Tag sea lice

Salmon farmers in Norway are trialing two new technologies, including one from Silicon Valley, in their ongoing battle with the persistent sea lice. 

An operational salmon lice model calculates sea lice infestation pressure all along the Norwegian coast in near real-time, based on a hydrodynamical ocean model and a salmon lice particle tracking model. 

Innovations to combat sea lice are in the pipeline as ambitious new companies employ a combination of innovative technological and scientific methods. 

Despite the positive outputs of the global salmon farming business it remains a target for sharp criticism. In Scotland, the industry’s battle against misleading and inaccurate information reaches a new level. 

The consensus among several presenters at the aquaculture portion of the Alltech ONE18 conference was clear: Much more seafood is needed to feed humans, whose numbers will reach 8 billion in less than six years. 

Alltech and Benchmark have been working on the next generation of sea lice solutions and believe they have new products that can help salmon farmers win. 

The Scottish salmon industry is facing criticism following the release of sea lice statistics and acknowledgement that up to 10 million salmon – a quarter of all stocks – were thrown away last year as a result of disease, parasites and other issues. 

At the IntraFish Seafood Investor Forum in New York, “all roads lead to salmon.” Buoyed by high prices and soaring demand, the sector is an example worth following. But it’s not without its challenges. 

Land-based aquaculture, perhaps the ultimate environmental risk-mitigation tool, was the talk of the town at the IntraFish Seafood Investor Forum. Once scoffed at for high capital and energy requirements, RAS now has a crowded bandwagon. 

Few could argue that a reduction in sea lice-fighting chemicals isn't a win for the fish and for the environment. The downside, however, is that increasing numbers of cleaner fish are being caught for use on salmon farms. 

An over-reliance on medical and chemical controls, along with warming waters, led to a surge in sea lice. With such treatments waning in effectiveness, operators turn to other, safer measures. 

Some of the world’s top aquatic animal disease experts shared knowledge about mitigation techniques at the GOAL conference in Guangzhou, China. Topics included sea lice, streptococcus and EHP, which was referred to as the “most insidious” disease impacting shrimp production. 

Quantidoc AS in Norway is the commercialization of Prof. Karin Pittman’s years of fish health research. Pittman, winner of this year’s Global Aquaculture Innovation and Leadership Award, utilizes stereology to measure and better understand mucous on gill, gut and skin tissues – the first line of defense for fish. 

Winners of the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s annual Innovation & Leadership Award have shown the ability to overcome obstacles encountered in the responsible production of farmed seafood. New technology applications, biosecurity solutions and production systems have been honored. 

Los productores de salmón, utilizando tecnologías emergentes, están explorando nuevos métodos de mitigación de los piojos de mar en un esfuerzo por superar uno de los problemas más persistentes de la industria. Nuevas innovaciones libres de químicos muestran una industria ansiosa de adaptar y adoptar prácticas ambientalmente seguras.