Technology: Acoustic fish telemetry is a well established technology which is widely used in wild fish research, typical environmental studies . Acoustic telemetry  is used to track( migration) individual fish using a manual tracking receiver or more importantly, using a number of automatic receiver- and logging stations anchored in the lake, river, fjord or ocean. Special acoustic transmitters can be equipped with sensors that can measure the depth or movement (in three axis) of the fish, or physiological parameters such as heart-, muscle or breathing activity.

Uniqueness: Thelma Biotel has developed a number of advanced sensor transmitters, and is currently developing receiver technology to increase the potential of this powerful monitoring technique. One innovative element is the development of miniature transmitters with custom adapted sensors.  Another innovative element is the development of receiver technology with more effective acoustic communication between the transmitters and the receiver, as well as radio communication (Bluetooth or mobile phone) between the receiver and a base station. The latter development will enable remote downloading of logged data from a listening station, for example from a remote logger in a wild fish study  and real-time monitoring of fish behavior and welfare in an aquaculture fish farm (online fish welfare monitoring).  

Potentials:  Fish telemetry is currently only used in wild fish research world wide, and there are only a handful industrial players in the market. Thelma Biotel has a market share of less than 10%. However, our company sees a great potential for this powerful technology if it can be adapter to, and introduced into the aquaculture research and aquaculture industry, Thelma Biotel is the only company in Europe providing this technology.  

Needs:   Thelma Biotel is particularly seeking strategic partners who can contribute with network, financing, research competence and field testing to develop a new and large market for our leading technology. Presenting this at NASF give us the opportunity  to meet strategic players in the market.

1. The Atlantic Seafood Company (TASC) is a Dutch Owned fish processing company with its factory located in The Gambia, West Africa. The company is successful in the field of people, planet and profit. It is aiming at sustainable fisheries by using local fishermen and non-destructive methods and provides sustainable sole on the European market.

The business concept  of The Atlantic Seafood Company is unique for:

- Establishing long term export from West-Africa and contributing to an increase of life standard in Western-Africa using a successful regional, hands on approach.
- Interlinking research and business to upgrade the potentials of the Gambian fishing industry and secure a stable base for certified fisheries
- Providing full product processing in Africa
- Offering an alternative for non sustainable sole.

2.The company provides a solution for the need for financial support in the fisheries industry and associated significant export earnings for the Gambia and its population.

The EU sees the concept as an example to other African nations so the concept could be profitable to others.

3. The main export product (Atlantic Sole) is is now in search for the Scandinavian, East European and Russian markets and further collaboration with science.

Major premises for both short and long term sustainable and profitable marine commercial operations (fishery and aquaculture) are:

• Our ability to understand the dynamics of living ocean resources and hence enable us to predict quanta as well as quality of the same to be used directly and indirectly for human consumption: e.g. food, fish feeds, ingredients, pharmacy, biomaterials etc.
Critical factors with impact on these premises are:
• Both human made as well as those not yet understood: unforeseen resource fluctuations, catch quotas (taxation) and various commercial activities, management regimes, environmental factors like pollution and climate change etc.
Consequently, the best way to improve the quality of our management regimes of a premium resource of mankind, ocean bio resources, and to ensure a long term and robust marine industry is to:
• Considerably increase both quantity and quality of ocean data harvest related to living resources, environments as well as those related to a variety of commercial activities.

The Virtual Marine Platform (VMP) concept is a robust versatile tool case owned by Sustainovate and allies and which is focusing on one of the most important activities of our time: ocean data harvest and compilation(post-processing), the information, products and services out of which to be sold to management authorities, commercial operators, research organizations etc worldwide. The concept with its open array of contemporary tools and competencies across sectors and disciplines consists of a tool which is a software platform feeding in data from. acoustics, optics, ecology, genetics, software’s for compilation and simulations, remote sensors and samplers for measuring ocean parameters like pH, temp, CO2, nutrition, salinity, ecotoxic compounds etc.

The interest of the sector and players into the VMP concept is tested with trend setting operators (wild catch, aquaculture, large oil and gas companies, solution providers like multinational ICT companies, traceability and certification entities (MSC) etc resulting in impressively positive feedback. Hence, it seems obvious that there is willingness to pay and there is a series of potential allies and pilot customers.

The major causes of premature morbidity and mortality in Norway are still related to cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and atherosclerosis, a complex, multi-factorial and progressive disease, accounts for approximately 40% of all deaths in Norway.  The Eskimo diet has been associated with low incidence of coronary heart disease and other inflammatory diseases. Since the Eskimo diet is rich in omega-3 fats, hundreds of studies on these fatty acids have been performed.  This led us to conduct studies on various marine oil including whale oil and seal oil. Cold pressed whale oil (CPWO) was superior in beneficial effects to fish oil and seal oil despite its half content of omega-3 fatty acids compared to the other oils, but lost most of its effects during refinement probably due to loss of antioxidants.  

Based on our observations we hypothesized that a combination of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) containing powerful antioxidants and  large amounts of monounsaturated oleic acid  with seal oil should bring about a synergistic effect beneficial to cardiovascular disease and other pro-inflammatory diseases. This combined oil product, named OliVita, was shown in a clinical study on healthy humans to have anti-inflammatory effects on blood cells superior to fish oil or seal oil alone and to increase the positive HDL-cholesterol.  

When we investigated whether dietary enrichment of OliVita may inhibit atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E–deficient (apoE–/–), a well-established animal model of human atherosclerosis, we found a total of 57% reduction in lesion formation (atherosclerosis) compared to corn oil as control.  In our opinion, no other omega-3 product have similar documentation of effects.  

Feed back from users of OliVita confirm our studies through reports of reopening arteries, reduction in arthritis, psoriasis and abolishment of arthrosis. Unfortunately,   OliVIta AS is a small company with small resources for promoting a product that the public should be aware of.  Our experience from feed back of users strongly indicates that this oil product could have tremendous impact of saving money in our health budget.  Obviously, we need new market places and strategies for making this product known.