Helene Børretzen Fjørtoft

PhD Candidate

Department of Biological Sciences Ålesund Faculty of Natural Sciences

helene.b.fjortoft@ntnu.no +47 70161618

Kompasset, K261, Ålesund

helene.b.fjortoft@ntnu.no

My work

I am writing a PhD on salmon lice. Chemotherapeutants were long the main tool to combat salmon lice in aquaculture, but after a while the lice became resistant. The genetic markers for two of the compounds, organophosphates and pyrethroids, are known, which enables us to find resistant lice by using a genetic test. I use the genetic markers to investigate how reistance disperse in time and space in the North Atlantic salmon louse population, where also wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout play a role.

I also contribute on other research projects at the institute that involves salmon lice, wild salmonids or aquaculture. I supervise bachelor students.

Competence

Salmon lice
Interactions between farmed and wild salmonids
Wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout

Background

Education:

Bachelor in Ecology and natural resource management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Master in Naturasl resource management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Work experience:

Manager of Geiranger-Herdalen protected landscape

Scientific, academic and artistic work

A selection of recent journal publications, artistic productions, books, including book and report excerpts. See all publications in the database

Journal publications

Fjørtoft, Helene Børretzen; Nilsen, Frank; Besnier, Francois; Espedal, Per Gunnar; Stene, Anne; Tveten, Ann-Kristin; Bjørn, Pål Arne; Aspehaug, Vidar; Glover, Kevin. (2020) Aquaculture-driven evolution: distribution of pyrethroid resistance in the salmon louse throughout the North Atlantic in the years 2000–2017. ICES Journal of Marine Science. vol. 77 (5).
Fjørtoft, Helene Børretzen; Nilsen, Frank; Besnier, Francois; Stene, Anne; Bjørn, Pål Arne; Tveten, Ann-Kristin; Aspehaug, Vidar Teis; Finstad, Bengt; Glover, Kevin. (2019) Salmon lice sampled from wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout throughout Norway display high frequencies of the genotype Associated with pyrethroid resistance. Aquaculture Environment Interactions. vol. 11.
Fjørtoft, Helene Børretzen; Besnier, Francois; Stene, Anne; Nilsen, Frank; Bjørn, Pål Arne; Tveten, Ann-Kristin; Finstad, Bengt; Aspehaug, Vidar; Glover, Kevin. (2017) The Phe362Tyr mutation conveying resistance to organophosphates occurs in high frequencies in salmon lice collected from wild salmon and trout. Scientific Reports. vol. 7:14258.
Kaur, Kiranpreet; Besnier, Francois; Glover, Kevin; Nilsen, Frank; Aspehaug, Vidar Teis; Fjørtoft, Helene Børretzen; Horsberg, Tor Einar. (2017) The mechanism (Phe362Tyr mutation) behind resistance in Lepeophtheirus salmonis pre-dates organophosphate use in salmon farming. Scientific Reports. vol. 7 (1).
Fjørtoft, Helene Børretzen; Borgstrøm, Reidar; Skaala, Øystein. (2014) Differential changes in growth patterns of anadromous brown trout and Atlantic salmon from the River Etneelva over a 25-year period. Marine Biology Research. vol. 10 (3).

Part of book/report

Fjørtoft, Helene Børretzen; Tveten, Ann-Kristin; Stene, Anne. (2018) Screening for viruses in salmonids from a rotenone-treated Norwegian river. Blue Growth: Aquaculture, Fisheries, Market and Health Perspectives..
Tveten, Ann-Kristin; Fjørtoft, Helene Børretzen; Olsen, Magne Hauge; Venås, Leonardo Areas; Isaksson, Aimee Kathrina Soto. (2015) Fargemetoder for prøvepreparering ved histologiske undersøkelser og fluoresense in situ hybridisering for studier av amøbegjellesykdom (AGD) i gjellevev og lakselus. Blue Bio-resources.