December 06, 2025

Students Back at Hólar for an Exciting Week Dedicated to Fish Reproduction!​

Students from the Aquaculture Diploma recently took part in a unique hands-on experience as part of the Juveniles and First Feeding course, travelling to southern Iceland for an in-depth immersion in the aquaculture industry. Accompanied by Óli and Marie, they visited eight different aquaculture farms specializing in Atlantic salmon and Arctic charr production.

Throughout the visits, farm staff and Oli shared their expertise on a wide range of topics, including production systems, equipment, fish biology, health management, and feeding strategies. These exchanges gave students valuable insight into the day-to-day reality of professional aquaculture operations.

More than just a series of visits, this practicum also involved a full stock assessment project carried out in small groups, each assigned to one farm. Students focused on a specific tank, where they conducted a sample of 100 juveniles, which they weighed, measured, and carefully examined to assess overall health and detect potential issues such as scale loss, fin damage, or external injuries.

Students were also trained to perform blood sampling on a small group of fish to measure plasma chloride levels, a key indicator of osmoregulatory balance and physiological stress. The same individuals were then dissected to check for internal parasites, gas bubbles in the gills, and other possible abnormalities.

In parallel, students collected a wide range of water quality parameters, including dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, temperature, pH, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, CO₂, and light intensity, allowing them to fully interpret fish health in relation to the tank environment. They also gathered extensive operational information from farm staff to ensure their analysis reflected real production conditions as accurately as possible.

Afterwards, students worked with Óli on data processing and interpretation, learning how to calculate key performance indicators such as the FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) and SGR (Specific Growth Rate), directly linked to course content. Based on all collected data, each group will now produce a comprehensive technical report, which will be shared with the farm as a real professional assessment.
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This practicum was an outstanding learning experience, combining teamwork, industry immersion, and advanced technical training, and provided students with a strong foundation for their future careers in aquaculture.