytoplankton, new knowledge is needed within six research areas (RA). SFI Harvest’s six research areas include autonomous systems and sensor technology for data collection, ecosystem dynamics, digital decision support for fisheries, harvest technology and onboard processing, land-based processing and product development, and fisheries management and sustainable business models.

Our Research Areas

RA1 Autonomous systems and sensor technology for data collection

Research and innovation challenges: 1) Continuous, unattended sampling of the concentrations of zooplankton, mesopelagic fish species and marine plastic litter/microplastic. 2) Surveying and monitoring of biomass and plastic concentrations using data-driven data collection strategies.

RA2 Ecosystem dynamics

Research and innovation challenges: 1) Short term prediction of ecosystem characteristics for efficient and sustainable harvesting. 2) Long term prediction of ecosystem dynamics for sustainable management of low trophic species.

RA3 Digital decision support for fisheries

Research and innovation challenges: 1) Combination of biomarine models and gathered data to generate information of value, such as predictions of future fishing areas. 2) Business models which encourage data sharing and the development of commercial decision support services in the fishing industry.

RA4 Harvest technology and onboard processing

Research and innovation challenges: 1) Modelling the interaction between fish and harvesting equipment. 2) Cost-effective monitoring of harvest species while trawling. 3) Species and size selection during fishing. 4) Fractionation of the catch before onboard handling. 5) Cost- and energy-effective onboard preservation of mesopelagic species. 6) Cost-effective removal of plastics in the open ocean.

RA5 Land-based processing and product development

Research and innovation challenges: 1) For mesopelagic fish, the high level of autolytic activity and variable raw material quality causes increased energy consumption and reduced product quality. 2) For Calanus and krill, processing methods must be improved in terms of energy use, sustainability and total utilization. 3) Diversification of product portfolio and maximum value creation from harvested biomass. 4) In the development of new products from new species or through new processes, data on the nutritional quality, toxicological and microbial safety of novel food and feed products are needed.

RA6 Fisheries management and sustainable business models

Research and innovation challenges: 1) A sustainable governance regime. 2) Efficient value chains. 3) Sustainable governance and business models.