Florian Berg

I am researcher at the pelagic group of the Institute of Marine Research and have broad expertise in fishery biology with main focus on small pelagic fish like sprat and herring. The main three scientific topics of my reasearch profile are:

• Fish population dynamics and structure
• Experimental studies of fish
• Fisheries stock identification methods.

I'm the project leader of the HERPOPS project (Assessing spatiotemporal dynamics in HERring POPulation Structure under climate change, 2024-2027) funded by the Norwegian Reseach Council and the ISIHER project (Implementing Stock Identification for sustainable harvesting of HERring, 2024-2026) funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. 

The main goal of ISIHER is to develop genetic markers able to differentiate all occurring herring populations in the Norwegian Sea, e.g. Norwegian spring-spawningherring (NSSH) , Icelandic summer-spawning herring (ISSH), Faroes autumn-spawning herring (FASH), Norwegian autumn-spawning herring (NASH), or North Sea autumn-spawning herring (NSAS). This will be achieved by state-of-the-art methodologies such as whole genome sequencing. Furthermore, this project will establish a Nordic network improving collaborating efforts to secure sustainable assessment and harvesting of marine fish stocks.

HERPOPS, based on the use of innovative genomic research, including wild populations with up to 100 years of data, will explore the processes influencing population structure in relation to climate change of herring. HERPOPS aims to take the advantage of the new knowledge to assess the abundance of different populations having a dynamic mixing. Genomic results will be directly implemented by new novel research on assessment models and future management strategies to secure long-term sustainable exploitation while maintaining intraspecific biodiversity. 

The expected results of these two projects will provide unique insights in the population structure of herring in the Norwegian Sea and adjacent waters and can be directly implemented in their stock assessment. They will provide the urgently needed knowledge on how to discriminate summer/autumn-spawning herring populations in the Norwegian Sea and adjacent waters. Utilizing state-of-the-are genomic methods will create in-depth knowledge about genetic differentiation of these populations. The project outcomes will have a direct impact on the advisory process for several populations inhabiting the different ecosystems. Some of the preliminary results of highly contributed to the second ICES “Workshop on Stock Identification and allocation of catches of herring to stocks” (WKSIDAC2).

As part of my work, I am also a member of several ICES working groups:

• Herring Assessment Working Group for the Area South of 62°N (HAWG)
• Stock Identification Methods Working Group (SIMWG)
• Working Group on Small Pelagic Fish (WGSFP)
• Working Group on Widely Distributed Stocks (WGWIDE)
• Working Group of International Pelagic Surveys (WGIPS)
• Working Group on Biological Parameters (WGBIOP)

I am the national age reading coordinator for Norway and the project leader of the “Quality assurance for the age reading of fish otoliths” project at the IMR. Thus, I am responsible for all age readings conducted at the IMR and to ensure high quality levels. This is achieved by national and international age reading exchanges and following workshops such as the “Workshop on Age reading of Norwegian Spring Spawning Herring”. Within this project it is my responsibility to develop new age reading methods, provide age validation methods, or adjust current methods to the scientific standards. One of our current aims is for example to implement a new strategy for age readings to account for high uncertainties by estimating the minimum age of a fish instead of providing the definite age.