«Baby-boom» at Tjeldbergodden

Åse Dragland
Photo: Jens Søraa
Illustrations: Norsk Hummer AS

Jens G. Balchen believes in the large-scale production of lobster juveniles.

The lobster plant will be based, in part, on the experience and technology developed at Tiedemanns´ plant near to Kyrksæterøra, west of Trondheim, Norway.

Large scale production

"We want to recreate the golden age of the Norwegian lobster industry," says lobster enthusiast and professor emeritus at NTNU, Jens Glad Balchen. "Considering Norway´s enormous lobster resources 200 years ago and the thousands of tons of lobster harvested in Norway just 50 years ago, we have a lot to aim for. The Norwegian lobster market has great potential. The demand internationally is increasing and, based on quality, the price should be quite good. If the large-scale production of lobster babies is successful, the price per juvenile should be quite profitable, and local fishermen and ocean ranching companies will find it interesting to try breeding lobsters."

The plant

When berried lobsters are delivered to Norsk Hummer the company will carry out the rest of the job ensuring that the babies survive. The eggs are hatched in small compartments, and computers control the transfer of the larvae to small isolated rooms in the production plant.

The larvae change their shells four times before they become juveniles. Deformed and small juveniles are weeded out and sent back into the system as feed or for further growing.

"The lobster juveniles are cannibals and have to be kept in separate sections," says Balchen. The breeding pool looks like a spiral shaped groove, consisting of 830 floating "stacks". Each stack consists of ten frames piled upon each other, each frame containing 144 little square rooms. "These rooms can be divided into two or four by partition walls," says Balchen. Every 24 hours the juveniles are transferred to the "radius plant" to be fed, sorted, photographed and cleaned. This is done by a computerized elevator system. Rooms where there are juveniles without claws, or dead lobster babies, are registered and visited by other, healthy juveniles that "tidy up" the room.

Recapture

According to the managing director of Norsk Hummer, Arne Tyssø, the lobster juveniles the company breeds are to be put out to sea at the same location where the lobster mother was captured. "This has to do with a sense of belonging to an area and an aim to maintain certain genetic qualities, says Tyssø, who has spent the last year working on market analyses and price calculations.

Stacks of frames float around in the breeding facilities. Each stack is made of 10 frames consisting of 144 little square rooms.

"One thing is to breed lobster juveniles, but it is an equally important part of the process to return them to their natural environment in such a way that they are able to survive. We have carried out thorough studies and examined the conditions of the sea in several places, at Utsira and Fosen among others. We now know what kind of ground composition the lobster prefers, and this is important for improving the fishermen's chances to successfully recapture the lobster."

Norsk Hummer's aim is to provide the technology and methods to achieve a recapturing rate of at least 50%. This can be done only by systematic mapping of the bottom level, using a specially designed vessel (DAHABU), and by keeping fish, birds and other shellfish away when the lobsters are returned to the sea. This way the lobster babies can be brought all the way down to the spot where they are released. In some places their conditions for growing up have to be improved by building artificial reefs.

"Efficient production is made possible through the combination of biological know-how and modern automation technology," says Balchen. "Several of the people who were at the Tiedemann plant are now employed as consultants for Norsk Hummer. In addition, we have established contact with the leading experts in the field through the governmental initiative called PUSH (program for development and stimulation of ocean ranching), as well as Norwegian and foreign teams who have specialized in feed for larvae and juveniles. For instance, we will co-operate with others at Tjeldbergodden concerning the production of live Artemia, the most effective ingredient in the feed," says Balchen.

Contact at NTNU: Jens Glad Balchen
Tel.: +47 73 59 43 82.
E-mail: Jens.Glad.Balchen@itk.ntnu.no