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Dovetailing AquaMaof’s technology and biology: Sustainable Atlantic salmon smolt production Andrew C. Preston, AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies Ltd
Figure 1. 50-200m3 tanks used during production.
The industry’s demand for Atlantic salmon smolt is increasing globally with production. The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries indicate smolt numbers have increased from 151 million in 2005 to approximately 349 million in 2018 (www.fiskeridir.no). Likewise, in Scotland, smolt numbers increased from 36 million in 2005 to approximately 47 million in 2018 (www.gov. scot/marine-and-fisheries/). This trend appears to be similar for other salmon producing countries including Chile and Canada.
Traditional vs modern smolt production The “traditional” production of smolt was synonymous with seawater ready smolts <120 grams in body
weight. More recently, the industry has shifted production towards larger smolts or post-smolts in closed systems. This change in practice aims at avoiding sea lice and mitigates against other health challenges during marine culture. At AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies, there is an understanding that the “traditional smolt” is becoming a fish of the past and one of the key strategies has been to deliver the new requirements within the company’s systems. Over the past number of years, there has been a focus on the production of large smolt and learning how to dovetail the systems with the biology of the Atlantic salmon. To achieve this goal, the company embarked on a commercial R&D project as a proof of
Hatchery Feed & Management Vol 8 Issue 1 2020
