Fiskaaling rebrands as Firum

The Faroese aquaculture research establishment Fiskaaling is rebranding as “Firum” in a move which, it says, more accurately reflects the institution’s range of activities.

The former Fiskaaling is a limited company set up to carry out research into all forms of aquaculture, fish and plant based. “Fiskaaling” (literally, “fish farming”) might indicate, the organisation says, that the company itself farms fish, but this is not the case.

The new name, “Firum” was arrived at by combining the Faroese words FIRðir (fjords) and UMhvørvi (environment).

Explaining the change, Firum said: “Almost all sea farming is connected to fjords and almost all farmed animal and plant welfare is connected to the environment, and this is what principally drives the company’s research.”

The organisation’s new logo is an aquascope. As Firum explained: “The device [enables] people to look beneath the surface, lifting the veil, and granting knowledge on which to base well-founded decisions.

“This is exactly what Firum does; conducts investigations and research, giving the state and the companies knowledge on which to base decisions. The logo features two squares. They are differently sized, connected by lines, and the smaller is inside the larger.

“The logo gives no hint as to which square is closer to the viewer. This creates an optical illusion, which encourages curiosity about what the logo truly depicts. Curiosity is a cornerstone of all Firum activities.”

Recent and/or current projects carried out by Firum have included developing models to predict sea lice dispersal, assessing the prospects for seaweed aquaculture and understanding heart health issues for farmed salmon.