Åkerblå buys Ocean Ecology to strengthen service to Scotland fish farmers

The companies will fast-track the build-up of a joint service offering for the aquaculture industry in the UK and Ireland, Åkerblå said in a press release today. Ocean Ecology opened an office at the European Marine Science Park (EMSP) near Oban earlier this year.

Åkerblå Group chief executive Roger Sørensen said: “We are the leading player within fish health, environment and technical operations to the Norwegian aquaculture sector. In recent years, several clients have asked us for support in the UK.

“Through our investment in Ocean Ecology, we obtain the necessary local competence, equipment and laboratory services that enable us to provide the best and most cost-efficient support to the aquaculture industry in UK and Ireland too.”

Broader range

“We are delighted to partner with Åkerblå Group which allows us to offer a much broader range of complementary services, expertise and experience to our ever-expanding customer base both in the UK and internationally,” said Ocean Technology’s technical director Ross Griffin.

“Teaming up with Åkerblå Group provides us with access to world-class technical expertise in fish health and environmental services which is a very exciting prospect for the team. Partnering with Åkerblå Group will enable us to fast-track our joint offering to the aquaculture sector whilst broadening our service offering to our key offshore renewable clients.”

Ocean Ecology was established in 2013 and is recognised as a UK leader in issues relating to impacts of human activities on marine ecological communities, said the press release. It is considered an industry leader in subjects ranging from survey design, marine monitoring and habitat mapping.

Marine biologists

Ocean Ecology consists of a 20-strong team, primarily marine biologists. It specialises in providing a range of marine survey, laboratory and consultancy services for projects in both the coastal and offshore zones to feed into the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, monitoring programmes and applied research.

The company has fully equipped laboratory facilities and headquarters located on the banks of the Severn Estuary in Gloucestershire and has recently opened its office in Oban.

Åkerblå is a well-known name in salmon farming. Its fish health services include hygiene inspections, remote inspection of sites as a supplement to boat inspections, and pre-treatment bioassays of sea lice to check their sensitivity to medicines.

Its environmental services include topographic surveys, current and wave measurements, sediment, species identification, water surveys and establishment of marine sites.