How to access funding through SAIC

If you would like support with drawing down third-party funding, please contact us to find out how we can help: projects@sustainableaquaculture.com

To view some of the projects we have supported to help reduce the environmental footprint and increase the economic impact of aquaculture, see our projects pages.

• Application deadline: 19 September 2025 at 14:00
• Contact: Eirik Ruud Sigstadstø, Divisional Director, Aquaculture

FHF (the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund) has announced funding of up to 30 million Norwegian Kroner (around £2,187,000) to obtain new knowledge for the prevention and control of sea lice.

Sea lice – the most significant challenge for the Norwegian aquaculture sector – has long been the focus of the FHF’s greatest efforts.

Despite these efforts, the issue is not yet solved; a fact which is clearly highlighted in the Norwegian Government’s recent report on aquaculture (Havbruksmeldingen) and the ongoing debate around future regulatory regime changes.

There is, therefore, a pressing need for further R&D in search of better solutions.

The current sea lice call focusses on both Caligus elongatus and Lepeophtheirus salmonis. The call covers preventative measures to stop lice infestation from occurring; control treatments to remove lice without the need for handling of the fish; and treatment methods that do involve fish handling.

The call is divided into three objectives:

Objective 1 - 14 million Norwegian Kroner (NoK), ~ £1,023,400

To develop and document preventative measures or control treatments against sea lice without fish handling.

Objective 2 - 10 million NoK, ~ £731,000

To develop and document gentle and effective treatment methods against sea lice. Applications will be accepted for documentation of completely new measures and treatments, or existing ones that have already been put into use.

Objective 3 - 6 million NoK, ~ £438,600

To utilise updated knowledge about infection dynamics to calculate lice infestation between individual sites, to recommend optimal area management along the entire coast to reduce the likelihood of infestation between farmed sites, while at the same time providing the best possible protection of wild salmonids.

The FHF aims to fund several projects under each of objectives 1 and 2, while objective 3 is intended to fund a single project. Applications may only be directed at one of the objectives.

Access the FHF’s digital applications portal here.

SAIC has provided this translation of FHF's funding call.