Research groups

The research group consists of about 40 scientists, technicians, PhD candidates and students working at the institute’s research stations in Tromsø, Bergen and Austevoll.

The Demersal Fish Research Group (Bunnfisk in Norwegian) studies demersal (bottom dwelling) fish in all our marine areas, with the objective of maintaining and developing the IMR’s principal fields of competence for these fish.

This research group works on the biology and distribution of species and communities associated to the seafloor, both in the deep sea and shallow waters. Mapping the distribution of species and habitats generates knowledge useful for management advice and sustainable use of the oceans and the coastal zone, as well as knowledge on species biology, ecology and effects of human influence.

The research group is developing competence, capacity and systems for marine research in countries that are in a developing phase. 

The group focuses on harvestable deepwater species and ecosystems of the outer continental shelf and deep sea, and on cartilaginous fishes in all areas and depths.

IMR's Animal Welfare Research Group is responsible for building up research expertise and knowledge, and for conducting and communicating research that can provide a basis for advice for better animal welfare.

Based on our knowledge of fish behaviour and fishing gear technology, the group supports the fisheries management authorities, the fishing industry and the Institute’s other groups by developing and adapting energy-efficient, environmentally and resource-friendly capture methods, and by developing improved methods for sampling marine organisms for resources studies

Our research group studies are: Capture rates, effort and fleet development in commercial fisheries and tourist fishing.

We study the effects of feed and feeding on fish performance and health from egg to broodstock and over generations.

Our research contributes to increased knowledge on seafood and the environment through surveillance including mapping the occurrence and effects of pollutants in the ocean. Particularly, our research team investigates how changes in the climate could affect ocean health.

Marbank is the national marine biobank of Norway, with a mission of providing academia and industry with easy and safe access to marine biological resources for research and exploitation purposes. Marbank holds samples and data of marine organisms collected in Arctic, sub-Arctic and boreal habitats, varying from the intertidal zone to the deep seas. 

The Norwegian Marine Data Centre (NMD) at the Institute of Marine Research was established as a national data centre dedicated to the professional processing and long-term storage of marine environmental and fisheries data and production of data products.

This group monitors and does research on physical and climatic processes that affect marine ecosystems.

In the Pelagic Fish Research Group, we work with fish that live in the pelagic zone of the open ocean. Some familiar and dear pelagic fish species are herring, mackerel, capelin and blue whiting, as well as, more exotic species such as bluefin tuna.

The Research Group is active in environmental monitoring and research, as it provides advice to the Norwegian Government on environmental issues associated with phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish eggs and fish larvae in our marine ecosystems. 

Population genetics is the study of genetic variation within and among populations. Or put in an alternative manner, we apply genetic markers to identify and quantify the evolutionary relationships among groups of individuals (populations) in time and space. 

Overall strategy for the Reproduction and Developmental biology group is to solve and explore sustainability issues and production bottlenecks associated with reproduction and development in farmed fish.

Seafood safety, and the relationship between seafood consumption and human health are important factors for knowledge-based advice. Our research contributes to increased knowledge concerning seafood and human health, and we provide updated data on the contents of nutrients and undesirable substances in seafood.

The objective of the Marine mammals research group is to continue to develop methodology for, and to routinely update, the basis for provision of advice regarding the management of seals and whales (numbers, productive capacity, and ecological importance), concentrating on species that are harvested or that are important links in marine ecosystems.

This research group takes a multidisciplinary approach to the better understanding of health in fish, shellfish and crustaceans. Immunology, microbiology, parasitology, molecular biology, physiology and pharmacology are all represented in the group. Health is a multidimensional concept.

This group works on methods and models for the collection of resource data, acoustics, observation platforms and technology and methods and protocols for the collection of relevant biological data (trawl sampling).

The goal of the group is to generate knowledge of distribution and trophic interactions, develop ecological methods and obtain knowledge of non-commercial species and indicators for marine ecosystem-based management.