Since 1979, Norway has hosted the greatest aquaculture show in the world: Aqua Nor.
The exhibition is held every other year, alternating with the fisheries exhibition Nor-Fishing. Aqua Nor is organised by the Nor-Fishing Foundation, and has always been held in Trondheim in mid-Norway, close to numerous salmon farms in the Trondheim fjord, and with all the major fisheries and aquaculture organisations headquartered in the city. This year’s Aqua Nor will be held from 18th through 21st August, and it looks to be the biggest show ever.
Almost 500 exhibitors have signed up already, and the organisers expect 18,000 – 20,000 visitors from about 65 – 70 countries.
Project Manager Kari Steinsbø at Aqua Nor comments on the interest in Aqua Nor 2015: “There is great interest from exhibitors – we have many bookings already. Many are registering early to make sure they get the space and location they want. In addition to the many Norwegian exhibitors, exhibitors from a number of foreign countries like the UK, Chile, China, the USA and Dubai have also registered.”
The exhibition area presently covers 18,000 m2, but will be expanded to about 23,000 m2 when a new hall is added a few years from now.
“But because of the great interest this year, we have added one extra hall,” says Mrs Steinsbø.
“All the exhibition halls were fully booked six months ahead of the show, so we decided to erect a new hall, Hall A2, which is now filling up.”
Skansen – displaying equipment on the water
Aqua Nor is the only aquaculture technology exhibition where you can actually see the equipment in its right element: on the water. At the Skansen area in the Trondheim harbor, a short 10-minute walk from the main exhibition halls, exhibitors display floating cages, workboats, underwater equipment and other installations. On Aqua Nor’s opening day, a gigantic AC850 feed barge will be officially handed over from AKVA group to its new owners, Marine Harvest. This event will take place at Skansen.
Mini-seminars
Norwegian fish farming has experienced a tremendous success over the past 40 years, and the technology that has made this success possible has been on display at Aqua Nor since 1979. In order to give foreign visitors a better understanding of modern, Norwegian aquaculture technology and practices, the Nor-Fishing Foundation joins forces with the Marine Research Institute in Bergen and many of the technology providers to organise a mini-seminar on the latest aquaculture technology. When a similar mini-seminar was held at Aqua Nor 2013, the interest was overwhelming. This year, the theme for this mini-seminar is “Is Norwegian aquaculture technology relevant in other parts of the world?”.
This mini-seminar will be held in the afternoon on the opening day, 18th August.
In addition, numerous other seminars, mini-conferences and presentations will be held on a number of different subjects, ranging from markets for farmed fish to fish health, closed cage systems and other very detailed aspects of fish farming. In 2013, over 30 different seminars and presentations were held.
The research organisation SINTEF will hold an afternoon seminar on Thursday 20th of August, and their focus is on a very hot issue these days: “Future prospects in aquaculture technology – Closed or exposed?”.
For those who would like to see actual fish farms in operation, Innovation Norway is organising a boat trip around the Trondheim Fjord on the day before the opening, on Monday 17th August. This trip is reserved for foreign visitors, and was very successful when it was operated also in 2013.
(Check the full programme HERE.)
Networking
Many visitors claim that the most important aspect of Aqua Nor is the networking - meeting old friends and making new contacts. Consequently, there is a lot of chatting going on in the exhibition halls and above all at the several restaurants on the premises. One of the most popular meeting places is the outdoor restaurant, where people can also listen to heated debates during the lunch hour.
Foreign delegations
Over the years, many foreign delegations have visited Aqua Nor, often headed by ministers and top officials from the visiting countries. There have been large delegations visiting from Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, and other Asian countries, as well as from Latin America and Africa. Many of these delegations have used the occasion to present investment opportunities in their own country during brief seminars during the exhibition.
Innovation Award
The Nor-Fishing Foundation will present the Innovation Award 2015 for the 13th time at Aqua Nor on 18th August 2015. Since 2003, the Board of Directors of the Foundation has contributed NOK 1.3 million to research and development of equipment and services for the aquaculture and fisheries industry, nationally and internationally. In the past, there has been broad international participation in the contest. Previous winners have reported that the award has created great interest in their products and services.
Best stand Award
Since Nor-Fishing 2012 the organisers have given out The Best Stand Award. The idea is to stimulate innovation and reward those exhibitors who put an extra effort into their stand design.
The criteria for selecting the best stand were established in 2012, and they are relatively simple, but relevant:
Book early
Hotel accommodation has traditionally been a problem at Aqua Nor, although in recent years, Trondheim has added more than 30 percent to its hotel capacity. Director of Communications, Erik Hempel, comments: “One has to book hotels and make other arrangements early. For visitors from developing countries, one should also start the process of obtaining a visa to Norway early, because in our experience this can be a time-consuming task.”
For further information please contact:
Erik Hempel,
Director of Communications,
The Nor-Fishing Foundation
Tel.: +47 9084 1124
E-mail: erik.hempel@hempelco.com
Or check the web site HERE.
The exhibition is held every other year, alternating with the fisheries exhibition Nor-Fishing. Aqua Nor is organised by the Nor-Fishing Foundation, and has always been held in Trondheim in mid-Norway, close to numerous salmon farms in the Trondheim fjord, and with all the major fisheries and aquaculture organisations headquartered in the city. This year’s Aqua Nor will be held from 18th through 21st August, and it looks to be the biggest show ever.
Almost 500 exhibitors have signed up already, and the organisers expect 18,000 – 20,000 visitors from about 65 – 70 countries.
 |
| Trondheim (Image: AnneCN) |
The exhibition area presently covers 18,000 m2, but will be expanded to about 23,000 m2 when a new hall is added a few years from now.
“But because of the great interest this year, we have added one extra hall,” says Mrs Steinsbø.
“All the exhibition halls were fully booked six months ahead of the show, so we decided to erect a new hall, Hall A2, which is now filling up.”
Skansen – displaying equipment on the water
Aqua Nor is the only aquaculture technology exhibition where you can actually see the equipment in its right element: on the water. At the Skansen area in the Trondheim harbor, a short 10-minute walk from the main exhibition halls, exhibitors display floating cages, workboats, underwater equipment and other installations. On Aqua Nor’s opening day, a gigantic AC850 feed barge will be officially handed over from AKVA group to its new owners, Marine Harvest. This event will take place at Skansen.
Mini-seminars
Norwegian fish farming has experienced a tremendous success over the past 40 years, and the technology that has made this success possible has been on display at Aqua Nor since 1979. In order to give foreign visitors a better understanding of modern, Norwegian aquaculture technology and practices, the Nor-Fishing Foundation joins forces with the Marine Research Institute in Bergen and many of the technology providers to organise a mini-seminar on the latest aquaculture technology. When a similar mini-seminar was held at Aqua Nor 2013, the interest was overwhelming. This year, the theme for this mini-seminar is “Is Norwegian aquaculture technology relevant in other parts of the world?”.
This mini-seminar will be held in the afternoon on the opening day, 18th August.
In addition, numerous other seminars, mini-conferences and presentations will be held on a number of different subjects, ranging from markets for farmed fish to fish health, closed cage systems and other very detailed aspects of fish farming. In 2013, over 30 different seminars and presentations were held.
The research organisation SINTEF will hold an afternoon seminar on Thursday 20th of August, and their focus is on a very hot issue these days: “Future prospects in aquaculture technology – Closed or exposed?”.
For those who would like to see actual fish farms in operation, Innovation Norway is organising a boat trip around the Trondheim Fjord on the day before the opening, on Monday 17th August. This trip is reserved for foreign visitors, and was very successful when it was operated also in 2013.
(Check the full programme HERE.)
 |
| Image: miemo |
Many visitors claim that the most important aspect of Aqua Nor is the networking - meeting old friends and making new contacts. Consequently, there is a lot of chatting going on in the exhibition halls and above all at the several restaurants on the premises. One of the most popular meeting places is the outdoor restaurant, where people can also listen to heated debates during the lunch hour.
Foreign delegations
Over the years, many foreign delegations have visited Aqua Nor, often headed by ministers and top officials from the visiting countries. There have been large delegations visiting from Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, and other Asian countries, as well as from Latin America and Africa. Many of these delegations have used the occasion to present investment opportunities in their own country during brief seminars during the exhibition.
Innovation Award
The Nor-Fishing Foundation will present the Innovation Award 2015 for the 13th time at Aqua Nor on 18th August 2015. Since 2003, the Board of Directors of the Foundation has contributed NOK 1.3 million to research and development of equipment and services for the aquaculture and fisheries industry, nationally and internationally. In the past, there has been broad international participation in the contest. Previous winners have reported that the award has created great interest in their products and services.
Best stand Award
Since Nor-Fishing 2012 the organisers have given out The Best Stand Award. The idea is to stimulate innovation and reward those exhibitors who put an extra effort into their stand design.
The criteria for selecting the best stand were established in 2012, and they are relatively simple, but relevant:
- Is the stand an attention-getter? It should be a stand that catches the attention of visitors, it should reflect a thematic idea, and be aesthetically pleasing.
- Does the stand attract visitors? Do visitors stop to talk to the personnel?
- Does the stand give clear and relevant information about the message that it is meant to communicate?
 |
| Trondheim (Image: Eirik Refsdal) |
Hotel accommodation has traditionally been a problem at Aqua Nor, although in recent years, Trondheim has added more than 30 percent to its hotel capacity. Director of Communications, Erik Hempel, comments: “One has to book hotels and make other arrangements early. For visitors from developing countries, one should also start the process of obtaining a visa to Norway early, because in our experience this can be a time-consuming task.”
For further information please contact:
Erik Hempel,
Director of Communications,
The Nor-Fishing Foundation
Tel.: +47 9084 1124
E-mail: erik.hempel@hempelco.com
Or check the web site HERE.
The Aquaculturists
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