HAVFORSKNINGSINSTITUTTET

Their core work

Norway's Institute of Marine Research (IMR) is one of Europe's largest marine research institutes, headquartered in Bergen. They provide scientific advice on fisheries management, aquaculture sustainability, and ocean ecosystem health to Norwegian and international authorities. Their core work spans fish stock assessment, mesopelagic resource evaluation, coastal and Arctic ocean observation systems, and climate impact modelling on aquatic resources. They operate research vessels, maintain long-term monitoring programs, and develop decision-support tools for results-based fisheries management.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), IMR focused heavily on traditional fisheries management, aquaculture production systems, and building ocean observation capacity — keywords like "results-based management," "policy," "access," and "surveys" dominated. From 2019 onward, their portfolio shifted toward ecosystem-level thinking: mesopelagic resources (biomass, biodiversity), coastal observation infrastructure design (JERICO-S3/DS), and sustainability governance. The recent period also shows growing involvement in research infrastructure strategy and scientific excellence frameworks, signalling a move from purely scientific contribution toward shaping European marine research infrastructure itself.

IMR is moving from traditional fish stock science toward deep-ocean resource exploration and European-scale research infrastructure leadership — expect them to be a key partner in upcoming ocean sustainability and Blue Economy calls.

How they like to work

IMR overwhelmingly operates as a participant (31 of 34 projects), contributing specialist marine science expertise to large international consortia rather than leading them. Their two coordinator roles (NorKHelp, MEESO) are both in areas of deep Norwegian expertise — kelp and mesopelagic fisheries — suggesting they lead only where they have unique national assets. With 434 unique partners across 60 countries, they are a well-connected hub in European marine research, making them easy to integrate into new consortia and a reliable source of fisheries and ocean data.

IMR has collaborated with 434 unique partners across 60 countries, making them one of the most broadly networked marine research institutes in H2020. Their partnerships span the full Atlantic basin (Europe, Arctic, tropical Atlantic) with strong ties to Nordic, Mediterranean, and UK marine science communities.

What sets them apart

IMR brings something rare to consortia: operational access to Norwegian waters, Arctic monitoring stations, and research vessels, combined with decades of fish stock assessment data that few institutes can match. Their expertise in mesopelagic resources is particularly distinctive — they coordinated MEESO, one of the first major EU projects to evaluate whether the ocean's largest untapped biomass can be fished sustainably. For any consortium working on Atlantic fisheries, Arctic observation, or emerging marine bio-resources, IMR is a natural first-choice partner from Norway.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MEESO
  IMR's largest project (EUR 1.5M) and coordinator role — pioneering research on whether mesopelagic fisheries can be ecologically and economically sustainable.
• INTAROS
  Nearly EUR 1M in funding for building an integrated Arctic observation system — reflects IMR's strategic position as a gateway to Arctic marine research.
• MISSION ATLANTIC
  EUR 678K for mapping the Atlantic Ocean's ecosystem state — one of their most recent and largest participations, signalling continued relevance in large-scale ocean science.