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Framsenteret in Winter

Akvaplan-niva provides consultancy, research and laboratory services to companies, authorities, NGO's and other customer worldwide. Services include environmental monitoring surveys, impact and risk assessments, arctic environmental research, aquaculture design and management consultancy, R&D on new aquaculture species, and a number of accredited environmental and technical inspections.

Akvaplan was established in 1984 primarily working in the aquaculture sector as Akvaplan AS and in 1991 NIVA became a shareholder and Akvaplan-niva AS was formed.

Akvaplan-niva's head quarters are located in the Polar Environmental Centre, one of 9 institutes. Salve Dahle is the director and Akvaplan-niva employs around 40 people in its 6 offices in Norway (2), Russia, France, Iceland and Spain.

The company is organized in 5 thematic areas:

• Aquaculture consultancy, department manager: Anton Giæver
• Aquaculture research, coordinator: Albert Imsland
• Marine environmental monitoring and consultancy, department manager: Lars-Henrik Larsen
• Coastal and freshwater environmental monitoring and consultancy, department manager: Roger Velvin
• Environmental research, coordinator JoLynn Carroll

Environmental Services

Akvaplan-niva offers a wide range of environmental services to the petroleum and other industries, local and national authorities, infrastructure developers and interest organizations.

Akvaplan-niva designs projects to fulfil the needs of our clients, using up-to date techniques in accordance with relevant standards and procedures.

Akvaplan-niva staff are accredited for sampling, analysing, interpreting and reporting of biological samples according to NS-ISO 17025.

Environmental research

The company’s environmental research and development programmes encompassing topics in oceanography and limnology is organized under five main themes:

• Climate and ecosystems
• Biodiversity and taxonomy
• Ecotoxicology
• Physical oceanography and modelling
• Environment and petroleum

Our R&D projects address scientific questions of a multi-disciplinary nature in order to improve understanding of ecosystem processes, their connection to physical forcing mechanisms, and to anthropogenic influences. The R&D activities are supported by grants from national research councils, Norwegian Ministries, private corporations, non-government organisations, European Union framework programmes, and internal company investments. In connection with 15 years of petroleum industry consultancy activities, we have achieved recognition for our expertise on benthic environments and this remains the cornerstone of our company’s R&D competency. The company draws upon an extensive international contact network in order to augment our core research strengths. This network includes regional, national and international experts working in academic, government and private institutes throughout the world. Based in Tromsø, in northern Norway, company scientists both live and work in the European Arctic, making this our core geographic area of investigation and expertise.

Recognizing our shared Arctic coastline and marginal seas with Russia, the company has a long history of effective cooperation and an extensive resume of project results in connection with Russian scientists and institutes.