New ocean modelling option launched for Scottish fish farmers

Norwegian ocean modelling company Oceanbox has launched a new high-resolution ocean model for Scotland. The launch marks the Tromsø-based company’s first major international expansion and makes the Oceanbox platform available in one of the world’s most important salmon farming regions.

The new model area enables users to simulate ocean currents, particle dispersion, sea lice transport, water exchange, and environmental impacts across Scottish coastal waters – directly within Oceanbox’s cloud-based platform.

Scotland’s coastline is characterised by complex sea loch systems, strong tidal currents, and highly exposed farming sites, creating significant demands for environmental understanding and operational planning.

Exciting and demanding

“Scotland represents one of the most exciting and demanding aquaculture markets in the world. Traditionally, this type of ocean simulation has been both time-consuming and resource-intensive to set up. With Oceanbox, users can get started much faster,” said the company’s chief executive, Svenn Hanssen.

Over the past few years, Oceanbox has developed high-resolution ocean models covering the entire Norwegian coastline. Today, the platform is used by several leading aquaculture companies, including Mowi, Lerøy, SalMar, and Cermaq.

The company said it has established itself through user-friendly and powerful simulation tools for aquaculture, environmental mapping, and marine operations. The platform allows users to run advanced simulations without requiring in-house modelling expertise.

For Scottish aquaculture companies and marine consultants, the new model area opens opportunities for improved site planning, environmental analysis, biological risk assessments, and operational decision support, Oceanbox said.

Casting its net wider

The Scotland launch also marks the beginning of Oceanbox’s broader international expansion strategy.

“Our ambition is clear: we want to make advanced ocean modelling accessible where the industry needs it most,” said Hanssen, who believes that as environmental requirements and operational complexity in aquaculture continue to increase, accessible and scalable ocean insight will become increasingly important.