Fiskeri- Og Havbruksnssringens Forskningsfinansiering As

What Fiskeri- Og Havbruksnssringens Forskningsfinansiering As does

FHF (Fiskeri- og havbruksnæringens forskningsfinansiering) is a Norwegian research funding organization headquartered in Tromsø that manages the fisheries and aquaculture industry's collective investments in research and development. It operates as an industry-mandated public-private entity structured as a Norwegian AS (private limited company), serving Norway's aquaculture sector (salmon, trout, cod, halibut, wrasse/cleaner fish) and wild fish sector (fisheries, shellfish, whitefish, pelagic). FHF does not sell commercial products or services to customers; instead, it pools industry resources to fund targeted R&D that benefits the entire Norwegian seafood value chain, addressing problems such as sea lice control, fish mortality, feed efficiency, product quality, food safety (Listeria control), and regulatory compliance.

FHF's operational platform is built around four interconnected products: the Prosjektbasen (Project Database), a searchable repository of all FHF-funded projects containing descriptions, participants, budgets, and deliverables; the KI-formidler, an AI-powered natural-language knowledge assistant launched to help users navigate FHF's research archive; the Utlysninger system of open calls for proposals, with individual funding rounds typically ranging from 2 to 10 million NOK; and quarterly Prosjektresultater publications. The organization has also embedded EU taxonomy-aligned sustainability reporting into its project workflows and uses Matomo Cloud, Google Analytics, and Skyra for web analytics and user-experience measurement. AI capabilities extend beyond the KI-formidler into funded projects such as the e-Lice underwater computer-vision system for real-time sea lice larval detection.

FHF's business model is non-commercial. Rather than generating revenue from customers, it is financed through the Norwegian seafood industry's collective contribution mechanism and distributes those funds as research grants to Norwegian research institutions (Nofima, SINTEF Ocean, Havforskningsinstituttet, NIVA, UiB, NMBU, HVL, Akvaplan-niva), technology vendors (Mohn Technology, Optimar, Egersund Trål, Skyra), and industry partners. Its "go-to-market" is therefore stakeholder and policy engagement rather than sales — including an annual Lusekonferansen (sea lice conference), FHF-dialogmøter (dialogue meetings), participation in Arendalsuka and Nor-Fishing, a digital application portal (Digital søknadsportal), and dissemination via newsletter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Fiskeri- Og Havbruksnssringens Forskningsfinansiering As

Legal name

Fiskeri- og havbruksnæringens forskningsfinansiering AS

Website

https://fhf.no

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

FHF is a Norwegian industry-mandated research funding organization, headquartered in Tromsø, that pools and distributes collective seafood-industry investments into R&D projects for Norway's fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aquaculture and Fisheries Research Funding Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Aquaculture (11251), Animal Production and Aquaculture (112)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSANAJAE

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funds

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Impact / ESG & Sustainable Investment Funds

SECONDARYBPADALAI

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Climate, Environment & Sustainable Development Programs

Keywords

• Aquaculture research funding
• Fisheries R&D financing
• Seafood industry research
• Marine research grants
• Joint industry investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Tromsø

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

FHF manages and disburses joint industry investments in research and development for the Norwegian fisheries and aquaculture sectors. It funds R&D projects across aquaculture (fish health, sea lice control, nutrition, processing), wild fish (fisheries technology, processing, quality, food safety), and coexistence areas, with open funding calls typically ranging from 2 to 10 million NOK. It operates a project database (Prosjektbasen), an AI-powered knowledge intermediary (KI-formidler), and a digital application portal to coordinate research between industry, research institutions, and regulators.

Product overview

FHF (Fiskeri- og havbruksnæringens forskningsfinansiering) is a research funding organization for Norway's seafood industry that manages collective industry investments in research and development. The organization operates a platform of interconnected services including a Project Database (Prosjektbasen) for tracking funded research, an AI-powered Knowledge Mediator (KI-formidler) for knowledge retrieval, a Calls for Proposals system (Utlysninger) for funding applications, and quarterly Project Results publications. Research priorities span aquaculture (havbruk), wild fish (villfisk), and coexistence (sameksistens) between aquaculture and wild fisheries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prosjektbasen (Project Database) Comprehensive searchable open database of all FHF-funded research projects covering aquaculture, wild fish, and coexistence areas, including project descriptions, participants, budgets, and deliverables. Available to researchers, industry stakeholders, and the public via the FHF website.
• KI-formidler (AI Knowledge Mediator) AI-powered knowledge assistant that enables users to explore the Norwegian seafood industry's coastal knowledge bank through natural-language questions, retrieving and synthesizing information from FHF's project database, research results, and organizational knowledge. Available to industry stakeholders, researchers, and the public via the FHF website.
• Digital Søknadsportal (Digital Application Portal) and Utlysninger (Calls for Proposals) Digital application portal through which research organizations and companies submit funding applications for R&D projects aligned with FHF's priority areas (aquaculture, wild fish, coexistence, strategic initiatives). Individual open calls typically range from 2 to 10 million NOK. Used by researchers and industry partners to apply for FHF research funding.
• Prosjektresultater (Project Results Publications) Quarterly published summaries of completed FHF-funded research project results, organized by aquaculture and wild fish categories, with detailed project reports and findings. Distributed to Norwegian seafood industry stakeholders and made openly accessible via the FHF website.
• Taksonomikompass (EU Taxonomy Compass) Sustainability reporting model based on the EU taxonomy regulation, embedded in FHF's project reporting workflows to support transparency and regulatory compliance for funded R&D projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sea lice treatment reduction of 63.3% and increase of 10.8 weeks to first treatment using AcuLice acoustic technology
• +6 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Havforskningsinstituttet (Institute of Marine Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHavforskningsinstituttet (HI) is a key research partner in many FHF-funded projects, providing scientific expertise in fish health, wild fish stocks, aquaculture, and environmental monitoring. HI serves as responsible research organization on multiple FHF projects including the SalCod project on salmon farming impact on cod and the Anisakis survey in farmed cod.
• Nofima AScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNofima is one of Norway's leading food research institutes and a frequent project lead on FHF-funded research, including projects on Listeria prevention, cod quality, salmon nutrition, and mackerel market analysis. Nofima serves as the responsible research organization on multiple aquaculture and fisheries processing projects.
• SINTEF Ocean AScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSINTEF Ocean AS is a leading Norwegian research organization active in FHF-funded projects on aquaculture technology, energy in the seafood industry, and employment effects of Norwegian seafood exports. SINTEF Ocean led the energy seminar for the seafood industry and the employment effects study (project 901971).
• NIVA (Norsk institutt for vannforskning)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIVA (Norwegian Institute for Water Research) is a key research partner in FHF projects related to aquaculture water quality, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), and environmental monitoring. NIVA led the MikroRAS project on microbiome research in Atlantic salmon.
• Akvaplan-niva AScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAkvaplan-niva AS serves as responsible research organization on FHF projects including the e-Lice project for real-time detection of sea lice larvae using underwater camera systems (UVP6) and the JellySafe project on electric fences against jellyfish at aquaculture sites.
• Universitetet i Bergen (UiB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Bergen (UiB) is a research partner in FHF projects, notably leading the SaliVax project on DNA vaccine development against sea lice (project 901760), investigating the host-parasite interaction between Atlantic salmon and sea lice.
• Norges Miljø- og Biovitenskapelige Universitet (NMBU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNMBU (Norwegian University of Life Sciences) led the project on operculum shortening (gill cover shortening) in farmed salmonids (project 901872), providing expertise in fish health and welfare assessment.
• Mohn Technology AScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMohn Technology AS led the development of an underwater drone with machine vision for automated inspection of aquaculture net pens (project 901677), reducing fish escape risk and improving farm inspection efficiency.
• Høgskulen på Vestlandet (HVL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWestern Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) partnered on the AcuLice II project on acoustic sea lice control and the project on sieve and gap specifications for land-based aquaculture facilities.
• Optimar ASminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOptimar AS led the project on automated singulation and feeding of fish processing machines (project 901713), developing robotics and machine vision solutions for fish processing on vessels.
• Menon Economics ASminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMenon Economics AS conducted the evaluation and documentation of display center permits in Norwegian aquaculture (project 901929), assessing the impact of visitor centers on public knowledge about the industry.
• Egersund Trål ASminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEgersund Trål AS partnered with FHF on the development of the Excluder selection system for reducing bycatch in Norway pout trawl fishery (project 901950), improving selectivity and income for the fishing fleet.
• Fiskeridirektoratet (Norwegian Fisheries Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiskeridirektoratet collaborates with FHF on research related to fisheries management, seismic survey effects, and aquaculture regulation. The agency participates in reference groups for FHF projects and uses FHF-funded research in regulatory advisory processes.
• Innovasjon Norge (Innovation Norway)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerInnovasjon Norge co-funded the marine mammal impact study (AcuLice II, DP3) examining the effect of acoustic sea lice technology on harbor porpoises and grey seals, supplementing FHF's main project funding.
• Sokkeldirektoratet (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSokkeldirektoratet (now part of the Norwegian Offshore Directorate) works with FHF on seismic survey research (FiskeriSeis project) and shares knowledge on dialogue forums between the fishing and petroleum industries.
• Stenevik Hav ASminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStenevik Hav AS partnered with FHF on developing a scaled-down bag release mechanism for smaller Danish seine vessels (project 901886), improving catch quality and vessel safety.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• NIVA (Norsk institutt for vannforskning): Norway's leading freshwater and marine water research institute, leading FHF projects such as MikroRAS on salmon microbiome. Comparable as a specialized applied research performer within the same ecosystem, frequently bidding for and executing FHF-funded work.
• Akvaplan-niva AS: Tromsø-based marine and aquaculture research provider leading FHF-funded projects such as e-Lice (real-time sea lice detection) and JellySafe. Comparable as a specialized R&D performer operating in the same northern Norway ecosystem and frequently applying for FHF funding.
• UK Seafood Innovation Fund (administered by CEFAS): UK government-backed innovation fund supporting collaborative R&D across the seafood value chain. Comparable as a publicly administered funding mechanism targeting similar problem areas (sustainability, processing efficiency, supply chain innovation), though smaller in scale than FHF.

Broad incumbents

• Havforskningsinstituttet (Institute of Marine Research, HI): Norway's largest marine research institute and a government-owned strategic research partner on multiple FHF projects (SalCod, Anisakis survey). Comparable as a core research performer and authoritative source of evidence that informs the same regulatory ecosystem FHF supports.
• SINTEF Ocean AS: One of Europe's largest independent research institutes in marine, aquaculture, and seafood technology, and a core FHF project performer (e.g., led project 901971 on employment effects of Norwegian seafood exports). Comparable as a major applied R&D partner within the same ecosystem, though it operates as a research contractor rather than a funding entity.
• Nofima AS: Norway's leading food research institute and FHF's most frequent project partner, conducting applied research across aquaculture, fisheries, and food processing. Comparable as the largest applied research performer in FHF's network, but as a research provider rather than a funding body.

Direct peers

• Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC): Australia's statutory R&D funding body for fishing and aquaculture, jointly funded by the Australian government and the fishing industry. Operates a near-identical model to FHF — pooled industry/government investment, competitive grant calls, and a central project database — making it the closest international analogue.
• Norges Forskningsråd (Research Council of Norway): Norway's central government research funding body, distributing competitive grants across all disciplines including marine and aquaculture research. Directly comparable to FHF in its role as a pooled funding mechanism allocating industry/public money to research projects, though operating at a national scope rather than sector-specific.
• Innovasjon Norge (Innovation Norway): Norway's national innovation funding body, co-funding marine and seafood R&D projects (e.g., AcuLice II DP3 marine mammal study alongside FHF). Comparable as a complementary public funding mechanism targeting innovation in the same industries, with overlapping applicant pools and joint calls.
• Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC): Industry-academia-government partnership funding applied aquaculture research in Scotland, with a similar model of pooled industry investment, competitive calls, and a central project portfolio. Directly comparable as a sector-specific R&D funding body in a major European aquaculture market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@fhfno
• Facebookfacebook.com/fhfnorway

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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