We have never before had so many exhibitors. We have never before had so many visitors from so many different countries. And never before has Aqua Nor attracted so much attention, both nationally and internationally. In short: Aqua Nor 2015 was a great success.

As organizers of the exhibition, we have spent a lot of time and effort on promoting the exhibition internationally. The previous record for the number of nations represented by visitors stood at 65 (Aqua Nor 2013), and we felt this would be impossible to beat. But this year a total of 76 nations were represented, and the old record was beaten to smithereens.

Record number of visitors
In 2013 we were proud to report that as many as 18 500 people visited the exhibition. We set the target for 2015 at 20 000 visitors. This year’s record number of 20 848 of visitors is well above our target.

Record number of exhibitors
The number of exhibitors also increased markedly from the last Aqua Nor. At the end, we counted 550 exhibitors, compared to 480 in 2013. The increase of 70 extra exhibitors forced us to erect new temporary halls several times so that the exhibition area could be expanded.

Record media attention
Over the years we have had a very good media interest in Norway. Although most of the increase in our promotion this year has been directed at foreign markets, the media interest in Norway broke all records, too. Over 180 articles were published online alone in local, regional and national media during the exhibition. The great interest among the Norwegian media was caused primarily by the fantastic exhibitors. They show great enthusiasm with regard to innovation and this creates interest in the media.

Record quality of the stands
Our logistics partners tell us that they have never delivered so many products for the exhibitors. More and more of them bring the technology and the equipment to the stands, while at the same time they put more effort into the design and the quality of the stands. This makes the exhibition more alive and more interesting. And it makes the visitors feel they experience the latest technology in the industry. The Best Stand award was won by Steinsvik Aqua, which even had two stands, one inside in Hall D, and one in the outside area.

Friday = Student Day
The last day of the exhibition was dedicated to the industry’s future: the students of aquaculture. A special conference and a speed dating event brought exhibitors and student together, and over 200 students participated in these activities. The Student Day became an arena for recruitment and bridging the gap between today’s industry and
the future generation of industry leaders.

The Innovation Award
Technological innovation is the most important foundation for both the international and the national attention that the exhibition is accorded. That is why we at Aqua Nor are so keen to give our attention to the innovators who are present. The Nor-Fishing Foundation Innovation Award for 2015 was won by Stranda Prolog and its barge-based salmon hospital, tailor-made to fight salmon lice in an environmentally friendly way. Altogether, 17 exciting applicants were this year competing for the Innovation Award diploma and prize money of NOK 100 000. The runners up for the prize were Storvik Aqua with their camera-based biomass measuring equipment and Protex’s specially designed work clothes.

Popular seminar was turned into a webcast
The seminar on «Is Norwegian aquaculture technology relevant for other countries and other species», organized by the Nor-Fishing Foundation, The Institute of Marine Research and the Directorate of Fisheries, became very popular. The surprisingly high number of people who wanted to attend made it necessary for us to film the whole seminar and upload it as a webcast on www.aqua-nor.no. But it was not only this seminar that attracted attention. Practically all seminars, mini-conferences and presentations during the exhibition were fully booked. And all the meeting rooms available were also fully booked.

Tell us what you think!
So far, the feedback that we have had from exhibitors and visitors has been overwhelmingly positive. We hope that all will use the opportunity to tell us what they think about Aqua Nor 2015 by participating in the survey that we have sent to all exhibitors and visitors. All responses will be read and analysed carefully. We depend on your participation in order to create an even better and more record-breaking event in August 2017.

Our big thanks to all who participated!