Descriptions of Bacterial Compositions Can Now be Made on the Faroe Islands

Every part of the procedure to describe the bacterial composition of a sample has now for the first time been carried out on the Faroe Islands. Usually such tests are carried out wholly or partially abroad, but now Fiskaaling has run such tests at the iNOVA research park in Tórshavn, where Fiskaaling’s biotechnology team resides.

These tests can identify all bacteria, which are present in a sample and describe the relative amount of each individual kind of bacterium. At Fiskaaling we believe that there is a demand for such services on the Faroe Islands, because bacteria have a large effect on innumerable aquaculture situations.

The first of Fiskaaling’s tests have described the bacterial composition of various samples taken from gutted salmon. On the day of harvest samples were collected from various parts of the entrails, of the mucus, and from inside the abdominal cavity, and on the following days, while the salmon was kept in cold storage, samples were collected from the liquid in the storage container. The results can be used to describe a possible connection between bacteria, which are naturally present on and in the salmon, and bacteria, which may affect the quality of the salmon, for instance by breaking down the connective tissues, while the salmon is being kept in cold storage.

The iNOVA research park acquired the tools to carry out these tests a while ago but getting the implementation up and running has been difficult, since the research is fairly extensive. Fiskaaling, as the first user with such experience, now also has an opportunity to help others getting started with such tests.