AQUA NOR 2023: A successful industry gathering

A successful industry gathering

Billund Aquaculture has been taking part in Aqua Nor since 1986, the year the company was founded. After over 30 years of continued attendance, this year in particular, we saw an unprecedented surge in visitors, both to our booth and to the exhibition in general. Wednesday, August 23^rd saw the highest attendance in a single day in the whole history of the show, with 9,013 attendees.

Over 25,000 people from 80 different countries packed into the Trondheim Spektrum halls from August 22-24, all eager to partake in the world's most important aquaculture technology trade fair.

“It's very gratifying to see such a large turnout, to reconnect with old colleagues, and to form new relationships with potential customers who have come to discuss their projects with us. The opportunity to meet with individuals who are well-versed in RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture Systems) has been an added bonus. We are actively looking for professionals with knowledge of RAS, and this event is the ideal platform to engage with them,” Billund's CSO, Bjarne Olsen, said.

Diversity at Aqua Nor

This year’s event set records not only for its attendance but also in terms of the number of nationalities present, which was reflected in the diversity of species and projects discussed on a daily basis.

Christian Sørensen, Group CEO and Founder of Billund Aquaculture, noted, “Having a global audience present at Aqua Nor is encouraging to see, because for Billund, as a Danish-based company, it is important to spread our brand name and reputation worldwide.”

Unlike in previous years at Aqua Nor, where the main focus of discussion, technology and innovation was centered around salmon, this time, various other species took center stage.

“It’s true that Billund Aquaculture is very much linked to the salmon industry, but we do see opportunities with other species. We are a firm believer in the potential that Yellowtail Kingfish holds in the future, while Barramundi is also a promising species, particularly in Asia. Meanwhile, Billund has also started looking at the shrimp producing industry,” Sørensen said.

Olsen added that Billund is currently “building the first large-scale RAS nursery for striped bass in Mexico.”

Supporting a Thriving Salmon Industry

The growing diversity of species in our projects should not minimize the pivotal role that salmon plays in developing our solutions. Salmon remains a cornerstone of our ongoing efforts to create more sustainable, efficient and innovative aquaculture solutions.

Speaking of new trends in the pipeline, Bjarne Olsen commented, “We are seeing Tasmania emerge with new post-smolt projects. Iceland is also gaining traction and could potentially see a massive increase in their annual production of full-grown salmon.”

Christian Sørensen said, “We have tremendous trust in the continued growth of this industry and its capacity to produce sustainable aquaculture proteins, and recirculation will play a fundamental role.”

Aqua Nor's digital platform will be operational until May 31st, 2024, so there is still time to visit us at here

The best of Aqua Nor 2023: Watch here