About TriNation (revised 04.Feb 2026)

Background

The PD TriNation initiative was established in 2005 with the aims to integrate and focus the activities of academia and industry from Norway, Ireland, Scotland and more recently other salmon farming regions. Major contributions have been made to developing a fuller understanding of pancreas disease (PD) and related conditions such as heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) and cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) by encouraging new and collaborative research, and sharing of results in a transparent manner. Greater knowledge of the risks associated with the development and spread of the diseases, as well as an understanding of the viral characteristics, has helped shape strategies for disease prevention and mitigation for the benefit of the salmon farming industry.

The increasing administrative load associated with the PD TriNation initiative resulted in a need for a more formal organization of the initiative to replace the previous, mainly voluntary-based coordination work. As a result, a formal secretariat was established as a project at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, funded by the FHF.

Organization of the PD TriNation secretariat

The main aim of the PD TriNation secretariat was to ensure an efficient and continuous running of the PD TriNation initiative thereby facilitating and maintaining continuous international collaboration and dissipation of knowledge. More specifically, the role of the PD TriNation secretariat was to:

• Assist with the organization and running of the PD TriNation meetings
• Create and maintain a website for the PD TriNation initiative
• Create and maintain a contact list of individuals to whom information from the TriNation secretariat should be distributed

The TriNation secretariat has been based at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, represented by Sonal Patel as Secretary and SC member since 2021. The secretary has maintained regular contact with the chairman and the remaining members of the TriNation steering committee by emails, telephone conferences and physical meetings throughout the project period.

Organization of Steering Committee (SC):

The TriNation steering committee comprises of:

Chairman:       Tore Hovland, Aqua Kompetanse, Norway

Secretary:      Sonal Patel, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Norway

SC Members:           

1. Tore Hovland, Aqua Kompetanse, Norway
2. Sonal Patel, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Norway
3. Marit Stormoen, NMBU, Norway
4. Sven Martin Jørgensen, FHF, Norway
5. Kim Thompson, Scotalnd
6. Silvia Soares, Marine laboratory, The Government of Scotland
7. Kimberley McKinnell, Bakkafrost, Scotland
8. Susie Mitchell, Stim, Ireland
9. Samantha White, Marine Institute, Ireland

In 2024, Steering committee prepared and approved statutes for the Steering committee and the reference group to ease future changes.

Guidelines/Statutes for the Steering Committee, TriNation:

The TriNation initiative aims to integrate and focus the activities of academia and industry from Norway, Ireland, and Scotland. The initiative should be governed by a committee comprising of two representatives for each of the three countries, with one committee member as a Secretary and local members supporting the organisation of meetings in their respective countries.

The members ideally should represent both academia and industry to enhance collaboration for the better of the aquaculture industry. The committee members are expected to play an active role in the organisation of the meetings.

Reference group:

1. Anne Berit Olsen (Norwegian Veterinary Institute), Norway
2. Ingebjørg Sævereid, DNV, Norway
3. Chris Mitchell, Scotland
4. Iain Berrill (Scottish Salmon), Scotland
5. Paul Savage (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute), Ireland
6. Sarah McEvoy, Marine Bay Salmon, Ireland

Marian McLoughlin, Ireland – continues as Mentor

Guidelines/Statutes for Reference group, TriNation:

The TriNation initiative aims to integrate and focus the activities of academia and industry from Norway, Ireland, and Scotland. The members of the reference group should be residing in one of the three countries and be committed to playing an active role in the Trination initiative. The members ideally should represent both academia and industry to enhance collaboration for the better of the aquaculture industry.

Reference group members are expected to guide and support the committee members in the following:

1. Decisions on the program for meetings,
2. Feedback for improvement
3. Support local committee members in organisation of meetings in their respective countries
4. Engage and recruit speakers from academia and industry to cover relevant topics

The secretariat has from 2012 been funded by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF Project number 900769 and 901517), who sponsors the maintainance of webpage and the secretary, in order to ensure the continuation of the TriNation.