Fish Farmer Magazine - February 2020 by Fish Farmer Magazine

Fish Farmer VOLUME 43

Serving worldwide aquaculture since 1977

NUMBER 02

FEBRUARY 2020

www.fishfarmermagazine.co.uk

SPECIAL TREATMENT

SEA LICE STRATEGIES

CHALLENGES IN CHILE

FARMERS’ MARKET

Busy day in the life of Mowi’s Loch Alsh farm

Innovation and collaboration drive parasite fight

Dr Sandra Bravo reports on Caligus control

Billingsgate Seafood School calls for industry help

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Contents – Editor’s Welcome Contents – Editor’s Welcome Contents – Editor’s Welcome

Contents Contents Contents

48-49 4-15 4-14 41-43 42-44 38-39 44-45 48-49 4-15 4-14 41-43 42-44 38-39 Brussels News Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture Sea Lice What’s happening happening in in aquaculture aquaculture 48-49 Salmon market What’s Montpellier preview From shrimp torobust salmon Investor advice Wild interactions Brussels 4-15 News 4-14 Aqua 2018 Aquaculture Innovation 41-43 42-44 38-39 in the the UK UK and around around the world world in and the Salmon market robust What’s happening in aquaculture Montpellier preview From shrimp to salmon Investor advice Brussels News Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture in the UK and around the world Salmon market What’s happening in aquaculture Montpellier preview From shrimp torobust salmon Investor advice 50-55 44-46 46-49 40-41 JENNY in the UK and around the world JENNY HJUL HJUL –– EDITOR EDITOR 16-21 16-17 16-22 50-55 44-46 46-49 40-41 Brussels Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture JENNY JENNY HJUL HJUL –– EDITOR EDITOR 16-21 16-17 16-22 New processors’ group Industry pioneer News Extra platform Parliamentary inquiry 50-55 Sti rling course Pictures atmarket the exhibiti on Insurance Brussels Aqua 2018 Aquaculture Innovation 44-46 46-49 40-41 JENNY JENNY HJUL HJUL –– EDITOR EDITOR Lantra finalists Steve Bracken SSC’s record results inquiry Stewart Graham The final sessions New processors’ group Industry pioneer News Extra platform 16-21 16-17 Parliamentary 16-22 Sti rling course Pictures at the exhibiti on Insurance market Brussels Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture Steve Bracken SSC’s record results Stewart Graham The fi nal sessions New processors’ groupon Industry pioneer News Extra platform Parliamentary inquiry Sti rling course Pictures atmarket the exhibiti Insurance salmon farming sector in Scotland, when it was to he focus this month istopictures on Europe, the internati T HE is coincidence that and videos of unhealthy Sno Fish Farmer went press, there was sti lltold no offi cialonal HEN Norway announced itswhere latest ‘traffic light’ Steve Bracken SSC’s record results Stewart Graham The fi18-19 nal sessions 22-23 18-19 24-27 the subject ofwent athat parliamentary inquiry, embraced the HE salmon farming sector in Scotland, when told itit was to industry will soon be gathering for the joint EAS (European salmon were sent to news outlets just as the sh news from the Scotti sh parliamentary inquiry into salmon decisions for salmon farmers this month, included he focus this month isto on Europe, where the internati onal T be is coincidence pictures and videos of unhealthy Sno Fish Farmer press, there was sti llScotti no offi cial News Extra 22-23 18-19 24-27 46-49 opportunity this would provide to explain how itlaunched operated. Salmon market SSPO be thewere subject of afor parliamentary inquiry, embraced the Aquaculture Society) and WAS (World Aquaculture Society) parliament went back to work atwhere the start of this month. These farming, conducted earlier this year by the Rural Economy red zones the first time. The system, industry will soon be gathering for the (European salmon sent to news outlets just as the Scotti sh news from the Scotti sh parliamentary inquiry into salmon Recruitment drive salmon farming sector in Scotland, when told itEAS was to he focus this month is on Europe, the internati onal T HE is coincidence that pictures and videos of unhealthy Sno Fish Farmer went to press, there was sti lljoint no offi cial Current trends In good Julie Hesketh-Laird The industry had nothing to hide and, ifsea given aof fair Meet thehealth new chief executive opportunity this would provide to explain how ithearing, operated. Salmon market 22-23 18-19 conference, to be staged over fifor ve days in the southern French images had litt le to do the current state Scotland’s ficould sh 24-27 and Connecti vity (REC) committ ee. MSPs have now held fifor ve SSPO Sea Lice in 2017 to production capacity to lice risk, allows Aquaculture and WAS (World Aquaculture Society) parliament went back to work atthe the start of this month. These farming, conducted earlier this year by the Rural Economy be the subject of aSociety) parliamentary inquiry, embraced industry willlink soon be gathering joint EAS (European salmon were sent to news outlets just as the Scotti shthe news from the Scotti shwith parliamentary inquiry into salmon address much of the criti cism levelled against it. Current trends In good health Julie Hesketh-Laird The industry had nothing to hide and, if given a fair hearing, could Meet the new chief executi ve New tools city of Montpellier. As well as highlighti ng latest technological farms where sea lice levels are in decline and, in fact, at a fi vemeeti ngs, in private, to consider their report and we must be expansion in the industry but can also restrict growth, as it has conference, to be staged over fi ve days in the southern French images had litt le to do with the current state of Scotland’s fi sh and Connecti vity (REC) committ ee. MSPs have now held fi ve opportunity this would provide explain how it month. operated. Salmon market SSPO Aquaculture Society) and WAS (World Aquaculture Society) parliament back to work atto the start of this These farming, went conducted earlier this year by the Rural Economy 20-21 Fish Farmer supported this view, but atreport tiathere mes felt that salmon address much of the criti cism levelled against it. advances in our fast moving sector, Aqua 2018 will also feature year low (htt p://scotti shsalmon.co.uk/monthly-sea-lice-reports). pati ent. However, waiti ng for their recommendati ons has been done now for some regions. In Scotland, is no such regime, city of Montpellier. As well as highlighti ng the latest technological farms where sea lice levels are in decline and, in fact, at a fi vemeeti ngs, in private, to consider their and we must be Current trends In good health Julie Hesketh-Laird The industry had nothing to hide and, if given fair hearing, could Meet the new chief executive conference, tovity beto staged over days in theof southern images had litt le do with thefive current state Scotland’s fish and Connecti (REC) committ ee. MSPs have now heldFrench five 56 SSPO 48-49 50-58 42-45 farmers were being drowned out by the noisier elements offarming the Fish Farmer supported this view, but atREC tiit. mes felt that salmon sessions on emerging markets and look at the role of sh This latest propaganda campaign, which involves all the usual made harder by leaks from within the to anti -salmon but ministers here are not complacent about sea lice and advances in our fast moving sector, Aqua 2018 will also year low (htt p://scotti shsalmon.co.uk/monthly-sea-lice-reports). pati ent. However, waiti ng for their recommendati ons has been 50-53 address much of the criti cism levelled against city of As well as highlighti ng the latest technological farms -Montpellier. where sea lice are in decline and, inwe fact, at afilevels fifeature vemeeti ngs, in private, tolevels consider their report and must be Brexit burden 56 angling lobby, which had called for the investi gati on. But as the 48-49 50-58 42-45 farmers were being drowned out by the noisier elements of the Book review farming in alleviati ngreducing poverty. Increasingly, industry meeti ngs anti -aquaculture suspects, came as Holyrood’s Rural Economy acti vists. The latest of these (see our news story on page 4) Training Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture have committed to lice thresholds and introducing sessions on emerging markets and look at the role of fi sh This latest propaganda campaign, which involves all the usual made harder by leaks from within the REC to anti -salmon farming Fish Farmer supported this view, but at ti mes felt that salmon advances in our fast moving Aqua 2018 willons alsohas feature year lowHowever, (htt p://scotti shsalmon.co.uk/monthly-sea-lice-reports). patient. waiti ng forsector, their recommendati been Seaofon Lice sessions progressed, and eventually farmers’ voices were heard, Focus cleaner fiInnovation sh angling lobby, which had called for the investi gatiRural on. But as the we are broadening their scope, tackling subjects such asthat the social and Connecti vity committ ee returned from the summer recess to makes grim reading for the industry as it suggests committ ee Martyn Haines Conference round-up Best the start-ups Book review legislation requiring all marine farms to report weekly lice 56 farming in alleviati ng poverty. Increasingly, industry meeti ngs anti -aquaculture suspects, came as Holyrood’s Economy acti vists. The latest of these (see our news story on page 4) Training Aqua 2018 Aquaculture 48-49 50-58 42-45 farmers were being drowned out by the noisier elements of the sessions onpropaganda emerging andwhich lookREC atinvolves the role-salmon fishusual This campaign, allofthe madelatest harder by leaks markets from within the to anti farming Top tarps became more opti misti c. We now believe that MSPs, perhaps with acceptability of aquaculture and the contributi on it makes to global sessions progressed, and eventually farmers’ voices were heard, we consider its draft report into the future of salmon farming. members have been willing to listen to those campaigning to Focus on cleaner fi sh are broadening their scope, tackling subjects such as the social numbers. and Connecti vity committ ee returned from the summer recess ee to makes grim reading forcame the industry asindustry itgati suggests that committ Martyn Haines Conference round-up Best of the start-ups angling lobby, which had called for the investi on. But asngs 22-23 Book review farming in alleviati ngof poverty. Increasingly, anti -aquaculture suspects, as Holyrood’s Rural Economy activists. The latest these (see our news story onmeeti page 4)the Training Aqua 2018 Aquaculture Innovation food security and saving the planet, a move that is to be welcomed. the excepti on of one or two Greens in cahoots with anti -farming became more opti misti c. We now believe that MSPs, perhaps with acceptability of aquaculture and the contributi on it makes to global Those who want to shut down the industry have, as expected, shut down this valuable sector, rather than to those who operate Scotland’s salmon farmers are not complacent either about consider its draft report into the future of salmon members have been willing to listen to those campaigning to sessions progressed, and eventually farmers’ voices were heard, we Focus cleaner fish are broadening their scope, tackling subjects such as thefarming. social and Connecti vity committ ee returned from the summer recess to makes grim reading for the industry as it suggests that committ ee Martyn Haines Conference round-up Best57 ofonthe start-ups Comment 53-55 60-63 48-49 Also investi gati ng initi ati ves inregard the developing world, Dr Harrison campaigners, will, on balance, the in abe favourable food security and saving the planet, aindustry move that isperhaps to welcomed. the excepti on ofvaluable one or two Greens in cahoots with -farming stepped up their acti viti es, which now involve breaching the within it.draft 54-55 sea lice and continue to invest millions ofindustry pounds inanti control Those who want to shut down the as shut down this sector, rather than to those who operate became more opti misti c. We now believe that MSPs, with acceptability of aquaculture and the contributi on ithave, makes toexpected, global consider its report into the future of salmon farming. members have been willing to listen to those campaigning to Dr Martin Jaffa 24 20 20-21 28-29 Charo Karisa of WorldFish writes about the farming potenti al inthe 57 53-55 60-63 48-49 light. They will hopefully see that farmers take their environmental Also investi gati ng initi ati ves inbe developing Harrison campaigners, will, on balance, regard the industry in-farming a Dr favourable Aquaculture biosecure of farm sites to photographs in Ofwho course, such stories may inaccurate in any case, Nor Fishing Aqua 2018 UK Net measures. And, as Ronnie Soutar reports in the introduction to stepped up their acti viti es, which now involve breaching the within it. food security and saving the planet, athe move that isand, toworld, be welcomed. the excepti on ofenvironments one or two Greens in cahoots with anti Sea cleaning Lice Those want tocatf shut down the industry have, as expected, shut down this valuable sector, rather than tosnatch those who operate 24 20 20-21 28-29 Nigeria, both in ish and ti lapia culti vati on. Comment BTA Shellfi sh Charo Karisa of WorldFish writes about the farming potenti al in responsibiliti es seriously and that businesses will only ever invest in Introducti onons UK light. They will hopefully see that farmers take their environmental Farming angle Focus on Africa Robot soluti the hope of fi nding incriminati ng evidence against farmers. One committ ee’s fi ndings are not binding. Scotland’s fi sh farmers Aquaculture 57 our special sea lice feature, cooperation between companies biosecure environments of farm sites to snatch photographs in Of course, such stories may be inaccurate and, in any case, the Nor Fishing Aqua 2018 Net cleaning 53-55 60-63 48-49 Also investi gati ngacti initi aties, veswhich inregard thenow developing world, Harrison campaigners, will, on balance, the industry inofa aDr favourable CleanTreat stepped up their viti involve breaching theng game within Init.Scotland, the summer has been something waiti 24-25 What’s in a name? Dr Nick Lake Nigeria, both in catf ish and tisearching, lapia culti vati on. Phil Thomas growth that is sustainable. BTA Shellfi sh 24 20 20-21 responsibiliti es seriously and that businesses will only ever invest in Comment 28-29 Introducti campaigner lmed himself unsuccessfully, for dead have always been fortunate to have the support of their minister, and the sharing of expertise and equipment is helping the sector Farming angle Focus on Africa Robot soluti the hope of fi nding incriminati ng evidence against farmers. One committ ee’s fi ndings are not binding. Scotland’s fi sh farmers Charo Karisa of WorldFish writes about the farming potenti al in light. Theythe will hopefully see that farmers take their environmental Aquaculture UK biosecure environments of farm sites tosomething snatch photographs ingame Of while course, such stories may be inaccurate and, inof any case, Nor Fishing Aqua 2018onons Net cleaning parliament is in recess and the members Holyrood’s Scotland, the summer has been aofof waiti ngthe IfInthe committ ee members, especially those who have yet toinof Comment What’s in a name? Dr Nick Lake Phil Thomas growth that isfibeen sustainable. fi sh at a Marine Harvest site. Another said he saw ‘hundreds’ Fergus Ewing, to grow sustainably. Shellfish address its number one challenge. This collaboration, as Ronnie Nigeria, both in catf ish and ti lapia culti vati on. campaigner lmed himself searching, unsuccessfully, for dead have always fortunate to have the support their minister, BTA Shellfi sh responsibiliti es seriously and that businesses will only ever invest Introducti on Farming angle Focus on Africa Robot soluti ons the hope of fi nding incriminati ng evidence against farmers. One committ ee’s fi ndings are not binding. Scotland’s fi sh farmers Rural Economy and Connecti vity committ ee conti nue to weigh up while parliament ishas in recess and the members of 58-59 60-63 68-69 51 visit ais salmon farm, likeespecially tosomething learn more about the subject of Phil IfBut the ee members, those who have yet Going infested salmon in awould pen, but we only have his word against that itthe should not go unchallenged that some MSPs on thetoREC In Scotland, the summer been ofhe aof waiti ngHolyrood’s game says, heartening. fi sh at acommitt Marine Harvest site. Another said saw ‘hundreds’ of Fergus Ewing, to grow sustainably. 56-59 What’s in aDutch name? Dr Nick Lake Thomas growth that isfibeen sustainable. campaigner lmed himself searching, unsuccessfully, for dead have always to have the support their minister, the evidence infortunate their inquiry into salmon farming. We don’t expect 26 22-23 30 Rural Economy and Connecti vity committ ee conti nue to weigh up 58-59 their inquiry, we have plenty of good stories in our May issue. Even 60-63 68-69 51 visit a salmon farm, would like to learn more about the subject of while the parliament istheir in recess and the members of Holyrood’s of the professional vets and biologists who manage the welfare of committ ee, with own agendas against the growth of the Aquaculture UK Our visit last month to Mowi’s Inchmore hatchery revealed infested salmon in a pen, but we only have his word against that But it should not go unchallenged that some MSPs on the REC Australia Training Sea bass If the committ ee members, especially those who have yet to fi sh at aEwing, Marine Harvest site. Another said the hefarming. saw ‘hundreds’ ofexpect Fergus grow sustainably. SeaMitchell Lice their reporttounti l the autumn but salmon hope MSPs are using the time the evidence in Connecti their inquiry into We don’t 26 22-23 30 Shellfi sh Comment BTA er,inquiry, they could head to Highlands laterhealth this month, where Ruralbett Economy and vity committ ee conti nue to weigh up their we have plenty of good stories in our May issue. Even Chris these farms on a daily basis. industry, are in breach of the Code of Conduct for MSPs. As they Barramundi boom Martyn Haines European leaders further efforts by farmers to safeguard the of their stocks, of the professional vets and biologists who manage the welfare of committ ee, with their own agendas against the growth of the Aquaculture 58-59 Australia Training Sea bass 60-63 68-69 51 visit a salmon farm, would like to learn more about the subject of Report from ChileUK fully with the facts sh farming. infested salmon in go aacquainted pen, but we only have hisabout wordfiare against that Butto itbecome should not unchallenged that some MSPs on the REC their report unti l inquiry the autumn but hope the MSPs using the time 26 Montpellier report Dr Marti nsh Jaff a Doug McLeod they will meet the aquaculture industry en masse at Scotland’s the evidence in their into salmon farming. We don’t expect Shellfi Comment 22-23 BTA 30 bett er, they could head to the Highlands later this month, where If the industry is proud of its high standards, as it says it is, it are in a positi on to infl uence the future course of salmon farming, Chris Mitchell by producing bigger and more robust smolts. And then, at these farms on a daily basis. industry, are in breach of Code of Conduct for MSPs. As they Barramundi boom Martyn Haines European leaders their inquiry, we have plenty of good stories in our May issue. Even This month also sees the reti rement of Marine Harvest’s longest of the professional vets andagendas biologists who manage the welfare committ ee, with their own against the growth of the of Aquaculture UK toreport become fully acquainted with the facts about fiusing sh farming. Australia Training Sea bass theirbiggest unti l the autumn but hope the MSPs are the tiright me Montpellier report Dr Marti n Jaff a fi shMowi farming show. Doug McLeod they will meet the aquaculture industry en masse Scotland’s must mount adaily much more robust defence of itself, through its and of vital toBracken. Scotland’s economy, we have athey Loch Alsh, farm manager Kendal Hunter took us to see Iffarms the industry is proud of its high standards, as itsalmon says itlongest is, ita BTA are in abusinesses positi on to infl uence the future course ofat farming, Shellfi sh Comment bett er, they could head to Highlands later this month, where serving employee, Steve We had no trouble collecti ng Chris Mitchell these on a basis. industry, are in breach of the Code of Conduct for MSPs. As This month also sees the reti rement of Marine Harvest’s Barramundi boom Martyn Haines European leaders 60 to become fully acquainted with the facts about fi sh farming. We will certainly be at Aquaculture UK inindustry, Aviemore and biggest fish farming show. representati body, the SSPO, than itthe has done tothrough date. to who are, and we hope its Thermolicer treatment in action. This kind of access isthe ofalook course must mount athey much more robust defence of through its and of businesses vital to Scotland’s economy, we have right Montpellier report Dr Marti n Jaff a Doug McLeod warm tributes from his friends and colleagues to mark 28-31 24-25 they will meet the aquaculture industry en masse at Scotland’s 32-33 serving employee, Steve Bracken. We had no ng If the industry isve proud of its high standards, as ititself, says itcollecti is, itThe are in aknow positi on to inflthe uence the future course oftrouble salmon farming, This month also sees reti rement of Marine Harvest’s longest forward to seeing many of you there too. Archive We will certainly be at Aquaculture UK in Aviemore and look campaigners, we now see, will stop at nothing, and farmers ves, will pressure the parliament to investi gate welcomed by journalists but it is also very much in the salmon representati ve body, the SSPO, than it has done to date. The to know who they are, and we hope the industry, through its milestone and, along with the rest of the industry, thea team atbefore Fish biggest fishtributes farming show. warm from his friends and colleagues to mark the 28-31 24-25 32-33 must mount a much more robust defence of itself, through its and of businesses vital to Scotland’s economy, we have right SSPO Comment Scottish Sea Farms Shellfi sh serving employee, Steve Bracken. We hadtoo. no trouble collecting Building immunity forward to seeing many of you there should be prepared to fi ght back. the REC report is published. industry’s interests to be ever more transparent. campaigners, we now see, will stop at nothing, and farmers representati ves, will pressure the parliament to investi gate before Farmer wish him all the very best for the future. will certainly be at Aquaculture UK inindustry, Aviemore milestone and, along with rest of industry, thelook team representati vethey body, the SSPO, than itthe has done tothrough date. The toWe know who are, and wethe hope its at Fish 32-33 Rising stars Marti nBrown Jaff a Sea Farms Orkney anniversary Janet warm tributes from his friends and colleagues to mark the SSPO Comment Scottish 28-31 24-25 Shellfi sh should be prepared to fi ght back. the REC report is published. Farmer wish him all the very best for the future. forward toand, seeing many of the you there too. campaigners, we now see, willrest stop at representati ves, will pressure the parliament toand investi gateatbefore milestone along with of thenothing, industry, thefarmers team Fish Rising stars Marti Jaff a Farms Orkney anniversary Janet SSPO Comment Scottish Sea Shellfi shnBrown 64 should prepared to fivery ght back. the RECbe report published. Farmer wish himisall the best for the future. Rising stars Marti n Jaff a Orkney anniversary Janet Brown 32-33 26-27 26-30 34-35 26-31 www.fishfarmer-magazine.com Fish Farmer is now on @fishfarmermagazine Billingsgate 69 64-67 70-73 52-54 32-33 26-27 26-30 34-35 www.fishupdate.com Facebook andisTwitter Shellfi Cleaner sh Farms Scottish Comment Market message www.fishfarmer-magazine.com Mowi shfiSea Fish Farmer now on @fishfarmermag 69 www.fishfarmermagazine.com 64-67 70-73 52-54 Aquaculture UK Nigeria Networking Research Janet Machrihanish Orkney farm visit Marti nBrown Jaff afiSea www.fishupdate.com Hatchery tour Facebook and Twitter Shellfi sh Cleaner sh Scottish Farms 32-33 26-27 26-30 Comment 34-35 www.fishfarmer-magazine.com Fish Farmer is now on Meet the team Boosti ng producti on Dave Conley Chris Mitchell Aquaculture UK 69 Nigeria Networking Research 64-67 70-73 52-54 Contact us Meet the team Janet Machrihanish Orkney farm Marti nBrown Jaff a visit www.fishupdate.com Facebook and Twitter Shellfi sh Cleaner fi sh Scottish Sea Farms Comment Meet the team Boosti ng producti Dave Conley Chris Mitchell Contact us131 Meet theAdvisory team Board: Aquaculture Editorial Advisory Board: Steve Tel: +44(0) 131 551 551 1000 1000 Editorial Tel: +44(0) Nigeria Networking Research UK on 33-37 Janet Machrihanish Orkney farm Marti nBrown Jaff a visit 34-35 28-29 32-33 36-41 Fax: +44(0) 131 551 7901 Fax: +44(0) 131 551 7901 Meet the team on Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Contact Steve Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Migaud, Boosti ng producti Dave Conley Chris81-82 Mitchell Editorial Advisory Board: Steve Tel: +44(0) 131 551 1000 usjhjul@fishfarmermagazine.com MeetBracken, the Bracken, team 76-77 56-59 Mowi visitfish Email: email: Jim Treasurer, Chris Mitchell, Migaud, Patrick Smith and Jim 34-35 28-29 32-33 Hervé Migaud, Patrick Smith, Patrick Smith, Jim Treasurer and 36-41 Fax: +44(0) 131 551 7901 Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Steve Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Migaud, Comment Cleaner Orkney Farm 81-82 Editorial Advisory Board: Steve Tel: +44(0) 551 1000 76-77 56-59 Aquaculture UK Farm visit jhjul@fi131 shupdate.com From the Archive Value chains Jason Cleaversmith and Hamish Treasurer, Wiliam Dowds Jim Treasurer and William Dowds William Dowds Patrick Smith and Jim Hervé Migaud, Patrick Smith, Patrick Smith, Jim Treasurer and Fax: email: Marti nofJaff afiera Vaccines New player Dawn new Comment Cleaner sh Orkney 34-35 28-29 32-33 Farm visit +44(0) 131 551 7901 Publications, 36-41 Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé SteveMigaud, Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Migaud, Awards Head Office: Special David Litt le reports Growth in China Developing trends Aquaculture UK 81-82 jhjul@fishupdate.com From Archive Value the chains 76-77 56-59 Macdonell Editor: Jenny Hjul Treasurer, Wiliam Dowds Jim Treasurer andand William William Dowds Marti noffi Jaff a era Vaccines Newvisit player Dawn new Migaud, Patrick Smith Jim Head Offi ce:496 Special Publicati ons, Farm Hervé Migaud, Patrick Smith, Patrick Smith, Jim Treasurer andDowdsemail: Fettes Park, Ferry Road, Comment Cleaner sh Orkney Awards David Litt le reports Growth in China Developing trends Designer: Andrew 38-41 Editor: Jenny Hjul Balahura Editor: Jenny Hjul Aquaculture UK jhjul@fi shupdate.com From Archive Value the chains Fett esOffi Park, 496 FerryPublicati Road, ons, Dawn Treasurer, Wiliam Jim Treasurer and Dowds William Dowds William Dowds Edinburgh, 2DL Head ce:EH5 Special Marti nofJaff a era Vaccines New43-45 player new Adverti sing Manager: Team Leader: 36-39 32-35 34-35 Designer: Andrew Balahura Awards Designer: Andrew Balahura David Litt le reports Growth in China Developing trends Edinburgh, EH5 2DL Mowi Editor: Jenny Hjul 91 Fettes Park, 496 Ferry Road, 78-79 63 Dave Edler HeadSubscriptions Office: Special Publications, Adverti sing Manager: Team Leader: 36-39 32-35 34-35 43-45 Commercial Manager: Mapping the seabed Wild salmon decline Cleaner fi sh Orkney IoA careers Edinburgh, EH5 2DL Designer: Andrew Balahura 91 78-79 63 67 & Marketing Retail Fettes Park, 496 Ferry Road, dedler@fi shupdate.com Processing & Retail News Dave Edler Janice Johnston The mackerel hypothesis Transport Leask Marine Sti rling students Adverti sing Manager: Team Leader: Wild salmon decline Cleaner fi sh Orkney 36-39 32-35 34-35 Subscriptions Address: Fish IoA careers 43-45 Edinburgh, EH5 2DL Eat more fish Adverti sing Executive: Save Pinneys jobs Carlisle jobs Recruitment challenges Retail & Marketing 91 Subscriptions dedler@fi shupdate.com Processing &News Retail News 78-79 63 Processing jjohnston@fishfarmermagazine.com Dave Edler The mackerel hypothesis Transport Leask Marine Farmer Magazine Subscriptions, IoA Sti rling students Wild salmon decline Cleaner fi sh Orkney Scott Binnie careers Eat more fi sh Adverti sing Executi ve: Save Pinneys jobs Carlisle jobs Recruitment challenges SalMar’s new plant Subscriptions Subscripti ons Address: Wyvex Retail & Marketing dedler@fishupdate.com Processing & Retail News Warners Group Publications plc, Sti The mackerel hypothesis Transport Leask Marine sbinnie@fi shupdate.com rling students Scott Binnie Media, FREEPOST RTEY YUBG TYUB, Media, FREEPOST RTEYStreet, YUBG TYUB, Publisher: Alister Eat more fishchallenges Adverti sing Executi ve:Bennett Save Pinneys jobs Carlisle jobs 92-93 Recruitment Subscripti ons West Address: Wyvex Subscriptions The Maltings, Bourne 80-81 64-65 Publisher: Alister Bennett Trinity House, Sculpins Lane, Trinity House, Sculpins Lane, WethersMedia, FREEPOST RTEY YUBG TYUB, Media, FREEPOST RTEY YUBGWethersTYUB, Scottsbinnie@fi Binnie shupdate.com 68-69 Lincolnshire PE10 9PH 92-93 80-81 64-65 Aqua Source Directory Subscripti ons Address: Wyvex Publisher: Alister Bennett fi eld, Braintree, Essex CM7 4AY fi eld, Braintree, Essex CM7 4AY Trinity House, Sculpins Lane, Trinity House, Sculpins Lane, WethersWetherssbinnie@fishupdate.com Tel: +44 (0)1778 392014 Media, FREEPOST RTEY YUBG TYUB, Media, FREEPOST RTEY YUBG TYUB, Find all need for the industry Aqua Source Directory 92-93 Tel: +44 (0) 1371 851868 80-81 64-65 you Cover:Alister Alisonsh Hutchins, Dawnfresh Cover: Steve Bracken explains Lumpsucker Scotti Sea Farms regional fifield, Braintree, Essex CM7 eld,Subscriptions: Braintree, Essex CM7 4AY Cover: Mowi’s Kendal Hunter, Publisher: Bennett £75 a4AY year Trinity House, WethersTrinityUK House, Sculpins Sculpins Lane, Lane, Wethersfarming director, on Loch Eti ve. Find all you need for the industry industry salmon farming to Prince Charles producti on manager for Orkney, Find all you need for the UK Subscripti ons:851868 £75 a year manager of Loch Alsh farm (photo: Tel: +44 (0) 1371 Cover:his Alison Hutchins, Cover: Steve Bracken explains Lumpsucker Scotti sh Sea Farms regional Aqua Source Directory ROW Subscriptions: £95 a year Picture: Scott Binnie during visit to Marine Harvest Essex Richard Darbyshire (left ),Dawnfresh and the fifield, eld, Braintree, Braintree, Essex CM7 CM7 4AY 4AY Angus Blackburn) farming director, on Loch Eti ve. salmon farming to Prince Charles producti on manager for Orkney, ROW Subscripti ons: £95 a year UK Subscripti ons: -£75 a year 82 66 in 2016. Photo: Iainat Ferguson Westerbister Scapa Pier Find 94 all you need for the industry including postage All Air Mail (0) 1371 851868 Cover: Alison Hutchins, Dawnfresh Cover: Steve Bracken Lumpsucker Scotti sh Seateam Farms regional Picture: Scott Binnie during his visit toexplains Marine Richard Darbyshire (left ), Harvest and the Tel: +44 46-47 including postage - All£95 Air Mail 42-43 70 ROW Subscripti ons: a year 40 37 36-37 94 farming director, Loch Eti ve. Pier salmon farming toon Prince Charles producti on manager for at Orkney, 82 66 in 2016. Photo: Iain Ferguson Westerbister team Scapa Opinion UK Subscriptions: £75 a year Picture: Scott during his visit Binnie to Marine Richard Darbyshire (left), Harvest and the 46-47 postage - All Mail Ltd, Brussels 40 37 36-37 Sea Licefishconference Nick Joy ROWincluding Subscripti £95 aAir year Printed inteam Great Britain for the the proprietors proprietors Wyvex Wyvex Media Ltd by by JJons: Thomson Colour Printers Ltd, Innovation Cleaner Aquaculture Innovation 94 Printed in Great for Media Ltd Thomson Colour Printers 82 66ByOpinion in 2016. Photo: IainBritain Ferguson Westerbister at Scapa Pier Introducti on Ronnie Soutar Glasgow ISSN 0262-9615 Glasgow ISSN 0262-9615 Brussels 46-47 By Nick Joy Joy including postage All Air Mail Novel technology Temperature Introducti on By Nick Innovation Cleaner fishconference Aquaculture Innovation Opinion 37 36-37 Printed Printed in in Great Great Britain Britain for for the the proprietors proprietors Wyvex Wyvex Media Media Ltd Ltd by by JJ Thomson Thomson Colour Colour Printers Printers Ltd, Ltd,40 Introducti on Glasgow Glasgow ISSN ISSN 0262-9615 0262-9615 Novel technology Temperature Introducti on Brussels By Nick Joy Innovation Cleaner fishconference Aquaculture Innovation Printed in Printed in Great Great Britain Britain for for the the proprietors proprietors Wyvex Wyvex Media Media Ltd Ltd by by JJ Thomson Thomson Colour Colour Printers Printers Ltd, Ltd, 33 www.fishfarmermagazine.com www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

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Figure 9. Development of salmon nominal catch in southern and northern NEAC 1971 to 2016. Text at top inserted by author. Filled symbols and darker line southern NEAC.

Glasgow Glasgow ISSN ISSN 0262-9615 0262-9615

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com www.fishfarmer-magazine.com February.indd 3 Welcome Aug.indd Welcome -- May.indd Sept.indd Oct.indd 33

Figure 10. Examples of the young mackerel currently growing up ‘all over’ the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and along the Norwegian coast at the moment. These were caught in a ‘washing set’ by 10. theExamples purse seiner ‘Brennholm’ at an arbitrary west of Lofoten Figure of the young mackerel currentlyposition growing100 up nm ‘all over’ thethe North Sea, Isles in January 2018. thisalong stagethe these small mackerels are moment. competitors to the postsmolt Norwegian SeaAtand Norwegian coast at the These were caught insalmon, a ‘washing later they be seiner both competitors potential predators. and abundant availability set’ by thewill purse ‘Brennholm’and at an arbitrary position The 100 new nm west of the Lofoten Isles in Figure 10.ofExamples of the young mackerel currently growingfeeding up ‘all over’ North Sea, explanation to juvenile mackerel the multi winter salmon areasthe may bepostsmolt a good January 2018. At thisinstage thesesea small mackerels are competitors to the salmon, Norwegian Sea and along the have Norwegian at the moment. Thesedespite were caught in a ‘washing why fishes such acoast good present their early sea growth. laterthe theyMSW will be both competitors andcondition potential at predators. The new andpoor abundant availability set’ by the purse ‘Brennholm’ at an arbitrary position 100 nm west of the Lofoten Isles in Photo JCseiner Holst. of juvenile mackerel in the multi sea winter salmon feeding areas may be a good explanation to January 2018. At this stage these small mackerels are competitors to the postsmolt salmon, why the MSW fishes have such a good condition at present despite their poor early sea growth. later they will be both competitors and potential predators. The new and abundant availability Photo JC Holst. of juvenile mackerel in the multi sea winter salmon feeding areas may be a good explanation to why the MSW fishes have such a good condition at present despite their poor early sea growth. Photo JC Holst.

Introducti on Novel technology Temperature Introducti on

3 3 10/02/2020 18:05:09 15:37:52 09/05/2018 08/08/2018 15:36:28 06/09/2018 16:32:15 04/10/2018 09:15:28

United Kingdom News

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Organic farm plan defeated by Skye locals

Above: Alex MacInnes

PLANS for two organic salmon farms on Skye were rejected by councillors after a campaign against the development by locals. Organic Sea Harvest, which already has approval for two sites – at Invertote and Clunacnoc - had submitted proposals to Highland Council for a farm of 12 x 400ft cages just off the eastern coast of the Trotternich pensinsula at Flodigarry in north-east Skye. The plan was to rotate production cycles, leaving sites fallow for a year, but the Flodigarry

community argued that the farms would harm the pristine coastline and tourist trade. Organic Sea Harvest (OSH), which won consents in 2018 for two 12 pen farms producing a total of 5,000 tonnes of organic salmon, said there was an unfulfilled market for organically produced salmon. Co-founder Alex MacInnes has said in the past that the aim was to produce 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes between all four farms. The company claimed that welfare would be improved with lower stocking densities and by the faster flowing water at the exposed sites. Sea lice would be further reduced by a system designed to drop the cages to a lower level of water where the parasites are not so prevalent. OSH said there would be seven jobs per site, reflecting their drive to attract and retain young families within the community. There has been enthusiastic support in Staffin on Skye - where the two first farms are located - for Organic Sea Harvest’s plans, with the Staffin Community Trust welcoming the ‘significant employment opportunities and much needed infrastructure investment’. ‘The improvement and redevelopment of the Staffin Slipway has been a priority of the local community for some time,’ the Trust said on its website.

However, in Flodigarry, hotel owner Bette Temming said the unique selling point of her business, the pristine land and seascape, would be destroyed by the fish farm. The Scotsman reported that objections to the OSH farms at Flodigarry were also lodged by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and other industry lobby groups. An objection letter was also sent by a group called Friends of the Eilean Fhlodaigearraidh Faeries, raising concerns about the fate of the ‘ashrai’, a sea fairy similar to a mermaid, which the group claimed have lived off the coast of Skye for 1,000 years. Last August, OSH signed a £4 million contract with Gael Force to equip its two approved Skye sites. The deal includes SeaMate 350-tonne capacity feed barges and SeaFeed feeding systems, SeaQurePen fish pens, SeaQureMoor moorings, and underwater technology. And earlier this month, a deal was signed with Cargill to supply feed for the first two Skye sites. James Deverill, commercial director at Cargill in Scotland, said: ‘We are extremely excited for the opportunity to collaborate with Organic Sea Harvest to support the production of high quality, high welfare, organically farmed salmon from the Isle of Skye.’

‘End of an era’ as SSPO shuts its Shetland office THE SCOTTISH Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO) announced last month that it was closing its office in Lerwick, leading to the loss of two full-time equivalent jobs. The organisation said it is moving all of its operations to its headquarters in Edinburgh, with the Shetland office due to shut at the end of January. General manager David Sandison was to be made redundant after more than 20 years representing the local industry. He was appointed as the manager of the then Shetland Salmon Farmers’ Association (SSFA) in the late 1990s. The organisation was renamed Shetland Aquaculture to reflect the move to other species, namely cod and sea trout, being farmed in local waters at the time. In 2014, Shetland Aquaculture became part of the SSPO and Sandison was made the Shetland manager for the national organisation. In 2018, he was the only representative of Scotland’s salmon farming industry to give evidence to Holyrood’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) committee, which conducted the first of two parliamentary inquiries that year into salmon farming. The Shetland News described the move as ‘the Above: David Sandison

UK news.indd 4

end of an era for Shetland’ as a distinct Scottish salmon growing area. Alongside Sandison, two other part-time staff members have also been made redundant. SSPO chief executive Julie Hesketh-Laird said: ‘The closure of SSPO’s Shetland office will mean the loss of three personnel, which represents two full-time equivalents. No decisions like this are taken lightly and this was a very difficult one to take. ‘The salmon sector has changed a lot over the last 20 to 30 years: we have to change to adapt, too. ‘There has been a lot of consolidation in the sector and we no longer represent a large number of smaller operators in remote locations. ‘We represent seven companies, most of whom are based in or around the central belt. Modern communication means we can liaise with all our member companies more swiftly and surely from Edinburgh than we ever could do before, even with offices in different parts of the country. ‘The SSPO works extremely closely with its member companies. One of our member companies is headquartered in Shetland, two others have a significant presence there. ‘We are confident those companies will give us a strong and powerful voice in Shetland as we go forward.’

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10/02/2020 15:33:13

All the latest industry news from the UK

Top scientists join SAIC board THE Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) has appointed five industry experts to its board, to provide objective scientific advice on future projects. The five new members of the Independent Scientific Panel are Dr Lydia Brown MBE, Dr Hans Bjelland, Dr Heather Moore, Dr Clive Talbot and Dr Hamish Rodger. The panel is made up of nine members, who bring together extensive knowledge of aquaculture research from around the world. The team, chaired by Professor Julie Fitzpatrick of the Moredun Research Institute, guides SAIC’s work by reviewing project proposals and reports, supporting research partnerships and providing scientific support and guidance. Commenting on the new appointments, Professor Fitzpatrick, said: ‘We’re proud to build a network that has the potential to boost growth and development, helping the Scottish aquaculture industry to thrive. ‘SAIC plays an important role in supporting innovation across the sector and our talented panel is well placed to support the collaborative projects aimed at tackling some of the industry’s main challenges.’ David Gregory, chairman of SAIC, added: ‘We are working hard to ensure the sustainable

growth across the aquaculture sector – including one of Scotland’s most important food exports. ‘With industry renowned experts from a wide range of backgrounds strengthening our scientific panel, SAIC has access to the skills and knowledge to support growth in the sector. ‘We’re continuing to harness the benefits of collaboration, encouraging producers and academia to work together on projects which have the potential to influence big changes in the sector – with valuable input from our scientific panel.’

Above: One of SAIC’s expert advisers is Hans Bjelland, of leading Norwegian research organisation Sintef; he runs the Exposed centre that develops technology for exposed aquaculture operations

Competition for research funds opens

THE Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre has announced significant new funding for industry led research projects. SAIC has £2.9 million in its project pot to spend over the next five years and hopes to attract at least a further £3.5 million investment. It will consider funding proposals up to the value of £440,000 (full project costs). This represents a SAIC contribution of up to £200,000, paid at 80 per cent full economic costs to the academic partner(s). Proposals should be match funded by industry partners, either in the form of cash, in-kind, or a combination of the two.

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In previous years, the stronger the industrial leverage, the more attractive the proposals have been – and the more likely to secure funding. The centre also welcomes smaller scale projects of a shorter duration (that is, under £100,000 total project value, under 12 months total project duration). SAIC opened competition for the grants on January 31 and the deadline for submissions of expressions of interest is March 12, with the deadline for full applications on May 7. Proposals must be relevant to at least one of SAIC’s priority innovation areas, which are: • Addressing environmental and health challenges, particularly sea lice and gill disease, and developing feeds that optimise fish health and nutrition; • Unlocking additional capacity in Scottish aquaculture; and • Shellfish and other non-finfish species. Proposals must be scientifically robust and will be assessed by SAIC’s independent scientific panel. And projects must be able to demonstrate that they are leading towards potential economic benefit to the Scottish economy. Decisions on funding will be made at the SAIC board meeting on August 28, and successful applicants will be informed shortly after this date.

Salmon workboat is milestone for Ferguson Marine THE first of two new boats built by Inverlussa for the Scottish aquaculture market was launched last month at Ferguson Marine. The Helen Rice is the first vessel to be completed since the Port Glasgow yard came into public ownership in December, following a dispute over a multi-million pound CalMac ferries contract. The 21m support vessel for the salmon sector has now been lifted into the Clyde and handed over to Inverlussa Marine Services, a family owned business based in the Isle of Mull. Inverlussa managing director Ben Wilson said: ‘We were delighted to build this vessel in Scotland. I would like to thank Ferguson Marine and their workforce for delivering such a well crafted vessel. ‘We are looking forward to Helen Rice starting work providing important services to the Scottish fish farm industry. ‘The delivery of this vessel continues our strategy of investing in the best vessels and crew.’ The Helen Rice has been designed specifically for multi-role mooring and grid work, along with general site services. The second Inverlussa vessel being built by Ferguson Marine, a 26m multi-role treatment vessel, will be delivered in the summer. It is expected to be fitted with a new, high capacity Thermolicer, which will be going on long-term charter to Scottish Sea Farms. The 26m boat has an innovative design featuring two decks, offering greater flexibility and higher utilisation to perform mechanical treatments, as well as site work tasks Both the new Inverlussa boats have been designed by Macduff Ship Design in collaboration with Inverlussa. Ferguson Marine went into administration following a dispute with Caledonian Maritime Assets – which buys and leases CalMac ships on behalf of the Scottish government – over the construction of two ferries under a £97 million fixed price contract.

Above: Helen Rice, launched last month

10/02/2020 15:33:42

United Kingdom News

Robot will ‘transform fish vaccination’ A STIRLING based aquaculture company has won funding to create a ‘transformational’ fish vaccinating robot. Aqualife, in partnership with the government backed Agri-EPI Centre, secured £250,000 from the Seafood Innovation Fund, awarded by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), to develop and launch the robot by the end of next year. The robot, named Incubot 2, will be able to vaccinate fish at sizes below 20g, compared to the common weight of between 30 and 120g, said Aqualife. This will allow producers to increase productivity by growing their fish out of hatcheries sooner. The robot will be capable of vaccinating most species of farmed fish, in large numbers, the company added. Incubot 2 will be a mobile platform, allowing Aqualife to offer automated vaccination to smaller fish farms which cannot afford to invest in large scale immobile systems. The robot will also help to improve fish quality, using artificial intelligence and ‘deep learning’ algorithms to increase vaccination accuracy and improve fish grading. Auqualife chief executive Gordon Jeffrey said: ‘The aquaculture industry in Scotland aims to double its economic contribution from an estimated £1.8 billion in 2016 to £3.6 billion by 2030. To achieve this, it must develop solutions to reduce fish losses, most of which result from disease.’

Mowi Scotland names new management appointments

Above: Meritxell Diez-Padrisa

Mowi Scotland has named its new management team, following the appointment last month of Meritxell Diez-Padrisa as the company’s new production director. Diez-Padrisa, who was head of fish health, replaces Gideon Pringle, who is joining Scottish Sea Farms as director of farming. Mowi’s farms in Scotland will now be organised into three regions – South, North and Western Isles – rather than the previous five regions, according to the latest issue of the comAbove: The Aqualife development team (from left to right): Lars Thom pany’s newsletter,The Scoop. (design engineer), Kristian Clezy (head engineer), Susanne Drennan Leading each region will be three experienced managers, all (design engineer)and Phil Brown (technical director) (photo: Aqualife) of whom have been with Mowi for a while: Stephen Jamieson is regional manager for the North, David MacGillivray is regional manager for the South and Kris Laird is regional manager for the Western Isles. THE coronavirus that closely: China is a very small number of our All regional managers will be supported by a dedicated team has shut down large important market member companies of operational and fish health experts. for us. who are affected are parts of China has beAnd former area manager for the South Sean Anderson has looking for other gun to have an impact ‘The early indicamarkets for fish which been promoted to the deputy production director post. on Scottish farmed tions are that the deMowi said 2020 had started with the challenge of Storm salmon exports, mand for imports of would have been Brendan, which resulted in the escape of 73,600 salmon from a according to the Scot- salmon has slowed as destined for China, tish Salmon Producers a result of the ongoing particularly in the US pen at its Colonsay farm. But the company added: ‘The strengthening of our manageand around Europe.’ Organisation. health issues in the ment team and the restructuring of our farming operations country, particularly Salmon prices An SSPO spokesmeans that we can move forward with confidence.’ fell back sharply in person said: ‘We are in the restaurant and Sean Anderson said: ‘Each region now has a dedicated fish obviously monitoring hotel trade. Norway at the end of the situation very ‘As a result, the January, with the coro- health structure consisting of a regional health manager and navirus outbreak a regional health assistant manager, who are both responsible for the health and welfare of our salmon and cleaner fish. largely to blame. ‘This now doubles the previous number of fish health and The salmon welfare experts in seawater, which will allow more focus and industry is expecting prices to time in each individual region going forward.This is a positive fall even further step and reinforces our commitment to the health and welfare if the coronavirus of our fish.’ worsens or takes Ben Hadfield, in his new role as chief operating officer for hold in other Farming Scotland and Ireland, said: ‘With Meritxell’s vast fish large salmon health and welfare experience and a strong and refreshed buying countries farming team in Scotland supporting her, our production capain Asia. bilities will be greatly enhanced.’

Coronavirus hits Scottish salmon exports

UK news.indd 6

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

10/02/2020 15:35:36

All the latest industry news from the UK

Don’t miss chance to enter Aquaculture Awards THERE is still time to enter this year’s Aquaculture Awards, which will be announced at a special presentation during the Aquaculture UK exhibition in Aviemore in May. The awards celebrate new developments and initiatives in the global aquaculture sector. And they provide an opportunity to recognise those making an exceptional contribution to the industry, either in the UK or overseas. All categories are free to enter and open to everyone involved in the industry worldwide. Categories include: Best aquaculture company; Finfish farmer of the year; Shellfish

farmer of the year; Outstanding contribution to the industry; Environmental impact award; Aquaculture supplier of the year; Community initiative; Economic sustainability;Animal welfare; Innovation; Rising star; People’s choice; Unsung hero; and Collaboration. The judging panel is drawn from across the industry and includes a broad range of expertise. The closing date for entries is March 9 and the shortlists will be announced in early April, with the presentation dinner held in Aviemore on May 20. To enter, please visit https:// www.aquacultureawards.com/ enter/

Aviemore exhibition sold to Diversified THE UK’s biggest aquaculture exhibition, Aquaculture UK, has been bought by Diversified Communications, the events company behind the Brussels and Boston seafood shows. Current owner, 5M Enterprises, said Aquaculture UK 2020 and the Aquaculture Awards 2020 will continue to be managed by the 5M team for the next event, in Aviemore from May 19-21. This year’s edition of the biennial event is expected to attract more than 3,000 Above: Carsten Holm visitors and 200 exhibitors. The Scottish show will complement Diversified’s international events and publishing portfolio, which includes the annual Seafood Expo Global and Seafood Processing Global, which moves from Brussels to Barcelona next year; and Seafood Expo North America, held in Boston in March. Diversified UK’s managing director, Carsten Holm, said: ‘It’s great to be welcoming Aquaculture UK to Diversified Communications.We have been watching the growing success of the event and believe that its focus and subject matter complements our, already substantial, international presence in the sector extremely well. ‘We also feel that the sense of community, customer focus, long-term vision and attention to detail, is very similar to how we approach our events. ‘I also have a personal interest, having spent my early years working on Fishing News and Fish Farming International, so I really look forward to getting involved again.’

Brexit plans will place ‘huge burden’ on salmon sector BORIS Johnson’s non-alignment Brexit deal is likely to place huge burdens on the salmon sector, claimed the SSPO (Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation). Under government plans to pursue a loose trade arrangement with the EU, salmon exports may need Export Health Certificates (EHCs) after the end of this year, when the transition phase is over. Until now, the certificates have not been required because of free movement of goods within the EU, but it is understood that government officials have warned the SPPO to prepare for the extra bureacracy from next year. If EHCs are introduced, the cost for Scottish farmed salmon, the UK’s biggest food export, will be between £1.3 million and £8.7 million per year depending on the amount charged by councils for each EHC and the number of EHCs

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required per lorry load. It would also involve the processing of an extra 50,000 to 100,000 EHCs every year, each one of which has to be signed by either an environmental health officer or a vet. This will need extra staff at the main haulage distribution hub, the DFDS base at Larkhall in South Lanarkshire, and delays and hold ups in the dispatch of salmon to the continent. It is estimated that about 300 orders of Scottish salmon are sent to Europe each day from DFDS, in about 35 lorry loads. The annual £8.7 million figure is based on 300 orders per day, each one needing an EHC at a cost of £80 per certificate. The £1.3 million figure is based on 300 orders a day but with each EHC costing £12 per order – if only one certificate per lorry load is demanded. Hamish Macdonell: Page 18

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10/02/2020 15:35:57

European News

NEWS...

Norwegian exports ﬂy high despite coronavirus crisis

Above: Paul T. Aandahl

NORWEGIAN seafood exports got off to a flying start in January despite coronavirus affecting business with China during the final week of the month. Overseas sales totalled 207,000 tonnes, the same as January 2019, but they increased in value by 15 per cent or NOK 1.2 billion (£100 million) to NOK 9.8 billion (£819 million), undoubtedly reflecting the New Year surge in salmon prices. Once again, salmon

was the star performer with exports rising by three per cent to 88,000 tonnes, but the value soaring by 21 per cent to NOK 6.8 billion (£568 million). Paul T. Aandahl, seafood analyst at the Norwegian Seafood Council, said: ‘Demand for Norwegian salmon rose sharply in January. ‘There was strong growth in value for all regions, with a 22 per cent increase in value to the EU, 20 per cent to Asia and 23 per cent to North America. ‘In volume terms, there is a slight decline, of three per cent, to Asia. We see this decline primarily in relation to the shift of Chinese New Year compared to last year’s celebration.’

The average price for fresh whole salmon in January was NOK 75.86 per kilo, compared to NOK 62.44 per kilo 12 months earlier. Poland, France and Denmark continue to make up the largest salmon markets. Commenting on the coronavirus crisis, Victoria Braathen, the Seafood Council’s fisheries envoy to China, said: ‘Most of fresh salmon to China is consumed

in food service. ‘As residents are being encouraged to stay home because of the outbreak, restaurant demand is being affected.’ On the general picture, Tom-Jørgen Gangsø, the council’s director of market insight and market access, said demand for Norwegian salmon was increasing in all regions, and the average price was considerably higher than a year ago.

But salmon prices tumble in February

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SALMON spot prices in Norway tumbled further earlier this month as China faced almost total shutdown on the back of the coronavirus outbreak. The average price reduction in Norway is around 10 kroner per kilo for most size salmon, with further reductions expected in the weeks ahead. Five to six kilo fresh salmon was hovering at around NOK 63 – or pre-Christmas levels. Large volumes of unsold fish are now stuck in global markets. The virus, which is continuing to spread throughout China and had led to more than 600 deaths at the time of going to press, is playing havoc with commodity markets because the world’s most populous country is no longer buying on a large scale. Even more worrying for the industry are the predictions that it could take months before the crisis ends. Many

flights from Europe carrying seafood into China have been cancelled, while Norwegian crab exports to China have also come to a halt. But according to reports from Norway, coronavirus is not the only reason salmon prices have done an about-turn. Bad weather has hit road transport carrying consignments from fish farms to airports. And following the surprise surge at the beginning of the year, when large fresh salmon almost touched NOK 80 per kilo, many analysts thought prices were artificially far too high. A correction has been expected and it is now a question as to how much further they are likely to fall.

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

10/02/2020 15:31:16

All the latest industry news from Europe

Oslo to face legal action over ‘red light’ district growth areas which will THE Norwegian governlead to a net increase in ment is expected to face production of around 23,000 legal challenges to its new tonnes. salmon farming traffic light Grieg and Lerøy are likely scheme from companies to benefit the most because caught up in the red zones, the bulk of their operations it has emerged. are in the green zones. Up to 140 businesses in SalMar and Mowi, which the two red areas will be have 17 and 20 per cent of forced to cut back on proproduction respectively in duction by up to six per cent the red areas, are likely to or around 9,000 tonnes, take the biggest hit. under the system, which Reaction has been mixed, divides the country into 13 with environmental and districts. Above: Norway’s new ‘traffic light’ zones sports fishing groups saying The Department of Trade the proposals have not and Fisheries, which ungone far enough. But some lawyers are saying veiled the map on February 4, said it is bringing that the government has a duty to send the new in the measures because of the lice threat to regulations to businesses for consultation before salmon stocks. But it is emphasising that large they can be implemented. parts of Norway have been placed in green or

Iceland farmed fish output to hit new record SALMON output in Iceland is poised to hit a record 37,000 tonnes this year, the latest official predictions show. Growth in aquaculture is continuing apace, with production likely to rise by between 5,000 and 7,000 tonnes over the next 12 months. However, any increase will not match 2019, when salmon production doubled to around 30,000 tonnes. Last summer, salmon companies released 9.3 million juveniles, the highest figure yet and up by two million on 2018, Iceland’s Food and Drug Administration is reporting.

The administration is saying that most of the increased production is concentrated in two parts of the country – the Westfjords and the Eastfjords, and coming from the four largest aquaculture companies. But smaller firms are growing at a fast pace and together producing up to 5,000 tonnes a year between them. And it is not just salmon grabbing the headlines. Production of char and rainbow trout is also rising. Most of Iceland’s farmed fish is exported and in November, the latest month for which official figures are available,

overseas sales were worth 2.9 billion króna (£18 million) and running at the rate of almost 100 million króna (£615,000) for each day of that month. Salmon accounted for ISK 2.4 billion (£14.7 million). While the figures are still modest compared to rival countries such as Norway and Scotland, they show that fish farming in Iceland is growing at an impressive pace, particularly as output and exports were almost negligible less than ten years ago. The total export figure for 2019 is expected to be around ISK 25 billion (£154 million).

Seafood relief as UK and Norway strike deal LONDON and Oslo have signed a new trade deal which allows the continued free movement of Norwegian seafood shipments into Britain. Salmon farming companies and fishermen were worried

Above: Geir-Inge Sivertsen

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that the UK’s exit from the EU on January 31 could be interrupted by tariffs and red tape, even though Norway is not a member of the EU. The development will come as a big relief to the Norwegian aquaculture sector, in particular, which has seen exports to China grinding to a halt over the coronavirus. It is also been experiencing difficulties with Russia over claims that Norwegian salmon and trout sent via Belarus has been contaminated with a harmful chemical. Last year, Norway sent the

UK 159,000 tonnes of seafood worth NOK 6.4 billion (£530 million). Salmon alone was worth NOK 4 billion (£332 million). Fisheries minister Geir Inge Sivertsen said: ‘During the transition period, trade in seafood will, for all practical purposes, continue as before. ‘The fisheries agreements Norway has with the EU, which also include the UK, will continue to apply until the end of 2020. From next year, we will need to put in place new fisheries agreements with the EU and the UK.’

Russian ban on Bakkafrost salmon could cost £30m

RUSSIA has imposed an import ban on salmon from Bakkafrost in a move which could cost the Faroese fish farmer around £30 million a year in lost income. The surprise decision was due to come into effect from February 10, with the Russian health authority -known as Rosselkoznador – saying it was due to the detection of ‘unwanted bacteria’, without giving any further details. Russian authorities earlier banned Norwegian salmon processed in neighbouring Belarus, claiming it contained a restricted substance known as crystal violet. This has led some observers to suggest that Russia may be trying to throw a protective ring around its own rapidly growing salmon farming sector. Moscow imposed a ban on direct Norwegian fish imports in 2014 as a tit-for-tat move against Western sanctions following its invasion of Crimea. But it had been continuing to receive Norwegian salmon and trout processed in the former Soviet satellite state of Belarus, allowing it to get around the ban. Meanwhile, according to reports from the Faroe Islands, Bakkafrost CEO Regin Jacobsen said the ban on Faroese imports could cost his company between 240 million and 300 million Danish kroner (£27 million to £34 million) in lost income this year. Following its takeover of the Scottish Salmon Company in September, this will make up just two to three per cent of the Bakkafrost group’s total exports this year. Because the Faroe Islands is an autonomous country within the kingdom of Denmark and is not a member of the EU, it was not subject to the general Russian ban on Western food imports. This gave Bakkafrost an advantage over rival salmon companies. But Jacobsen said that his company’s exports to Russia have gone down significantly over the past 18 months. The company now sees the United States and Europe as more promising growth areas. The Russian health authorities have a traffic light style system in which approved importers are marked with a green symbol. A yellow symbol is used when there is some uncertainty concerning an importer, and blacklisted companies appear in red. The Faroese report said that Mowi’s operations on the Faroe Islands are on the Russian yellow list. Moscow has also banned other Faroese fish exporters in the past two years.

10/02/2020 15:31:33

European News

Nutreco invests in Kingfish Zeeland expansion NUTRECO is investing in the Dutch company Kingfish Zeeland, which produces fish in a land based RAS (recirculating aquaculture system) farm. The funding will enable Kingfish Zeeland, which supplies markets in Europe and the US, to double its current production capacity of 500 tonnes a year, and scale up in the US and Europe. Kingfish Zeeland farms Dutch yellowtail in its land based facility in the Netherlands. It announced last November that it had found a site in Jonesport, Maine, to build a new RAS production site. There are growing North American and European markets for sashimi grade yellowtail and Kingfish Zeeland has ambitions to eventually produce 5,000 tonnes across its US and Dutch sites. Along with Nutreco, other investors in the business include Rabobank Corporate Investment and the France based Creadev. Above:

Nutreco said it would also develop new RAS feeds with Kingfish Zeeland. Skretting, part of Nutreco, is currently delivering juvenile feed to Kingfish Zeeland operations. Viggo Halseth, Nutreco’s chief innovation officer, said: ‘Kingfish Zeeland has successfully gained a first mover position in the premium RAS farming sector, producing high value yellowtail kingfish in a sustainable way. ‘We believe that full-cycle RAS is a very relevant way of fish farming, which builds on the existing knowledge of on-land farming.’

Ohad Maiman

Kingfish Zeeland CEO Ohad Maiman said he was ‘excited’ to develop a partnership with Nutreco. ‘As we enter the scale up phase of our mission to advance a first mover position in the sustainable production of premium seafood, we see strong alignment with Nutreco’s mission and values, and are grateful for their strong support and vote of confidence. ‘This partnership will help Kingfish Zeeland accelerate large-scale production of yellowtail through RAS across the US and European markets, and is a critical milestone in our development.’ Kingfish Zeeland joins other aquaculture players developing RAS plants in the US state of Maine, with Nordic Aquafarms, Whole Oceans and Aquabanq all looking to establish on-land salmon farms in the region.

ASC approval for pioneering Pure Salmon Poland

LAND based salmon farm company Pure Salmon has achieved Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for its original, Polish site. Pure Salmon Poland, located near Warsaw and one of the first salmon land based farms to achieve the standard, is co-owned by Israeli RAS pioneer AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies and 8F Asset Management. Formerly Global Fish, it operates as a commercial farm, producing about 600 tonnes of market size fish of 4kg and above, and also as a training ground and R&D centre, to trial AquaMaof’s recirculating aquaculture systems technology. It is the first of a series of facilities being developed by Pure Salmon and 8F Asset Management, with additional projects underway in Japan, France, America, China, South East Asia and Africa. Pure Salmon announced last month that its latest farm would be built in Boulogne-Sur-Mer in France, producing 10,000 tonnes of salmon a year (see story right). The company has a global ambition to produce a combined 260,000 tonnes of salmon a year, using AquaMaof’s RAS technology and design. Eran Huppert, CEO of Pure Salmon Poland, said: ‘We’re thrilled to announce that after a lengthy and successful audit we’ve received the ASC certification. With environmental awareness growing among our clients and consumers, it was very important for us to obtain this certification to back our commitment to producing the highest quality fish in the most responsible way.’

European News.indd 10

Norway’s new US seafood envoy THE Norwegian Seafood Council has appointed Anne-Kristine Øen as its envoy to the United States. She was formerly CEO of the Salmon Group, which looks after the interest of small and medium sized salmon and trout businesses in Norway, and has also been responsible for communications with Grieg and Mowi, when it was Marine Harvest. She said she was looking forward to her new role and Børge Grønbech, director of Global Operations at the Seafood Council, said he was pleased she had accepted, adding that the United States was an important and complex market for Above: Anne-Kristine Øen thseafood sector.

Boulogne site for new land based salmon farm PURE Salmon has chosen France to site its biggest facility to date. The €175million plant will be built in Boulogne-Sur-Mer, the seafood gateway to Europe, and aims to produce 10,000 tonnes of salmon a year. The RAS farm will create 160 permanent new jobs, said Pure Salmon, which announced the development at the Choose France Summit, in the Château of Versailles, hosted by French president, Emmanuel Macron. Pure Salmon France, which will be the largest salmon RAS facility in the European Union, has received significant support from the French government. The unit will be fully integrated from hatchery and grow-out to processing and smoking. Construction of the site is due to start in Q4 2020, with the first harvest of market size salmon expected in 2023. The company said France, one of the largest consumers of salmon in the world, was a natural choice for its second site in Europe. Fish from the Boulogne site will be sold primarily to the French market in a variety of forms, including smoked salmon and fillets, said Pure Salmon. Boulogne-Sur-Mer is the leading fish processing and distribution centre in Europe, providing a strong network of support businesses, infrastructure and logistics, with specialised workforce and training facilities. Pure Salmon has ambitions to produce 260,000 tonnes annually across the globe.

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10/02/2020 15:49:06

All the latest industry news from Europe

Ineos boss stages wild salmon summit

MSD counts advantages of Vaki acquisition

SIR Jim Ratcliffe, Ratcliffe, one of the billionaire chairBritain’s wealthiest man of petrochemmen, is a keen angler ical giant Ineos, and last autumn he staged an internainvested in what tional conference in he described as the Iceland last month world’s largest ever to debate the future salmon conservation of wild Atlantic Above: Jim Ratcliffe programme. salmon. The restocking Experts meeting in Reykjavik dis- scheme was launched in north-east cussed the potential causes of the Iceland and involved one million decline in stocks worldwide, and eggs from native fish being seeded considered conservation strategies into local rivers. that could bring the species back In November, eggs were planted from the edge of extinction. in Kverká, Hvammsá, Miðfjarðará,

PHARMACEUTICAL company MSD last month announced the completion of its acquisition of Vaki, a specialist in fish monitoring equipment, from Pentair. MSD, part of US based Merk, said the move will help it broaden its aquaculture portfolio, with Vaki’s precision farming and fish welfare solutions complementing its vaccine and pharmaceutical products. Vaki will be a leading brand under the Biomark business within MSD Animal Health, focused on a range of equipment, products and technology for fish counting and size estimation. Rick DeLuca, president, MSD Animal

Vesturdalsá and Selá. In addition, genetic and scale samples were gathered from the parent fish, which were then released. These areas will be revisited this summer after the eggs have hatched, and the results measured. Ratcliffe has bought up land in Iceland and owns extensive fishing rights in the north-east, including on the River Vesturdalsá.

Salmon waste to power jet airliners

Above: AXxxx Above: Rick DeLuca

range of solutions in aquaculture we can provide to our customers.’ Biomark also announced the appointment of Brian Beckley as its president. Beckley was chief operations officer of Biomark, responsible for commercial activities in support of the aquaculture and wildlife and conservation businesses, including the acquisition of Vaki. Biomark specialises in electronic identification technology used in fisheries, wildlife and aquaculture research, including product sales, custom manufacturing, installation and extensive data management and analysis.

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WASTE from salmon farms in Norway may soon be used to power jet airliners – including those carrying seafood to Asia. Millions of kroner are being invested in the large Biokraft biofuel plant near the town of Skogn in Central Norway to produce ‘green’ gasoline for planes. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the Norwegian research and innovation organisation Sintef and is also thought to involve a German partner with considerable experience in producing aircraft fuel from organic materials. Håvard Wollan, CEO of Biokraft, told local media that financing still had not been totally agreed as the company was waiting to hear whether EU funding would be available. The plant is also one of the most advanced of its type in the world, producing up to 10,000 tonnes of biofuel a year for other uses. More than £30 million (NOK 350 million) is currently being invested to double output. And Norway also has one of the largest seafood air fleets, regularly sending salmon and other fish to the Far East. This latest aircraft fuel development involves first creating a pilot plant, then using salmon waste that is readily available from the many fish farms along that part of the coast, and combining it with waste from a nearby paper mill and forestry material, which is also plentiful.

Health, said: ‘Animal health intelligence and enhanced technology play an increasingly important role in animal health and care, providing access to real-time actionable data and insights to help, improve or enhance animal management and health outcomes. ‘We are excited to take this step forward with Vaki, as we add leading technology and services, which extend the

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Above: A Biokraft plant

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European News.indd 11

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10/02/2020 15:32:10

World News

NEWS...

Report raises questions over Trudeau salmon plan PLANS by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to ban net pen salmon farming in British Columbia face several challenges, according to a new government report. Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)’s investigation into four different production systems for salmon farming in BC found a complete move to land based sites by 2025 would involve

Above: Justin Trudeau

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several hurdles. The 64-page report outlines the viability of four technologies: land based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS); hybrids involving land and marine based systems; floating closed containment systems (CCS); and offshore open production systems. Trudeau announced late in his election campaign last autumn that he wanted to transition net pen farming in BC to closed containment systems by 2025, a move the industry described as reckless. Following his re-election, his Liberal Party fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan said she had

been given five years to prepare a plan for the transition. Land based RAS and hybrid systems are the two technologies ready for commercial development in BC, while floating closed containment requires two to five years of further review, and offshore technologies may require five to 10 years of review, said the report. The challenges to land based RAS growout facilities included the global shortage of a trained workforce, fish quality ‘to avoid off-flavours’, fish health, broodstock development, energy efficiency, stocking densities, and financial risks. The report sug-

gested that to use the new technologies, several things needed to align better, including national legislation and policy to clarify the requirements for aquaculture in terms of environmental and social performance. ‘This will send the appropriate signals for investors to develop the technologies that meet the challenge,’ it said. Tim Kennedy, president and chief executive of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA), said Trudeau’s plan for BC was ‘a reckless policy, not grounded in science, and it will threaten good middle class jobs across Canada’.

Russia says ‘nyet’ to Chilean salmon THE Russian health authority Rosselkhoznadzor eturned a cargo of 19.2 tonnes of frozen salmon from Chile on the grounds that the truckload of produce lacked the correct documentation. The fish were intercepted in St Petersburg, having already made the journey there from the Magallanes in southern Chile during January. The cargo had to be returned to its home country. Restrictions were placed on exports to Russia from six Chilean plants, including Camanchaca, Acme Chile, Cermaq Chile, Inversiones Coihuin and Nova Austral. Some operations for Multiexport were also singled out for ‘enhanced laboratory monitoring’ by the agency.

Russian authorities earlier announced they were restricting exports from Faroe Islands salmon farmer Bakkafrost as well as Chilean farmers Salmones Cailin and Pesquera del Mar Antartico, beginning on February 10. Exports from Mowi Faroes have also been under enhanced scrutiny in Russia since November 27, according to Rosselkhoznadzor.

Above: Frozen salmon

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10/02/2020 15:29:03

World News

WWF hails the ‘sustainability example’ of global salmon farmers’ initiative

Mallison leaves Global Aquaculture Alliance

THE World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has recoghas received a great deal of scrutiny regardnised the positive impact on sustainability ing its negative environmental impacts, and made by the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI), salmon in particular has been in the limelight,’ a group which represents 50 per cent of the wrote the WWF in its article. world’s farmed salmon production. ‘With mounting negative press, pressure In an article published on its website, the from buyers, and limitations to social licence WWF acknowledges how the salmon producto expand operations (or even just to operate ers’ model of pre-competitive collaboration in some cases), salmon farming companies has helped transform the industry towards a looked for alternative ways to address these more sustainable future. challenges.’ The GSI is praised for offering ‘a faster path A number of industry CEOs decided to take to innovation and progress in addressing proactive action and create the GSI, comenvironmental, sustainability and reputational mitting to voluntarily reporting on ‘the key challenges’. indicators of sustainability performance’. Disease and sea lice The conservation NGO management are among the said that the work of the areas in which information GSI members has resulted sharing among the producers in a ‘significant perceived has been most beneficial, improvement in reputation’ said the WWF. for the industry. And the salmon farmThe GSI was established in ers are also hailed as an 2013, initially representing example to other industries nearly 70 per cent of global wanting to accelerate their production and 17 salmon sustainability goals. aquaculture companies. ‘Aquaculture, a relatively Today there are 14 members young industry in terms of representing 50 per cent of Above: GSI chief Avrim Lazar global commercial growth, global production.

THE CEO of the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), Andrew Mallison, is to leave the group. Mallison, who was previously director general of IFFO, the Marine Ingredients Organisation, for seven years, took up his post Above: Andrew Mallison in the GAA in August 2018. He relocated to the GAA’s new headquarters in New Hampshire in the US, replacing long serving CEO Wally Stevens. The GAA, which oversees the certification standard Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), was founded in 1997. The number of BAP certified farms, feed mills and facilities has grown annually since 2011. The GAA also organises the GOAL (Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership) conference which was held most recently in Chennai, India, last October. Mallison has had a long career in seafood. Before joining IFFO’s leadership team in 2011, he was director of standards and licensing for the Marine Stewardship Council from 2009 to 2011. And before that, he was global sourcing manager for seafood at Marks & Spencer from 1996 to 2009.

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10/02/2020 15:29:20

World News

Sealord completes takeover of Petuna ONE of Tasmania’s three salmon farmers, Petuna Aquaculture, has sold the remaining 50 per cent of its shares to the New Zealand/Japanese firm the Sealord Group. Sealord had acquired 50 per cent of Petuna in 2010 and the two firms Above: Ruben Alvarez entered into a joint aquaculture enterventure operation. prises.’ Petuna had been The couple will privately owned by Peter and Una Rockliff retain full ownership since they established of their wild fisheries operations. it in the early 1990s. Sealord Group chair The couple said in a Whaimutu Dewes said statement: ‘It’s like the couple had built parting with a fama successful business ily member. But it’s which Sealord was time to provide the ‘excited’ to buy. opportunity for the Since the group, business to further which is New Zealand develop into one of based with strong the world’s finest

Maori heritage, took up its original stake in the business it has placed particular focus on sustainable management and environment protection. Petuna Aquaculture’s CEO, Ruben Alvarez, said that from the company’s perspective it was business as usual. ‘We have made significant gains over the past few years and the prospects for future growth and development are very encouraging. ‘Petuna already has plans for expansion in Tasmania’s north west and in the south, which are subject to continuing community consultation and regulatory approval.’

Scottish university boost to Rwandan fish farmers FISH farmers in Rwanda can look forward to better levels of nutrition and an improved livelihood after a ground breaking aquaponics research project was launched in Scotland. The Centre for African Research on Enterprise and Economic Development at the University of the West of Scotland (CARUWS) said its aim was to increase productivity in the sector by 50 per cent. If all goes to plan, the initiative will help more than 80,000 farmers, spread across 2,000 farms, reduce food shortages over a 10-year period. CARUWS and social enterprise collaborators NjordFrey, which is based in Rwanda, were recently awarded a grant of £283,774 by the Department for International Development for the 18-month feasibility study. They hope it will also spark long-term, sustainable economic growth in a country where over a third of the population experiences food insecurity. The project is based on a solar powered aquaponic solution, with nutrient rich water from raising fish in tanks providing a natural fertiliser for plants. The plants, in turn, help to purify the water for the fish as part of a wider crop health monitoring system. This increases growth for both fish and crops without the need for pesticides, or access to rain or farm land. Farmers involved in the pilot project will be given aquaponic starter kits, seeds, and special training.

Above: Rwandan fish farming

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10/02/2020 15:29:44

Wednesday 20 May Aviemore, Scotland The Aquaculture Awards recognise the achievements in different elements of the sector and give due recognition to those making an exceptional contribution to the industry, now and in the future. The awards are open to everyone involved in the global aquaculture industry, no matter how large or small. The 2020 awards categories highlight excellence across the sector, from the contribution of individuals just starting in the industry, to the impact made by established multi-nationals which have an ability to improve food security around the world.

Completed entries must be received by Monday 9 March 2020 Winners will be announced at an Awards presentation dinner held during Aquaculture UK, Wednesday 20 May 2020

Find out more at WWW.AQUACULTUREAWARDS.COM The Aquaculture Awards 2020 sponsored by:

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10/02/2020 09:57:54

News Extra – Lantra awards

Top trainees make shortlist

Talented trio in running for annual aquaculture learners’ prize

HREE aquaculture trainees have made the shortlist for Lantra Scotland’s annual awards, with the winners to be announced in March. The Awards for Land-based and Aquaculture Skills, or ALBAS, celebrate the achievements of learners in land based, aquaculture and environmental conservation industries. Representing aquaculture this year will be Jimmy Dakin of Scottish Sea Farms, John MacPherson of Grieg Seafood Shetland, and Valentina Romano of Dawnfresh Seafoods. Dakin, aged 32 from Sandy, Orkney, has been doing an SVQ with Scottish Sea Farms through NAFC Marine Centre UHI. He said: ‘I have a passion for the sea and marine life so it is great to live and work in Orkney. The island has one of the best aquaculture environments, with its clear waters and strong tidal ﬂow. ‘I struggled with dyslexia and ADHD when I was at school, so achieving SVQ level 2 and 3 in aquaculture over the last two years is a monumental achievement for me.’ MacPherson, aged 23 from Portree, Isle of Skye, has been doing a Modern Apprenticeship in Aquaculture with Grieg Seafood Shetland through Inverness College UHI. He said: ‘I ﬁnd myself learning something new every day, which is one of the things that makes working in this industry so rewarding.

‘My Modern Apprenticeship in Aquaculture gave me the knowledge and guidance to get me where I am today, and the extra effort I put into the apprenticeship undoubtedly helped with my promotion.’ Romano, aged 29 from Brechin, has been doing a Technical Apprenticeship in Aquaculture Management at Dawnfresh Seafoods through NAFC Marine Centre UHI. She said: ‘The Aquaculture Management Technical Apprenticeship at NAFC has enabled me to learn valuable skills whilst maintaining my position at work and applying this new knowledge at my site. ‘The aquaculture industry is very rewarding as we work in the most stunning Scottish landscapes and our days are never the same. ‘I love how varied my role is and all the different opportunities for growth and further development offered by my company.’ The Lantra awards feature categories for the

Lantra Awards.indd 16

Above: Jimmy Dakin Left: John MacPherson Opposite: Valentina Romano

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10/02/2020 15:27:52

Top trainees make shortlist agriculture, aquaculture, equine, horticulture, game and wildlife, trees and timber, land based engineering and environmental conservation industries, as well as Higher Education, Rural Schools, Modern Apprentice of the Year, CARAS (Council for Awards of Agricultural Societies) and a new Partnership Working Award. The awards ceremony will take place at the Doubletree by Hilton Dunblane Hydro Hotel on March 5, 2020. The highlight of the evening will be the announcement of the Learner of the Year Overall Winner. This goes to an outstanding trainee who has demonstrated exceptional ability, hard work and a passion for their industry. The finalists for the 2020 ALBAS were chosen by an independent judging panel made up of influential figures from across the land based and aquaculture sector and chaired by agriculture and rural affairs journalist Erika Hay. Liz Barron-Majerik, director of Lantra Scotland, said: ‘I’m delighted to announce the finalists for our 2020 Awards for Land-based and Aquaculture Skills, the ALBAS. ‘As well as playing a key role in promoting the importance of gaining qualifications and developing skills, for trainees and employers, the ALBAS showcase the achievements of new entrants and career changers in our sector. ‘All those nominated, whether finalists or not, should be extremely proud of this recognition, and we look forward to celebrating their success.’

All those “nominated,

Erika Hay said: ‘I know I speak on behalf of all the ALBAS judges when I say we continue to be extremely impressed with the high quality of the nominees. ‘We always find it really rewarding meeting them and finding out more about their inspirational stories. ‘Getting to this stage reflects the high value we place on them as representatives of their industries. ‘It’s gratifying to see the breadth of talent and enthusiasm coming through across Scotland, as it can only be good news for the future of our rural sector.’ FF

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10/02/2020 15:28:08

News Extra – Young workforce

Films ‘light a ﬁre’ Aquaculture’s new wave drives recruitment campaign

NEW initiative to recruit young people into the aquaculture industry will ‘light a fire’ and inspire the next generation to find out more about the industry, said rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing. Speaking at the launch last month of ‘A New Wave of Talent’, a series of films highlighting the variety of careers in the sector, Ewing said the aim was to reach out directly to youngsters. ‘We want to get the message across to young people in Scotland that this is a great sector, industry, venture, mission, you name it, it’s all these things, to be involved in.’ He said young people don’t know about the aquaculture industry because they don’t hear the facts from the mainstream media, and the negative message becomes a little ‘pool of misery’. The films – a joint project between SAIC (the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre), Lantra and Women in Scottish Aquaculture (WiSA) – will ‘help hugely’ in putting a positive message across. Paraphrasing the Irish poet W.B Yeats, Ewing said the purpose of education was not to fill a bucket with facts but to light a fire, and that is what the initiative hoped to achieve. The minister, a passionate advocate of sustainable fish farming in Scotland, defended the industry against its detractors. ‘Some people say aquaculture makes little contribution to Scotland, but that’s complete nonsense, the opposite is the case…the facts show that aquaculture is making an enormous contribution to Scotland.’ He added:‘In places where we have fish farms, people are being sustained on the edge of Scotland; aquaculture is the industry of the periphery; there aren’t any other options in Scotland that provide a rewarding, in financial and human terms, career like aquaculture.’ At the launch of A New Wave of Talent, at the Engine Shed in Stirling, the

“

The facts show that aquaculture is making an enormous contribution to Scotland

”

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seven short films were aired before an audience of industry representatives, students, high school teachers and career advisers, as well as teams from Skills Development Scotland and Developing the Young Workforce. The videos reflected the wide range of roles in the sector, from farm site positions to cutting edge research, and the campaign is targeted largely at the under 30s, including school leavers, university students, and graduates. Promoting careers in aquaculture and addressing skills development was one of the key recommendations highlighted in the sector’s 2030 growth strategy, published in 2017. The total number of Scottish jobs supported by aquaculture is predicted to rise to 18,000 over the next decade. A sector skills review, published by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in 2018, identified that there were 1,539 students studying aquaculture related courses at higher education level. However, a significant gap exists in the number of students embarking on a career in the sector, with only 38 per cent of graduates working or undertaking further study – a figure which is not specific to aquaculture. Mary Fraser, head of skills and talent at SAIC, said: ‘Young people are an essential part of the future success and sustainability of aquaculture in Scotland and, as the people featured in our videos show, it can be both an exciting and rewarding career. ‘The opportunities are wide and varied, ranging from working with seafood producers on fish farms, to exploring innovation and harnessing data to support new supply chain technology. ‘Making decisions about careers can be a daunting prospect for school leavers and graduates, but we hope that this campaign will inspire them to turn their thoughts towards the sector and the potential career paths it can offer. ‘With a new wave of talent, the sector can benefit from new ideas, insight and processes - ultimately helping to future proof aquaculture in Scotland.’ In a panel discussion at the event, the HR directors of the Scottish Salmon Company and Scottish Sea Farms, Debra Nichol Storie and Tracy Bryant-Shaw respectively, along with Mowi’s learning and development manager, Donald Waring, Dawnfresh farming director Alison Hutchins, and Institute of Aquaculture scientist Sophie Fridman, addressed recruitment challenges in remote areas.

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10/02/2020 15:26:33

Films ‘light a fire’

Above: The ﬁlms feature varied aquaculture roles, from scientiﬁc research to farm management. Left: Rural economy minister Fergus Ewing at the launch with SAIC CEO Heather Jones (photos: SAIC)

The panel agreed that persuading youngsters that aquaculture is a viable career is one of the major tasks in any recruitment drive. Hutchins said:‘We get quite a lot of people coming in at an entry level just looking for a job; I would love to see more young people coming in looking for a career in aquaculture.’ The films feature: Kurk Jones, Mowi farm manager; Ivana Russo, BioMar assistant feed formulator; Andrew Richardson, masters student on the SAMS ACES programme;Valentina Romano, assistant farm manager at Dawnfresh; Janis Brivkalns, marine operative at the Scottish Salmon Company; Darren Fleming, maintenance supervisor at BioMar; and Dr Marie Smedley, breeding programme manager at Xelect. All the films can be viewed on SAIC’s You Tube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdo3ykvyVbNtCCW3VmDy4Ug The films have also been created in a social media friendly version which will be put on the SAIC and Lantra Instagram pages, and the campaign will be promoted via the hashtag #bethenewwave.. FF

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10/02/2020 15:26:57

Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation – Brexit

BY HAMISH MACDONELL

No time to waste Non-alignment with EU will wrap seafood exporters in red tape

ALK past the Scottish parliament and you’ll see the European flag still flying, limply but defiantly: a reminder of the parliament’s cussed refusal to accept the need to bow to Brexit, at least in symbolic terms. As a two-fingered gesture to Boris Johnson, it probably makes political sense, but the reality is that, however many blue and gold flags the SNP administration raises, Brexit has happened and nothing is going to change that, at least in the short term. But it is not just the fact that we have left the EU that is important, it’s the road the UK government is taking us down. Johnson has been very clear: he is not going to seek alignment with the EU. The Prime Minister wants a loose arrangement which will see the UK ditch the rules and regulations which made trade with Europe so easy. Taking this approach to its logical conclusion, it seems inevitable that all those sending seafood to the continent after the end of this year will face a significant range of new bureaucratic and financial burdens. Those very regulations which Johnson wants to ditch were the rules that allowed us to send our salmon to Europe quickly and efficiently. Instead, we are now likely to be looking at generating export health certificates (EHCs) for consignments of salmon sent over the Channel. That means that every order in the £168 million worth of salmon dispatched to the continent each year will need new paperwork, signed off by either a vet or an environmental health officer. About 300 consignments of salmon are sent to Europe every day from Scotland. It may be that every consignment will need an EHC, it may be that we can get away with one or two per lorry. No one knows what this will all cost but conservative estimates, drawn up by the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, suggest a bill for the salmon sector of between £1.3 million and £8.7 million a year. The need for extra certification will inevitably bring delays and every salmon farmer knows that even a delay of a couple of hours can mean missing the opening hours at the fish market in Boulogne, and then another 24 hours before the (now probably discounted) salmon can be sold. The SSPO is holding regular meetings with officials and ministers at the Department for Food and Rural Affairs in London, with ministers and officials in the Scottish government, with our counterparts in the caught sector and with hauliers and local authorities, to try to find a way around this problem.

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But, given the UK government’s determination to make a break from EU rules and regulations – an impetus that is coming right from the top of government – no one seems optimistic that there is an easy way out of this. After urging from the SSPO, the Scottish government has agreed to bring all the relevant bodies around the table in Scotland to find the best, practical steps to prepare for the change. There is a general acceptance now that if we can’t change the direction of UK government policy, then we need to make sure everything is in place to deal with the extra bureaucracy and costs when they arrive. We have 11 months to get this right because the UK’s transition phase with the EU will end on December 31 this year and, at that point, everything will change. It will be scandalous if, by December, officials and ministers are still talking about this. It will be inexcusable if the new environmental health officers – who will be needed to process the extra paperwork – are not in place. And it will be a travesty if the much needed move to an electronic version of the EHC system (which is being trialled at the moment) is not up and running across the board. We have 11 months to get this sorted. It can be done. The right people can be hired, appropriate tweaks can be made to the system to make it as streamlined as possible, and the right pressure can be exerted on both the UK Above: Salmon exports and the EU to ease the burdens as far as is to the EU face extra possible. Unfortunately, EHCs are just one of a number certification of thorny issues which need to be resolved between now and the end of the year. The Northern Ireland Protocol, which could effectively make sending salmon to Northern

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10/02/2020 15:25:26

No time to waste

Ireland as complicated as sending it to France, represents such a potential trading minefield that no one knows how it will work. We then have issues to work through on labelling, on the need for heat treated pallets, on protected geographical indicators and tariffs before we, as a sector, are ready for the end of this year. Last year, we went through two false starts, in March and October, when we thought we might crash out of the EU without a deal. Everyone got ready as best they could and then stood down as soon as each potential crisis was over. This year it will be different. This time we know where we are going and we know when. We know what it will mean and we know

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have 11 months to get this “Wesorted. It can be done ” how difficult some of the key issues will be to resolve. But at least we have certainty. One of the main – and entirely justifiable - gripes from businesses and organisations right across the UK last year was: we just need some certainty. Well, now we have it. We have left the EU. We will be leaving its trading arrangements behind at the end of the year. There is absolutely no time to waste, and no amount of flag flying or symbolic resistance from anybody, however well intentioned they may be, is ever going to change that. FF Hamish Macdonell is director of strategic engagement for the SSPO.

10/02/2020 15:25:44

Comment

BY DR MARTIN JAFFA

One Kind of

campaign

Turning a blind eye to animal cruelty in the name of sport

NYONE who is willing to stand up and defend the salmon farming industry and put their head above the parapet must be prepared to receive abuse and criticism, especially on social media. Recently, I suggested that the mortality suffered by the industry was no different to that experienced by sheep farmers in Scotland. Anti-salmon farming campaigner Corin Smith responded on Twitter, claiming my ignorance of such matters. The reality is that, over the last year, the total number of fish that died as a percentage of all the fish in production was no different to the total number of sheep that died as a percentage of the total stock. In both cases, the percentage mortality was around eight to nine per cent. However, for some critics, this level of mortality is not a figure that they want others to hear. Instead, they hope the public believes that farmed salmon die in such high numbers that farmed salmon will be considered unacceptable as a modern day food. I only mention Smith by name because besides being active on social media as a self-proclaimed fish farm expert, he is also media consultant for Salmon & Trout Conservation. Last December, S&TC jointly produced a report with OneKind Scotland, entitled ‘Responsibly Sourced?’ The report identified farms named on packs of salmon bought from supermarkets and then highlighted the related mortality levels and lice

Martin Jaffa.indd 22

counts in an attempt to persuade shoppers that this salmon comes at an unacceptable cost. The report raises a couple of issues that merit a further look. While it highlights selected farms that did experience unusually high mortality due to a combination of unforeseen factors, they are not representative of the whole industry. The report includes a graph showing overall farm mortality levels, based on total tonnage rather than numbers, as I used. The most recent figure quoted is just eleven per cent, not far from the nine per cent I quoted but a long way from the 25 per cent mortality level that Smith suggests is typical throughout the industry. The second, and more interesting, issue is the collaboration between S&TC and OneKind. OneKind’s logo states ‘Ending Cruelty to Scotland’s Animals’. Yet by forming this association, it could be assumed that OneKind has turned a blind eye to one of Scotland’s cruellest sports – salmon angling. Before I am accused of any bias, I refer to comments made by Smith when interviewed recently on a podcast, posted by the Pace Brothers, in which he clearly stated more than once that salmon angling is inherently cruel. When the OneKind report was first published, a colleague of mine contacted the organisation to draw attention to this inconsistency. He was told that OneKind had been ‘assured’ by S&TC that they were no longer connected to angling. This is news to me. I know S&TC had changed their name in a cynical ploy to make out that they are a conservation organisation, but as far as I am aware their interest in conservation is to conserve wild salmon so their members can catch and kill more of them. There is plenty of evidence that they remain committed to angling, not least becasue they auction angling trips as a way of raising funds. My colleague replied to OneKind, highlighting the way S&TC raises funds, but has heard nothing back. I too contacted OneKind for clarification, but also heard nothing so

It is only “ recently that they have raised concerns about salmon farming, no doubt prompted by other critics

”

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10/02/2020 15:45:42

One Kind of campaign

eventually rang the press office, only to be put through to OneKind director, Bob Elliot. I said that I was planning to write about their relationship with S&TC and asked if he could clarify this. He said he would send me a couple of lines to state their position, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still waiting. OneKind are not unique in adopting an anti-salmon farm policy while being unwilling to discuss their worries with the industry. OneKind has been in existence for many years but it is only recently that they have raised concerns about salmon farming, no doubt prompted by the activities of other critics. The OneKind report about the salmon farming industry was written by a new graduate in her first job. She relied on the usual critics to provide information but made no attempt to speak to anyone from the industry or to visit a farm and see the industry for herself. I wait to see OneKind produce a similar report on the inherent cruelty of salmon angling, and especially the cruel way that fish are caught and released now that anglers have realised that killing more than 5.9 million fish for sport has decimated wild stocks. While 2019 was not the best year for low mortality on salmon farms, in part due to an unfortunate series of circumstances and the introduction of new technology to combat sea lice, the focus on mortality by anti-salmon farming campaigners was not a coincidence. I recently spoke to someone from the angling sector who told me that their past campaigns to persuade the public that salmon farming needed to be controlled in order to protect wild salmon (so anglers could catch and kill them for sport) failed to gain any sympathy and thus were judged to be unsuccessful. The wild sector decided they needed to change the narrative. Rather than talk about the conservation of wild fish, the sector began to focus on one aspect of salmon farming â&#x20AC;&#x201C; mortality levels - and obtain as much negative coverage in the media as possible. I would congratulate them for their campaign as I believe it has been extremely successful. Mortality as an issue has been a regular feature in the wider press throughout the past year. Fortunately, the public have been just as indifferent to this aspect of farming as they have to the plight of wild fish. This does not mean that the industry should not defend its record and be fully open as to why fish do die when it happens, as well as addressing why the fish died as a matter of urgency. However, the real puzzle for me is why the wild fish sector continues to focus on salmon farming at all. Even if farms do have an impact on wild fish, and I have yet to be convinced, it is on less than 10 per cent of the total Scottish catch. While they focus on mortality on salmon farms, wild fish mortality at sea is now approaching 98 per cent and yet there appears to be barely s shred of interest in finding out why.

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Martin Jaffa.indd 23

Marine mortality is dismissed as something over which they can have no influence so instead they focus on issues which they might be able to control. This is why they continue to argue that salmon farming should be moved to closed containment on land. This of course is never going to happen, but even if it did, it would not reverse the trend of ever fewer numbers of salmon returning to Scottish rivers. FF

Above: Salmon farm

10/02/2020 15:46:03

Shellfish – Netherlands conference

BY JANET H BROWN

High goals for low culture Focus on bivalves as a solution to climate change

NCE more to Neeltje Jans, the manmade island in the mouth of the Oosterschelde, built as a first stage in the construction of the storm surge barrier. This has been the site of a biennial shellfish conference for some years. There was some confusion this year in that, since it has been held on alternate years in the past, attendees were assuming they met there in 2018 whereas, in fact, it was last held three years ago. Jaap Holstein had been persuaded out of retirement (from running the Dutch mussel producers’ organisation) to help newly retired Professor Aad Smaal to organise this and they had made an excellent job of it, with a packed programme. The theme was ‘opportunities and innovations’ and the conference was roughly divided over the two days under these headings, with the first day concentrating on opportunities. Jaap welcomed everyone to the largest theatre in the visitor centre, big enough to accommodate some 250 delegates, 50 of whom came from outside the Netherlands, representing nine different countries. While the theme was opportunities and innovations, the arguments in favour of bivalve aquaculture as a solution to our current climate crisis kept breaking through. And once again, as at the ASSG shellfish conference, I found myself wondering

Holmyard “drew the short straw when she was asked to explain Brexit to a European audience

”

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how we were going to get this information more widely known and understood. Dr Nanou Beekman, a senior civil servant and the director of fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food, opened the proceedings and then stayed all morning as chair for the first session. The first speaker, Wouter van Zandbrink, posed the question as to what the position or role of shellfish production in a circular economy is. He was talking in terms of carbon footprints and said that 35 per cent of the global footprint is due to food production. He cited two major reports, one from the UN1 and one from the EU2, which provided some evidence that the benefits of shellfish are being more widely appreciated and understood. The arguments for feeding lower in the food chain are inarguable and, of course, shellfish come out well in this, but he then asked why, if farmers get funded for farming in ways to help the environment, shellfish farmers cannot be eligible for such help. There are, however, clearly problems within the main growing areas in the Netherlands, as he reported, with mussels diminishing in size as rivers running into the Oosterschelde are being blocked off, and both total production and the size of the mussels is dropping.

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10/02/2020 15:21:17

High goals for low culture Also, I learnt from the audience that 40 per cent of the mussels in the Oosterschelde have died and it seems to be due to the ‘cancer’ affecting mussels in France. The next speaker, Marnix Poelman from Wageningen Marine Research (WMR), also argued for eating at the lowest trophic levels. He quoted a recent paper (Hilborn et al 2018)3 where arguments in favour of bivalves are very clearly expressed. He also pointed out that in life cycle assessments (LCA), in terms of greenhouse gases, shellfish farming was placed very favourably. He went further, however, and reported that there were relatively few studies on energy consumption as part of such studies. One graph, of a LCA4 of bouchot mussel culture, showed that fuel use made quite a significant contribution to outgoings that was hardly compensated for by the benefits of the carbon sink effect. So there is certainly no room for complacency. This topic was taken up by Henrice Jansen, also of WMR, under the heading ‘climate proof culture – shellfish as carbon and nitrogen sink’. Henrice explained carefully how there were different methods to calculate how much carbon is sequestered in shellfish culture, but whatever method was used, the punchline was that while the Dutch mussel production could capture more than 4,000 tonnes of carbon per year (using the most favourable calculation method) it would need 1.1ha of mussel bottom culture to mitigate the effects of one car’s use (assuming 13,000km/year and 930 litres of petrol)! Some of the talks were not as positive as the terms ‘opportunities and innovation’ might imply. Camille Saurel of the Danish Research Centre (DRC) certainly had an innovation to talk about, but in response to what was a severe problem – that of how to deal with extraordinary populations of starfish in the Limfjord. The photographs showing the degree of infestation were hardly believable but the DRC team of researchers had found ways to harvest these predators from the mussel beds they were destroying, and had set up meal manufacture from them. They are now producing starfish meal with up to 70 per cent protein, and with better amino acid content than plant alternatives, which can provide a cheaper source of high quality marine protein for the pig and poultry industry. One problem that remains is how to remove starfish from newly relayed mussel beds, but they are hopeful that the use of ‘mops’ rather than the beam trawl used elsewhere will be successful. Talks from Ireland (Nicholas Chopin) and France (Jean Prou) showed the scale of shellfish culture in these two countries and elucidated some of the problems they are experiencing. Meanwhile, two talks on the offshore culture of mussels could have been headed ‘So you think you have problems…’ The first of these was from Antonio Cunha (of

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Shellfish.indd 25

Opposite - left: All speakers

were presented with a bottle of celebratory Augustin beer and a hand decorated oyster shell. Here, Nicki Holmyard (left) poses with the artist whose idea and product they are, Dieuwke Parlevliet. Opposite - above: Speakers on the second day, Jean Prou and Camille Saurel receive their speakers’ gifts. Top: After the presentation of the sustainability awards, from left Jasper van Houcke, Aad Smaal, Jean Dhooge, Jaap Holstein, Willem Bakker, Hans Blaak, the winner, Wim Bakker, and Mayor of Yerseke, José van Egmond. Above: The lady from Oesterij with the native oysters from Lake Greveling

Testa and Cunha, Portugal). While his farm off the south coast of Portugal appeared to be somewhat less ‘offshore’ than John Holmyard’s (Offshore Shellfish, UK) farm in Devon, this clearly did not mean it had less exposure to severe storms. The photos of the resultant disarray were certainly a deterrent to anyone thinking that going offshore might be easy. There were three talks tackling shellfish trade, but Nicki Holmyard drew the short straw when she was asked to explain Brexit to a European audience. The speaker ahead of her (Pierre Boels) had nicely set the scene because when talking of his work to establish a seafood hub in Prague, and how it supplied all Europe, he left out the UK as simply ‘too difficult’! Nicki nonetheless made a very good presentation, setting the scene, reliving the conflicting feelings engendered by the whole process in the UK, and presenting a rather daunting picture of what may well be necessary for the shellfish trade once Brexit is fully realised. As part of the conference, an award is made for sustainability, announced after the talks on the first day, while wine and most excellent native oysters (supplied by Osterij) are served. One slight snag is that by this time the simultaneous translators are off duty, so any non-Dutch speaker has no idea what is going on while the shortlisted candidates are interviewed! The award was won this year by Machienfabriek Bakker, Yerseke, and collected by Wim Bakker, for the development of a more sustainable sock for suspended mussel culture. The runners-up were Van Es Verpakking, Yerseke (Willem Bakker), World of Oysters, Yerseke (Jean Dhooge), and Franken Machines en VAM Watertech, Borssele (Hans Blaak). FF Costello,C., L. Cao, S.Gelcich et al 2019 The future of food from the sea. Washington, DC: World resources Institute. Available online at www.oceanpanel.org/future-food-sea 2 Food from the Oceans- How can more food and biomass be obtained from the oceans in a way that does not deprive future generations of their benefits? European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation 3 Hilborn, R., Banobi, J., Hall, S. J., Pucylowski, T., & Walsworth, T. E. (2018, August 1). The environmental cost of animal source foods. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1822 4 Aubin, J., Fontaine, C., Callier, M., & Roque d’orbcastel, E. (2018). Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) bouchot culture in Mont-St Michel Bay: potential mitigation effects on climate change and eutrophication. The international journal of life cycle assessment, 23, 1030-1041. doi: 10.1007/s11367-017-1403-y 1

10/02/2020 15:21:38

Mowi Scotland – Inside Inchmore

All systems go Beneﬁts ‘great’ at state of the art RAS hatchery that supplies half of farmer’s juveniles

PERATING a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) is, to some extent, like playing Mother Nature, said the manager of Mowi’s Inchmore hatchery in Glenmoriston. ‘It’s like an aquarium; you’re controlling everything that nature does anyway,’ said Matthew Paget. Mowi’s approach in its latest RAS facility, which was oﬃcially opened by Scotland’s rural economy minister, Fergus Ewing, in the summer of 2018, is to leave nothing to chance. ‘The hatchery is deliberately over engineered so if there is a disease outbreak we can isolate that area,’ said Paget. But such is the focus on biosecurity at Inchmore, one of the most sophisticated RAS systems in the world, that all possible parameters are managed and monitored to prevent pathogens entering in the ﬁrst place. The system was built by International Aqua Tech (IAT), which has also recently completed Mowi’s Anglesey wrasse plant, due to open this month. An aquarium specialist, IAT worked closely with Mowi’s freshwater manager and recirculation expert John Richmond.

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The £28 million, 13,500sq m (about two football pitches) hatchery employs 15 full-time staﬀ and has two or three engineers on site every day. It has back-ups at every stage of production, with four RAS systems for egg and alevin incubation, and four systems for the fry and smolt, Fry A and B and Smolt A and B. Most of this, along with the grading and vaccination area and the ﬁltration system, can be observed from the visitors’ gallery. This glass encased corridor, accessed directly from the foyer and running almost the entire length of the building, enables visitors to experience the hatchery operation without going through the disinfection procedure. From here, Paget explained the Inchmore

Below: Inchmore manager Matthew Paget Opposite: Assistant manager Ben Seaman in the vaccination room; there are 15 tanks in each of the two fry units.

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10/02/2020 15:15:37

All systems go

production process, which is geared to provide 800 tonnes of fish annually - up to six million parr and six million smolts, produced in four batches a year. This amounts to half of Mowi Scotland’s young salmon, with the rest coming from its sister site at Lochailort or a smaller, flow-through hatchery in Ullapool, which produces about four million fish a year. Inchmore, like Lochailort, was designed to increase Mowi’s smolt production as it develops new sea farms and expands the business. Some of the salmon from Inchmore will go directly to Mowi’s sea pens and others to freshwater lochs for further on-growing. ‘As a company, we can’t produce all our smolts just through the ‘recircs’, we don’t have enough capacity,’ said Paget. ‘But what we do use is freshwater loch sites to grow biomass. ‘We produce 10-12 million a year and from that, say five million will smolt on site and the other six or seven million will go out to freshwater loch sites (Loch Garry, Loch Ness, Loch Shiel which is known as Glenfinnan, Loch Arkaig and Loch Lochy). ‘They have various biomass limits and will do 10 million smolts and we (between here and Lochailort) will do the other 10 million or thereabouts.’ The Mowi production team knows from the beginning which fish are going to which sites, what weeks they are going to be transferred, and more or less the size they are going to be. ‘We will have a constant trickle going out to the freshwater, and a constant trickle going out to seawater,’ said Paget, who has overseen the Inchmore operation since October 2018. ‘It’s all planned. We have growth models and predictions that we’ve developed over the past

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40 years. Production managers will sit down and work out what sales require and it works from the top down. ‘They then say how many smolts are needed for seawater, and they will be produced from the freshwater cages and the recircs.’ Maintenance On the morning of Fish Farmer’s visit, parr weighing around 100g were being transferred, via pumps, into tanks on board a Solway Transport lorry, destined for the freshwater loch at Glenfinnan. They will have a brief stay there before being put out to sea in the spring, at around 130-150g. The smolt tanks (nine each in the two units, Smolt A and B) are now empty – but not for long. They will be stripped down for maintenance work before receiving the next batch of fish in about four weeks’ time. Paget said the tanks, 12m diameter and 3m deep, are made of concrete with an epoxy polyurethane lining. They can hold up to 160 tonnes of smolts, which is 140,000 fish of 150g, but normally run at 125 tonnes in a smolt unit, around 120,000 to 150,000 fish per smolt tank. Fish of 150g will go straight out to sea pens.

The “ hatchery is

deliberately over engineered so if there is a disease outbreak we can isolate that area

”

10/02/2020 15:16:17

Mowi Scotland – Inside Inchmore

We’re “always

looking at better ways to clean the water and to disinfect it and sterilise it

Making the grade IN the grading and vaccination unit, first grading takes place when fish are 10-15g. They are pumped into the automatic graders through a small pipe in the bottom of their tanks. There are a series of pin rollers and fish pass over a de-waterer, before being segregated by width, and then counted in the Vaki counter. At around 45g, the fish are vaccinated automatically in a Skala Maskon machine via intraperitoneal (IP) injection. They are anaesthetised and fed into conveyor belts. A belly flipper exposes their bellies and takes a photo and the needle moves into position and injects them.

When fish used to be vaccinated by hand at the loch side, it would take a week, said Eilidh Milligan, one of three assistant managers at Inchmore. Now, 15,000 to 16,000 fish can be vaccinated in an hour; the automated system is not only more biosecure, it is kinder on the fish and more accurate. After vaccination, they are dropped into troughs and piped back into the tanks. Throughout the hatchery, handling is kept to a minimum, as the extensive network of pipes and pumps moves the fish around the building – and eventually on to trucks to be transported to the next stage of production.

Refining filtration

THE most significant difference between Mowi’s Inchmore hatchery and its Lochailort facility, which opened in 2013, is the filtration system. Inchmore has a two-stage form of biofiltration that removes the need for cleaning biofilters, a system fine-tuned by Mowi freshwater manager John Richmond, who also oversaw construction of the Lochailort plant. At Inchmore, in the primary filtration stage, a series of Faivre drum filters, with 26 micron screens, remove solids from the water. From here, the water is fed into submerged tanks for treatment with biomedia, before being pumped into biotowers, where plastic media captures any particulates, and bacteria breaks down ammonia.

MOWI -Inchmore.indd 28

‘By that point, you have about 45 kilos per cubic metre; at the recirculation units, we can go up to 50-60kg/m3 under RSPCA standards but usually take them to 45kg. The maximum at sea sites is 15-17kg per m3.’ Fry A and B each have 15 tanks of 50m3. Both Fry A and Fry B are currently stocked with fish of around 25g, which will be grown until they are vaccinated – at about 45g - in four weeks’ time, then they will be transferred to the smolt tanks.

”

The tertiary filtration involves ozone injection to disinfect the water, which then goes back to the tanks and continues to recirculate. Manager Matthew Paget said: ‘We worked out how much we feed, how much ammonia the fish will produce, how much CO2 they will produce, and from that we can calculate how much surface area of biofilm we need, what drum filter screens, what flow do we need to meet the demand of the fish, what flow can go through those drum filter screens, what pumps we need to produce that flow. ‘So it’s all worked out with the farmers. It works from sales – what do they need, what do we need to produce, and what do we need to build to produce that. All farming works from the top down.’

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10/02/2020 15:17:16

All systems go ‘The fish will be kept in the smolt tanks until they are ready to go to sea,’ said Paget. ‘We’re doing all the freshwater stage here with these ones. ‘In order to smolt the fish, we put them on to five to six weeks ‘winter’ (550 to 650 degree days); this is 10 hours light, 14 hours dark. After this we ‘spring’ the fish, using 24-hour light for 350 to 450 degree days (usually three to four weeks in the recirculation units). Control Paget spent five years working at Mowi’s RAS hatchery at Lochailort and also had spells at both the old plants at Inchmore and Lochailort. Before Mowi, he was involved in the Kielder hatchery in Northumberland which restocks the Tyne. He is well aware of the advantages of being able to control every aspect of production in a land based RAS hatchery – and the risks. ‘Temperature controls growth so what happens here is we can control the temperature, we can heat and chill the water, and we also control PH…it’s not 100 per cent accurate but we can grow the fish to within a couple of grams of the predicted model. ‘If you get a virus or disease, it becomes like a nutrient broth because you’re just circulating the same water round and round. This is the reason why we try our utmost not to get disease in the recirculation units.’ Each fry unit can circulate 2,680m3 per hour, while each smolt unit can circulate 4,690m3

per hour, which equates to 14,740m3 per hour through all the systems combined. Some 17.7 million litres (seven Olympic size swimming pools) of water circulate through the RAS system at Inchmore per day, a vast volume that is 90-95 per cent recirculated. ‘The old ﬂow through site used 500 litres a second to produce 30 to 50 tonnes of ﬁsh,’ said Paget. ‘We extract 70 to 100 litres per second to

Above: Hatchery technician Rhuairaidh MacDonald moving one of the Sterner pumps. Opposite (top): Faivre drum ﬁlters. (Below): Recently emptied smolt tanks

Water Treatment

Egg Incubation

Pumping

Grading

Counting

Vaccination

Monitoring

Sludge Treatment

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Mowi Scotland – Inside Inchmore produce up to 800 tonnes – we’re much more efficient. ‘In a flow through, clean water is coming in from the river all the time so you’re flushing it out. In a recirc, the idea is not to get the disease in the first place. ‘Everything is disinfected. We fill up 700m3 tanks with river water, and then we ozonate it until it’s basically sterile. Then it’s moved into a storage tank and only then can it move into the units. ‘There is no environment you’re going to be 100 per cent sterile but you minimise the risk as much as you can.’ Inchmore suffered a setback soon after its official opening when a fault occurred in the system delivering oxygen, causing the loss of about three per cent of the stock - some 500,000 fish at 80g weight. ‘That was a mechanical teething problem – the oxygen tower had a serious fault. ‘We’ve just been lucky that that’s never happened in Lochailort,’ said Paget, adding that Lochailort has a back-up oxygen tank so such a risk was reduced at that site. ‘It’s very unlikely that it will happen again but there’s no reason why something else can’t go wrong, like all fish farming.’ Post-smolt While RAS has been shown to work for juvenile production, Paget is less convinced about the merits of full scale land based salmon farming. ‘I don’t know if it’s viable financially long-term. I think you’re paying a lot of money on inputs for something nature does for you already a lot cheaper. ‘With these [juveniles], the inputs are massive, but the benefits are great. When you scale that up, your inputs are scaled up too. Whether that is sustainable is a very tricky question to answer. ‘This site only produces 800 tonnes maximum a year. A small average sea site is doing between 2,000-5,000 tonnes – so basically eight or nine times bigger to produce the same. ‘This site is not far off £30 million to build…so you’d need eight or nine

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10/02/2020 15:18:38

All systems go

times that cost. And space at sea is not an issue but space on land is. ‘I know we’ve done it, Denmark has done it, but it’s expensive and it’s not always reliable. If it was easy, we’d have done it by now!’ Operating expenditure at Inchmore is between £7 and £9 million a year, said Paget, although the infrastructure is built to last. ‘Most of the fittings will last indefinitely, probably longer than us. ‘The pumps have evolved over many years in the water treatment industry and are designed to be run, like in an aircraft jet, all day every day.’ But Mowi has a development budget and is always open to innovation, especially in the recirculation systems. ‘We’re always looking at better ways to clean the water and to disinfect it and sterilise it, and find cheaper and more efficient ways of doing it,’ said Paget. Mowi works with research organisations, such as SAMS in Oban and Nofima in Norway, to develop a greater understanding of the impacts of recirculating water on the physiology of fish. In particular, they are investigating the influences of water chemistry on smolts. ‘We know that they are more sensitive to ions in the water because their gills are changing, so we find if we have large amounts of dissolved phosphorous in the water we need to find ways of combating that,’ said Paget. ‘We don’t fully understand the impacts of it, we just know that sometimes smolts from the recircs going to seawater can have slightly more

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MOWI -Inchmore.indd 31

have evolved over many years and are “The pumps designed to be run all day, every day ”

Above: One of two smolt units. Opposite: The Vaki grading system

mortality, compared to stocking from freshwater lochs, and we know it’s something to do with the water chemistry and its impacts. ‘It’s quite a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, but it’s trying to ever better ourselves. Normally, we’ll have one or two per cent mortality post transfer, when in reality you’re looking for .1 or .2 per cent. ‘If you go back 10 years, five per cent mortality was good at sea transfer, so it’s all about improving.’ Rising water temperatures, which can increase sea lice levels and exacerbate disease challenges, may be a key driver in any decision to grow bigger smolts on land. In fact, the possibility of Mowi siting a post-smolt plant on Skye was mentioned during Fish Farmer’s first visit to Inchmore in 2017. Faroese salmon farmers have been putting smolts of between 500g and 2kg to sea for some time, and Mowi opened a post-smolt plant in the Faroe Islands three years ago. ‘There are massive environmental benefits,’ said Paget. ‘If you reduce the biomass you put into the sea pens and you also reduce the length of [on-growing] time, the fallow periods can be increased, which would reduce sea lice, which would reduce gill amoebae. ‘Also, it would reduce the amount of treatments you use. But these sites are expensive to build and expensive to maintain.’ For now, it is Inchmore that is the state of the art in Scottish hatchery production. As John Richmond said at the site’s opening nearly two years ago: ‘Over 12 million fish will start their lives here and I hope that what we have provided will be a comfortable home for them before they move on to our seawater production facilities.’ FF

10/02/2020 15:18:56

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10/02/2020 10:07:27

Mowi Scotland – Farm visit

Smooth operator

Fish Farmer observes Thermolicer in action on a busy day at Loch Alsh

T Mowi’s Loch Alsh salmon farm on a drizzly day in January, manager Kendal Hunter has her hands full. Approaching the site, which is about a ten-minute boat ride from the shore base, housed in Kyle of Lochalsh railway station, the level of activity becomes clear. One of Mowi’s three wellboats, the 63m Ronja Supporter, recently acquired from the Scottish Salmon Company, is positioned to the north of the pens (there to move fish around, said Hunter). At another pen, a four-man dive team from Ross-Shire Diving Services are carrying out net inspections. And at the furthest pen, a Thermolicer machine is in full swing aboard the Voe Earl, a 26m multicat tugboat built by Dutch yard Damen and operated by Delta Marine. To support all these operations, two separate workboats are on site, mainly involved in tasks such as lifting up nets - with the heavy duty cranes fixed to their decks – in order to crowd fish.

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MOWI - Lochalsh.indd 33

As if this wasn’t enough for Hunter to oversee, the Fish Farmer team has descended to report on a day in the life of a farm and photograph the farm workers in action. Hunter’s job is to ensure the smooth running of all the above, which she seems to do effortlessly, as well as nimbly manoeuvring a boat between the pens and the various procedures in progress. The Loch Alsh site has 10 circular pens of 120m circumference, stocked with Q1 fish which currently weigh around 2.5-3kg, and are fed from a SeaCap cylindrical feed barge. Hunter has managed the farm for a year and a half, since graduating in the first cohort of Mowi’s fast track training programme for

Above: Loch Alsh farm manager Kendal Hunter

10/02/2020 15:10:40

Mowi Scotland – Farm visit

salmon farm managers in October 2018. At just 25, she heads up a team of five full-time staff, although there were many more lending a hand on the day of our visit. Hunter grew up on a (terrestrial) farm in Northern Ireland and had never heard of fish farming. Now she says her job is ‘just the same – instead of driving about in tractors, we drive about in boats’. It was a love of the sea and diving that led her to a marine biology degree at SAMS (the Scottish Association for Marine Science) in Oban, before she joined Mowi’s 75-week intensive training scheme. This introduced her to every aspect of the business, and she experienced farming from egg to harvest, in sites across the Highlands and islands, and also completed managerial and leadership courses. She began working in seawater at two Mowi farms on Uist, before being appointed farm manager at Loch Alsh, a job she said she loves even though ‘it’s a lot of responsibility.’

MOWI - Lochalsh.indd 34

Clockwise from above: In each batch, salmon are checked following Thermolicer treatment and then returned to the pen; divers John Strang, Andrew Stewart and Nathan Nurse from Ross-Shire Diving Services; on board the Voe Earl operating the Thermolicer; Mowi’s wellboat, the Ronja Supporter.

Top of those responsibilities on the day of our visit is the sea lice treatment, which we are allowed to observe close up, from the walkway on the pen. The Thermolicer, made by Steinsvik (now Scale AQ), is part of Mowi’s fleet of mechanical de-licers which include a second Thermolicer, on board the Orcadia 2, a twin-cat workboat operated by Scot Marine, as well as one Hydrolicer, which uses water pressure to remove lice. Hunter said sea lice thresholds vary from site to site depending on the size of the fish. ‘For fish this size it would be 0.5 adult females and gravids per fish and once we reach that we go on to the treatment plan. ‘This changes a lot but we decide in what order sites should be treated, depending on how urgent they are.’ The Voe Earl can be deployed at any of Mowi’s seawater farms across the west coast, so does she have to join a queue for the Thermolicer treatment? ‘Not necessarily join a queue, it’s whatever is the best strategy for the company as a whole,’ said Hunter. ‘At some sites the lice levels will only very slowly rise depending on different factors, including health and cleaner fish efficiency. ‘ The Thermolicer was due to remain at the farm for five days, treating the whole site, with a two-man crew operating the Voe Earl, and Mowi staff managing the de-licing process. Thermolicer technology is a non-medicinal treatment that removes sea lice from salmon

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10/02/2020 15:11:16

Smooth operator

by bathing them in water slightly warmer than their ambient environment. Treatments are carried out cage-side by crowding the ﬁsh in the pen and then vacuum pumping them into the device. The salmon must be separated from the seawater before passing through a circuit of lukewarm seawater, heated at 22-24 deg C above the seawater, up to a maximum of 34 deg C. Sea lice are dislodged because of their intolerance to the increase in water temperature. Hunter said the ﬁsh are in the system for about 20 to 30 seconds, and the salmon are then separated from the treatment water

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MOWI - Lochalsh.indd 35

10/02/2020 15:12:13

Mowi Scotland – Farm visit

Clockwise from above: Checking the ﬁsh after treatment; farm manager Kendal Hunter; the Thermolicer cage-side at Loch Alsh in January

MOWI - Lochalsh.indd 36

and lice and returned to their cage. Lice are removed from the system continuously by filtration, captured and later disposed of on land. The throughput rate used is also dependent on fish size, with heavier fish able to pass through the system faster because there are fewer individual fish per unit weight. The system has the capacity to treat up to 80 tonnes an hour. In every batch, a few fish are checked for sea lice after treatment and then returned to the pen with the others. Hunter said the rate at which they go back to feeding following treatment – a welfare indicator - can vary greatly, depending on the time of year and how well they’ve been feeding previously. ‘You can learn to look out for different health challenges,’ she said. ‘I try to spend as much time with the fish as possible, learning their behaviour.’ For all treatments and any wellboat activity, as well as for lice counts – which are carried out once a week - she tends to be on the site. How many times in a cycle would she typically get the Thermolicer out for a treatment? ‘It completely varies, some sites maybe would be never but other sites could be up to once a month,’ she said. The Thermolicer system can remove up to 95 per cent of mobile lice and it has become an indispensable tool in sea lice control for farmers like Mowi. They can also Salmosan the fish in a bath treatment but Hunter said: ‘Our Salmosan con-

sent is very small so we tend to only use it at the start of the cycle.’ The farm also hydrolices the fish with Mowi’s Hydrolicer, and uses wrasse and lumpfish as biological controls. Mowi publishes all its farms’ weekly lice levels on its website, a practice to be adopted by the rest of the industry in Scotland this year, following the introduction of new legislation last year. The company also conducts regular tours of its sites and Loch Alsh has become the focus of visits, on a tour that includes the Inchmore hatchery and the feed mill at Kyleakin, on nearby Skye. Hunter is now accustomed to hosting visitors all year round, sometimes as often as twice a month, and believes ‘we definitely change the perception of fish farming as a result of these visits’.

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10/02/2020 15:12:56

Smooth operator

DON’T TAKE CHANCES WITH YOUR LIFE • • • • • • •

As she delivered us back to the shore base I asked her what was the best thing about her job. ‘Probably every day is diﬀerent,’ she said. And the worst thing? ‘Low tide…we don’t have a ﬂoating jetty so it’s carrying things up and down lots of ladders. Once we hit low tide, it’s a lot higher up to walk… you’ll see when we come in.’ And we did, although Hunter took the climb – like the farm - completely in her stride.. FF

Going organic on Skye Mowi’s site at Portnalong on Skye is going organic when it restocks in March, said farm manager Kurk Jones. The site is currently fallow and Jones and his team of five were helping out at Loch Alsh when Fish Farmer visited. All Mowi’s farms in Ireland are organic and Jones said Portnalong was a good farm to use as a test case for organic farming in Scotland because they have been largely self-sufficient. Above: Kurk Jones They only treated for chalimus (with Alphamax) in the last cycle, having fitted Mowi’s own design environets to the site in 2018. The nets, which remove the need for cleaning, were adapted to circular pens to address gill health problems, but they can help with sea lice too. ‘We also had good cleaner fish husbandry on site and that made a big difference,’ said Jones. ‘All the guys were pretty switched on with what was needed. And we had a good population of wrasse and lumpfish.’ Once the farm is organic, there will be a lower stocking density of 10kg per cubic metre compared to 15-17kg at present. The smolts will be 100g and the grow-out stage will be the same. With organic farms, they can use freshwater bath treatment, mechanical treatments, cleaner fish and, if needed, a maximum of two medicinal treatments per annum.

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MOWI - Lochalsh.indd 37

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10/02/2020 15:13:30

Mowi Scotland – Sustainable sites

New model

army

Mowi deploys oceanographers to help maximise production

EW state-of-the-art technologies might be the first thing salmon farmers reach for when tackling sea lice and other environmental challenges, but the less evident investment in human capital is proving to be the smartest response. Two and a half years ago, Mowi Scotland made this investment by hiring oceanographer Philip Gillibrand and his team of oceanography data analysts and modellers. Gillibrand has brought his expertise in computer modelling to map the best sites to farm in and to approach the problem of sea lice from a different perspective. By exploiting the most advanced modelling technology – and also creating his own – Gillibrand hopes this will allow the company to treat for sea lice, and other health issues, more efficaciously and farm as sustainably as possible. At the heart of these endeavours is the new DEPOMOD modelling system launched by Sepa (the Scottish Environment Protection Agency) in 2017. Hailed as a breakthrough for farmers, its far greater levels of accuracy have enabled flexibility in the 2,500-tonne biomass cap. But producers applying to farm more fish must show they can do so sustainably. The DEPOMOD model can help do this, said Gillibrand, but first farmers need to understand how the system actually works. ‘It’s far more sophisticated than the old model, which is both a strength and a difficulty – it’s taken us two years to get to grips with it and I’ve been using coastal ocean models for two decades. ‘The model needs more specialised skills and knowledge, which companies didn’t have, though I think they are getting it now and recruiting more experienced modellers.’

NewDEPOMOD was developed by SAMS (the Scottish Association for Marine Science), where Gillibrand worked before a spell at UHI (University of the Highlands and Islands) in Thurso, Caithness. As a hands on user since its introduction, he said: ‘I think we probably know as much about it as anybody.’ Gillibrand has a team of four and they make measurements of currents and waves, analysing the data to try to understand the environmental impact. Other colleagues undertake seabed surveys, which are analysed for benthic quality, around the sites. The new model allows companies to farm both larger sites and in more exposed areas. ‘Sepa put a lot of effort in setting it up to run in a very generalised way so anybody can run it, but you get very conservative and precautionary results that way,’ said Gillibrand. His team has been learning how to calibrate the model against the data they collect to get more realistic predictions of what’s sustainable at every site, with the aim of maximising production. The results tend to be very site specific, he said. ‘Some sites we’re finding we can’t increase biomass so we’re looking at sites at more exposed locations offshore, where the dispersion of waste is better. ‘Recently, we’ve been collecting more data, partly because Sepa requires that but partly to help calibrate this model. The more data we have, the better and more accurate the predictions.’ They base predictions on existing cycles and run a forecast about how much more biomass they can farm, while still complying with regulations so that the farm remains sustainable. Measurements What are they measuring now that they may not have measured in the past? ‘We’re still measuring the same seabed measurements but just more of them,’ said Gillibrand. ‘We measure currents for longer – we

Sea Lice - Oceanographer.indd 38

Left: Mowi oceanographer Philip Gillibrand; Opposite: Data collection equipment

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10/02/2020 15:06:47

New model army

used to have to measure for 15 days, now it’s 90 days at every site. That’s a Sepa regulation.’ He said his former partner in the team, Ewan Gillespie, who is now retired, ‘was very quick to sense the way things were going’. ‘He set up the 90-day collection programme, and the extended sediment surveys, before they were really necessary.’ Last year, Mowi announced it was offering to relocate two of its inshore farms, Loch Ewe and Loch Duich, to higher energy sites. ‘We are trying to shift our operations out into more exposed locations, away from wild fish populations,’ said Gillibrand. He is looking at how the sites are all connected in terms of sea lice and disease, and has developed his own sea lice dispersal model. And he is involved in an ongoing SAMS project, outlined at the EAS conference in Berlin last October. ‘The industry has talked for a long time about moving offshore and how beneficial it would be, but no one has done any actual assessment of that. So this project, Off-Aqua, led by SAMS, was to look at a sheltered site, an intermediate site and an exposed one.’ It will examine sea lice dispersion at these sites, and investigate the health impacts on the fish, and the sea lice connectivity, just to see whether there is any difference or any benefits to moving offshore, said Gillibrand. He used to work for what is now Marine Scotland Science, doing the modelling they were putting together in the 90s, looking at the impacts of fish farming. Asked if he could now draw any conclusions, based on his experience, about the impact of salmon farms and whether sites should be

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moved offshore, he was cautious. ‘I don’t think it’s as simple as the whole industry has to move offshore, but I do think we have to farm the right biomass at the right location. ‘So if there is poor exchange, then the biomass will be smaller – there is no getting away from that. But if you want larger farms but fewer of them, then we would have to move further offshore.’ He believes that Mowi’s smaller inshore farms can be managed sustainably too, if the biomass is matched to the location. ‘We have regulations that apply to every site and we have to meet the stipulations that Sepa enforce in terms of sustainability. ‘If you don’t over farm, then the seabed will remain in a relatively healthy enough state if you took the farm away. I certainly don’t think there is any permanent damage. ‘Sepa did a large survey of Shetland last year and at a couple of sites where there hadn’t been a farm for several months, they couldn’t find any impact. ‘The sea is a very dynamic place and I think most of what we’re putting in is organic carbon and it quite quickly assimilates and is dispersed. ‘We do discharge quite a lot of organic carbon in limited areas, so temporarily there is an impact, without a doubt, but if you took a farm away, that carbon would soon disappear. But I do think we need the right biomass in the right places.’ Medicines He said that medicines, too, break down, so long as they are not over used. He and his team are currently developing computer models to calculate the amounts of medicine that can be used to treat for things like sea lice effectively, without detrimental effects. ‘A lot of our consents are being constrained by Sepa on what we think is a rather flawed basis – we don’t think we have efficacious treatments; we have to treat such small amounts on a daily basis so by the time you’ve treated a farm, the sea lice are back where you started. ‘There are two [sea lice medicines], emamectin benzoate (which is Slice) and azamethiphos (Salmosan) bath treatment, which we’re also allowed in very small amounts – in many cases you can only treat a cage a day. ‘So if you’ve got 12 cages, then it takes 12 days to treat, and by the time

sea “isThe a very

dynamic place and most of what we’re putting in quickly assimilates and is dispersed

”

10/02/2020 15:07:05

Mowi Scotland – Sustainable sites

‘To start a new site there is a large infrastructure investment, so the biomass that we start with has to recognise that and that’s a challenge at the moment because Sepa’s approach is to start small and build up,’ said Gillibrand. ‘They would prefer us to start at a smaller biomass and build incrementally by demonstrating environmental sustainability. But starting with a 1,000 tonne farm off Rum, for example, just wouldn’t justify the costs.’ Mowi Scotland boss Ben Hadfield has said that moving ‘offshore’ is a step by step approach, moving to more, higher energy sites near islands rather than actually offshore, and then maybe gradually moving further offshore once the technology has been tested. Gillibrand said they were not looking at ‘enormous farms that are self-contained with people living on them, like Ocean Farm [operated by SalMar in Norway]’. you’ve finished the last one, the lice are back at the first one. ‘I don’t think there are plans for anything ‘I think that’s very conservative – it doesn’t look at dispersion in any like that in Scotland yet. We’re looking at high kind of realistic way in the sea. I’m developing a model that looks at dispersion and dilution of these treatments in a much more realistic way, energy sites but still quite close to land. The environmental data sets we are collecting are also as it happens in the marine environment. ‘That allows us to use more [medicines] on a daily basis while still meet- helping to ensure our equipment meets the design requirements of the Scottish Technical ing the same EQS (environmental quality standards).’ Standard at these locations.’ Mowi has recently successfully managed to increase biomass up to Site selection is still focused on the west coast 3,500 tonnes at some exposed open sea sites by using advanced modeland the Western Isles and Gillibrand said Mowi ling that demonstrates that a higher biomass can be farmed safely within is continuously collecting data at potential sites. environmental standards. Studying the seabed as meticulously as he Further applications are also in various stages of development. Gillidoes, Gillibrand is perhaps better qualified brand said he has not been involved in any cases at Mowi where they are than anyone to make predictions about salmon looking to increase biomass at inshore locations a long way up sea lochs. farming’s long term future. Is there room in the He thinks there will be a gradual move away from farms far up sea ocean for a lot more fish farms? lochs, but it depends on getting other licences to farm elsewhere. ‘I think so. If you look at the carbon footprint ‘We’re looking at ones that are at the entrances to sea lochs or out in of aquaculture it’s very low compared to other the coastal zone – and around islands.’ sources of animal protein. He said he finds the modelling team at Sepa, some of whom he has ‘Compared to beef and dairy and other forms known for a long time, ‘very reasonable and good to deal with’. of livestock agriculture, it’s a very sustainable, He also said Mowi is working much more closely with some of the fishclimate friendly form of providing people with ery boards and trusts now, putting in agreed environmental management plans for new sites. Modelling sea lice connectivity also has a role to play protein. ‘The sea used to be full of fish – we’ve got here, helping to quantify the risk to wild fish and helping inform approprithem penned in but I don’t think any of those ate monitoring locations. organic carbon impacts are any different than But he acknowledged that the debate about the impact of sea lice on Left: Computer they used to be, they are just a bit more conriver systems was ‘a contentious area’. modelling has become centrated while the farms are in place. ‘Sea lice are quite long lived, they can live up to 15 days or so, and they more sophisticated ‘We see comparisons [of waste] with sewage can travel quite a long way as larvae when they’re released by the females. But if you’re away from areas where they can concentrate, like sea from towns but that’s a crazy argument and not lochs, I can only think that’s a good thing, away from river mouths where supported by science. ‘Due to the constituents of human waste it wild fish are migrating. requires significant levels of treatment to make ‘It’s still an active area of research but intuitively it seems only sensible it safe to release into the sea. Waste from fish to move away from rivers.’ farms is very different in nature and content, being mainly organic particulates which are Investment inherently harmless by-products of farming. However, the shift to high energy sites requires huge investment in ‘The industry is trying to improve what we’re infrastructure, and therefore a massive commitment from the salmon doing, improve the models we’re using and companies. understand better the environmental impact we’re having, and therefore we can contain it and farm in the right locations. ‘And with other companies now recruiting people with modelling backgrounds, I think we are moving in the right direction as an industry.’ FF

A lot of our consents are being “ constrained by Sepa on what we think is a rather ﬂawed basis ”

Sea Lice - Oceanographer.indd 40

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10/02/2020 15:07:27

New model army

DEPOMOD’s regulatory role • Improved predictive abilities at the more NewDEPOMOD and AutoDEPOMOD are models, exposed sites that the global marine fish developed by SAMS, which predict the impact farming industry is increasingly looking to of fish farm discharges on the seabed in order to develop; optimise the operation of aquaculture sites to • A simple and intuitive user interface to match the environmental capacity. generate models of farm sites using standard Fish farms discharge waste (fish faeces, food scenarios quickly and easily; waste and chemical treatments) which accumu• A model that produces conservative estilates on the seabed, causing organic enrichment mates of the holding capacity of a proposed and changes in the chemistry and biology of the site and which can be tuned using data marine environment. collected once a farm enters production to The size of marine fish farms is determined improve predictions – useful, for example, to a large extent by the scale and degree of the when planning expansion of an existing associated impacts. farm; DEPOMOD particle tracking modelling software • The capacity to use hydrodynamic flow is used by both aquaculture regulators and the field data to incorporate more realistic flow industry to manage environmental impacts, Above: NewDEPOMOD software has significant patterns in comparison with a reliance upon while optimising stocking densities, and providing advances over the older model a single location. guidance on the selection of farm sites. In April 2018, SAMS released a further updated version of the software, NewDEPOMOD (version 1.0) was released by SAMS for purchase in August NewDEPOMOD Version 1.1. This includes: 2017, replacing AutoDEPOMOD. • Creation of a full user manual for GUI and CMD version of NewDEPOThis version of the software presents a number of significant advances MOD; from its predecessor, including: • Addition of per cage group feed inputs; • An updated and characterised re-suspension process using data from • Addition of over treatment factor to the inputs panel; an extensive set of field measurements of erosion, re-suspension and • Improvements to tidal ellipse graph, feed inputs graph and surface transport at farm sites; deposition map; • A new model framework for sediment deposition which allows the mod• General operation and functional improvements to benefit the user el to include varying bathymetry; experience. • A completely redesigned user interface using new file formats for baSource: SAMS (Scottish Association for Marine Science) thymetry, flow and farm discharges;

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Sea Lice - Oceanographer.indd 41

10/02/2020 15:09:19

Sea lice – Vet’s view

BY RONNIE SOUTAR

A match for the

auld enemy Scottish salmon farmers collaborate to combat common threat

S we move into a new decade and, with Brexit now a reality, a new era for Scottish salmon farming, one factor remains unchanged: sea lice continue to be a significant threat. New challenges come and, sometimes, go but the Auld Enemy remains constant! We do, however, have a greater armoury than ever on our side in this fight and 2019 saw some significant victories. An increasing number of sites report having produced a crop without ever having a treatment intervention, either medical or physical. This is proof positive that preventative measures and biological control really are having a significant impact. There is, of course, still a lot of work to be done in improving these measures and, indeed, adapting them to changing conditions. Some of these changes we impose upon ourselves – in particular, the move towards virtually year-round smolt movements puts pressure on long-standing management areas and the fallow periods which are key to breaking the lice lifecycle. It has been really heartening to see the level of inter-company cooperation and dialogue going into ensuring that this potential problem is not allowed to become a real issue. Information sharing has also been key in the ongoing development of physical treatments. As we bring new systems into play, it is vitally important

Ronnie - Intro.indd 42

that we find the best possible ways to use them on Scottish farms. The industry is sharing experience and making available all data on best practice, which is central to us moving forward together. More than this, there is genuine desire between companies to actually share physical assets. This is particularly important as in 2019 we saw equipment shortage (at a national level) and logistical difficulties in deployment as negative factors in lice control. With the best will in the world, and with genuine commitment to investment, there is a limit to how rapidly Scotland can gear up with new treatment technology. There is no doubt that, at the most senior level, Scottish farming companies recognise that lice are a common threat, and collaboration in their control far outweighs any perceived competitive advantage in treatment developments. In this arms race there is absolutely no doubt that lice, not other farmers, are the enemy ! It goes without saying that any joint approach must not compromise biosecurity: it would be madness to control lice at the risk of spreading other pathogens. The Code of Good Practice has served us well in Left and above: Sea lice this respect but 2020 may be the time to review Right: Checking the protocols in light of factors such as increased move- salmon for lice ment of physical assets between farms and, indeed, across regions. We also have to keep up our focus on fish welfare. Over the last year, further concerns have been raised about the negative impacts of some physical treatments on fish. Some comments are behind the curve; while it seems true that unacceptable losses occurred during the introductory phase of new technologies,

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Photo: Claudia Tschesche

A match for the auld enemy

lessons have undoubtedly been learnt. The vast majority of treatments are now carried out with confidence and with minimal impact on the fish. However, genuine concerns have been raised by serious scientists and these should not be ignored. In particular, evidence that thermal shock can cause suffering has led the Norwegian authorities to consider whether heat-based treatments are justifiable. It is crucially important that work on this progresses and focuses on the conditions experienced by fish in actual treatments, rather than in experimentally exaggerated conditions. There also has to be a cost-benefit analysis: not fi-

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this new decade with genuine optimism “thatWeliceenter control is turning from aspiration to reality ”

nancial cost but welfare cost – comparing any transient pain with the long-term gain from the fishes’ perspective. There are virtually no treatments which have no negative effect (ask anyone who has ever had an injection!) but the concept of balance is well embedded in veterinary practice and should be at the centre of this discussion. Similarly, the welfare of cleaner fish must be front and centre to their continued deployment. The farms which are achieving best results with biological control are doing so largely because they are focusing on cleaner fish husbandry. Again, the sharing of best practice is key and is happening across the industry, in meetings and conferences. Perhaps more importantly, it is happening informally, at ground level. Conversations between those directly involved in looking after cleaner fish, both within and between companies, are making a big difference to how quickly improvements are happening. While we can never be complacent, and although progress can be frustratingly slow, we enter this new decade with genuine optimism that lice control, in a welfare friendly manner, is turning from aspiration to reality. Cooperation is the key and the SSPO’s group of the vets, who have the industry’s stock under their professional care, remains a very good example of how we can work together for the common good. FF

10/02/2020 15:03:38

Sea lice – Salmon Interactions Working Group

Building trust

Farming and wild ﬁsh groups in ‘productive’ talks over salmon fund

EPRESENTATIVES from the Scottish salmon farming sector and fisheries trusts have been holding talks aimed at establishing a fund to help halt wild stock decline. The ongoing bilateral discussions, between the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO) and Fisheries Management Scotland (FMS), have focused on salmon conservation, according to the minutes of the Salmon Interactions Working Group. The group was set up in 2018 by rural economy minister Fergus Ewing to find a common approach between aquaculture and wild salmon leaders, particularly in relation to sea lice management. However, the negotiations over a salmon fund are taking place outside the group, according to industry sources. The fish farming industry is believed to be talking about investing money and time in helping to improve the habitat of rivers and estuaries. Minutes from the September 2019 meeting of the interactions group reported that the bilateral discussions between the SSPO and FMS had been ‘positive and productive’. ‘It was agreed that neither FMS nor SSPO wished to be having the same discussions on interactions in five years’ time and that both parties were committed to making tangible progress with meaningful outcomes,’ the minutes recorded. In an earlier meeting of the interactions group, the possibility was mooted of raising money by fining farmers for escapes. ‘There was general consensus that imposing penalties on those responsible should be taken forward.’ The monies raised from penalties would be put back into wild salmon and trout conservation projects, but there was an acknowledgment that this might be challenging from a legal and judicial process perspective. The interactions group includes members from individual salmon farming companies, as well as the SSPO, along with representatives from government agencies such as Marine Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and Scottish Natural Heritage. Salmon fishery boards and Fishery Management Scotland represent wild salmon interests on the group. The British Trout Association also takes part.

The chairman, John Goodlad, was positive that the two sectors could agree within the next few months on recommendations that would then be sent to ministers for consideration. ‘The impact of fish farming on wild populations is clearly a difficult and controversial issue with strong views held on all sides,’ he told Fish Farmer. He said the group, which has met six or seven times, is ‘determined to make progress’ and all members had put a lot of hard work into the process. ‘We’re in the final stages now…and I’m optimistic we will get there, but we’re not there yet. ‘I’d particularly like to pay tribute to the professional approach of both FMS and the SSPO; they really are both approaching this in a constructive and professional way, conscious that it is an important issue.’

“Everyone’s hope is that these recommendations will stand the test of time

”

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Building trust Goodlad acknowledged that the group was working within the wider context of a very controversial discourse, but he was optimistic that they would reach a consensus on salmon interactions that would be acceptable to both sides. ‘We have built up a kind of level of trust, a consensual mentality within the group, that has helped us so far. ‘What we’re trying to do is come up with a set of recommendations that will meet the aspirations of the wild salmon industry, but also a set of recommendations which the salmon farming industry believes they can deliver and will not compromise their businesses.’ He would not give further details, but it is believed the recommendations will cover the location of farms, as well as escapes, genetic introgression, environment management plans, and lice loads. While all food producers have some impact on the environment, salmon farmers were trying to minimise and reduce, where possible, the impacts ﬁsh farming may be having on wild ﬁsh populations,

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said Goodlad. And the wild fish representatives in the group accepted that salmon farms alone are not to blame for the stock decline. ‘When the interactions group was established, the Scottish government identified 12 suspects that are impacting the now quite catastrophic decline in wild salmon populations,’ said Goodlad. These ‘suspects’ include predation by seals, and by birds in the rivers, and the theory that mackerel shoals are now moving north and taking the capelin and other small fish that salmon would be eating in the North Atlantic area between the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland. ‘My expectation is that after this group reports then the attention will need to be focused on some of these other suspects,’ said Goodlad. ‘Everyone on the group acknowledges that while there is a question of environmental responsibility and a question of impact of fish farming on wild salmon, no one is saying that that is the only issue that is impacting wild salmon populations. ‘We really are trying to tackle the issues head on and deal with them in a way that we can make recommendations which will have a meaningful and quantifiable impact. ‘Everyone’s hope in the group is that these recommendations will be enduring, in as much as they can stand the test of time and we’re not having to reconvene this group in two years’ time to say, let’s have another look at this.’ The next meeting was due to take place in early February. FF

Above: Fergus Ewing Opposite: John Goodlad

10/02/2020 15:58:20

Sea lice – New tools

Counter attack Innovative funnels, traps, cameras and ‘vacuum cleaners’ add to farmers’ armoury BY SANDY NEIL

S pressure intensifies this year on Scottish salmon and trout farms to control sea lice, this month we look at the new tools emerging on to the market. New rules introduced by the Scottish government in 2020 will require each fish farm to report weekly sea lice numbers to the fish health inspectorate. Every sea lice report will also be published for public scrutiny on a monthly basis. On top of this, the current reporting and intervention thresholds have reduced from three and eight average adult female lice per fish to two and six, respectively, to allow earlier intervention and enforcement action. These new regulations are pushing fish farmers to investigate better ways to monitor and combat the harmful parasite. One new device, designed by Norwegian biotech company Blue Lice, attracts sea lice into a trap. Blue Lice’s CEO Karoline Sjødal Olsen told Fish Farmer: ‘The aquaculture industry’s licence to operate, and to increase the salmon production in the future, depends on how it’s able to tackle the challenges related to

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sea lice in a sustainable way. ‘The goal in the future would be to not handle the fish for the entire cycle in the water. Our technology is a preventive method that will attract, capture and contain sea lice before they can cause damage. ‘We capture sea lice in the larvae stage, which is different from treatments that treat in the adult stage of the lice when it has attached to a fish. ‘It is well known that ectoparasite sea lice in the copepodite stage are attracted to light and scent signals. In addition, we introduce a third component- water turbulence- to mimic the movement of fish. ‘Our system prevents sea lice from affecting farmed salmon, saving costs, and reducing the

Left: Blue Lice cofounder and CEO Karoline Sjødal Olsen (second left) and team Opposite: XBlue Lice co-foudner and COO Lars-Kristian Opstad

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Counter attack need for treatment. ‘The solution also aims to improve fish welfare by less handling of the fish, while increasing the quality and production rate for farmed salmon. ‘The system is also user friendly and will not recquire a lot of handling from the fish farmer on site. It will be a passive system working continuously on the farm.’ If successful, the rewards for the company and industry could be lucrative, she believes. ‘Recent estimates state that sea lice are responsible for at least €1.5 billion in costs and lost income for the salmon farming industry in Norway alone in 2019,’ said Olsen. Blue Lice’s founders met just three years ago at a conference in Stavanger called X2-Labs, which focused on ‘the blue revolution in the ocean’. ‘There was a lot of research done in this field, but the research hadn’t been commercialised,’ said Olsen. ‘By linking the research with the market players, we developed a technology consisting of attractants which are known to attract sea lice. We conducted three field trials resulting in a proof of concept and three lab trials to fine tune the system. ‘We are now in a pre-commercialisation phase. Before settling the costs we will have a full-scale pilot test in 2020 to optimise the technology and make it user friendly. ‘In Q4 2020 we will know its real value for the customer, and price the system based on its value. We are now preparing for the last full-scale test at two sites with Ellingsen Seafood in Lofoten (Norway) throughout 2020. Ambitious growth ‘We have set out an ambitious growth plan and target the first commercial sale towards the end of 2020 – set to reach 1,000 systems in 2024.’ A second company founded at the X2-Labs event, Fishency, is developing an automated sea lice counter: a tube with cameras and lights to replace the weekly manual counting of sea lice. ‘We need to work up front of the problem, on the preventive side,’ Fishency’s co-founder and CEO Flavie Gohin explained. ‘The key to controlling sea lice starts with proper monitoring so decisions for prevention or treatment can be taken in time. This is what Fishency focuses on. ‘Manual sea lice counting is labour intensive, represents clear downsides for fish health, and provides poor statistics on the actual sea lice level in the cages. ‘The lack of accurate sea lice data results in extensive treatments due to late decisions, where the tipping point is passed and the sea lice infection goes exponential. Methods to control and treat sea lice cause a reduced immune system response and, consequently, increase the mortality rate.’ Gohin added: ‘If sea lice levels are monitored daily, the farmers can treat earlier. This will reduce treatments in the long-term and hence reduce mortality, loss of growth, impact on the environment, and so on. ‘This is all value for money, in addition to saving the labour cost of manual counting, and the mortality from the fish being counted.

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‘We will provide fish farmers with a decision making tool where the development of the number of sea lice at various stages will be monitored and reported daily. ‘Our data can easily be integrated in predictive technologies, where environmental data are combined with sea lice data to enable a forecast of sea lice level up to two to four weeks ahead.’ The tool Fishency has developed is a funnel deployed a few metres down in the cage, called Fishency360. ‘The funnel is equipped with a high resolution camera system and optimised lighting that offers a clear 360 degree view of the fish,’ said Gohin.

lack “of The accurate

sea lice data results in extensive treatments due to late decisions

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Sea lice – New tools ‘The fish swim passively through and we scan the whole fish by collecting pictures from different angles. Our machine learning algorithms detect sea lice and other fish health parameters which are reported daily to the farmers. ‘Fishency360 logs the type of fish passing (regular, mature) and is deployed at different depths in order to ensure a good and representative fish population for the daily sea lice report. ‘Inside the funnel we are optimising the light conditions to be invariable at any depth at any time of the day throughout the year. ‘We are the only company on the market with a 360 degree solution. Our competitors only see one side of the fish and use statistics to calculate the lice count on the blind side. ‘We analyse hundreds of fish per day, while some competitors mention thousands of pictures of fish collected. However, most of our captured images have the quality required to visualise sea lice and perform a good analysis where other technologies might have challenges with light conditions.’ Since Fishency was founded in 2017, its smart funnel has successfully undergone two trials, and should reach the market this year.

Below Animation of the Blue Lice system at a ﬁsh farm Opposite -top: Fishency’s

automated sea lice counter

Opposite -below: Ecotone’s SpectraLice camera

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Reliable statistics ‘Our previous tests confirmed that we have a sufficient number of fish passing through our Fishency360 to provide reliable statistics,’ said Gohin. ‘Fishency is deploying the first commercial unit in April this year. The fish farmers we are currently working with are in Norway. We are content with progress so far. ‘There are about 3,500 active pens in Norway, and Norway represents about 50 per cent of the global salmon production. ‘All the salmon producing countries have serious lice issues and are lacking systems to monitor the situation. Initial market focus will be Norway, but the Faroe Island and Scottish markets are on our agenda for the end of this year and 2021. Chile and Canada will follow for 2022 and 2023.’ More tools will be added to the system, she explained: ‘With sharp pictures of the whole surface of the fish, we are able to detect several fish health parameters like various deformations, ulcers, loss of scales, nose wounds etc. Digital weighing will be developed further this year.’ A second type of sea lice counter, a hyperspectral camera, has been developed by Ecotone, based in Trondheim. ‘Ecotone’s SpectraLice system is designed to count sea lice on freely swimming salmon in each cage and at all times (24/7),’ said Ecotone’s director and co-founder Ivar Erdal. ‘This gives the fish farmer a very detailed and real time overview of the sea

lice situation, and hence they can act early and accurately when they see a negative trend in specific cages. This will give tremendous advantages over today’s method of weekly manual counting. ‘Ecotone has put emphasis into building a complete system: a camera in the water with complete image processing embedded in the unit, an instrument box which delivers power and transmits the resulting data to a dedicated database via 4G network, and a user interface in which all results from a sea farm are presented in an easy readable format and with export functions. ‘Ecotone uses a hyperspectral camera for detection of sea lice. A hyperspectral camera records and analyses reflected light, and the sea lice is identified through their spectral – or optical – signature rather than by shape and size as a standard RGB camera will have to rely on. ‘This makes our solution unique and gives a clear advantage with regard to positive identification of the sea lice.’ Quality control Embedded in the SpectraLice camera there is also an RGB camera, which is used for quality control of images, light conditions, and water quality. Erdal added: ‘We do not have a cost schedule for external use yet. Hyperspectral imaging is more expensive than traditional RGB cameras. ‘On the other hand, data from hyperspectral imaging are more efficient and accurate to process and gives much more information than RGB images. This will give more value for money to the end users. ‘Now we are in a piloting stage with two aquaculture companies, having several cameras placed in production cages. This includes development and testing of models for sea lice counting, practical testing of equipment and positioning in the cages. ‘The piloting stage will continue into 2020 until

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Counter attack

is “nowEcotone looking for more piloting companies which can increase the test locations maybe this could be in Scotland?

”

we have concluded that the system is ready for commercial use. ‘The piloting trials are currently done only in Norway, with Lerøy Seafood Group and Måsøval Fiskeoppdrett. ‘Ecotone is now looking for more piloting companies which can increase the number of test locations- maybe this could be in Scotland? ‘The piloting phase has been very important and has given valuable feedback, which is being used to fine tune the system performance and operational settings.’ Erdal said the size of the sea lice counting market is equal to the number of sea pens in production. ‘This market is growing, as it is anticipated that the Norwegian salmon production will increase three to five times over the next 20 years. ‘Ecotone plans to take a major share of this market, being in the forefront of developing a fully automatic sea lice counting system.’ A third company developing a sea lice counter, Aquabyte, based in Silicon Valley and Norway, is also hoping to further exploit this lucrative market. Its solution involves ‘underwater stereoscopic cameras that determine fish health, size, and optimal feed quantity’. Last year, Aquabyte founder Bryton Shang told Fish Farmer that the Norwegian authorities were going to give farmers – who must seek exemptions from manual lice counting - special dispensation to switch to automatic Aquabyte counting. Hans Runshaug, Aquabyte’s general manager in Norway, said its device had been ‘tested and proven’ in Norway, where it was now ready for commercial use. Aquabyte also plans to trial its technology at three mainland sites in Scotland soon. ‘We are already working with well-known companies in Norway, and Scotland is the next step.

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‘The next step is commercial contracts with all the Scottish commercial farms. Scotland has the biggest aquaculture sector outside Norway in Europe. It is natural for us to go to Scotland.’ Last year, Vard Aqua announced that its NS Collector, a vacuum that filters sea lice from cages, was also ready for market. Svein Arve Tronsgård, Vard Aqua’s sales and marketing manager, said: ‘The sea lice collector consists primarily of a pump, which filters large quantities of seawater through a special filter. ‘Once installed, inside or outside the cage, the submerged ‘vacuum cleaner’ continually collects lice at all stages of development—from larvae to mature lice. ‘As the sea lice collector is in service 24/7, it is a proactive tool in the fight against salmon lice. In a standard cage, 50m in diameter, there is approximately 10,000m3 of water in a top layer five metres thick. ‘The NS Collector filters 2,500m3 of seawater per hour, so in theory, it could go through the entire volume inside the louse skirt in four hours, removing both lice and other debris. ‘In locations where water replacement is limited due to louse skirts, algae removal and increased circulation are beneficial for both fish health in general and for gill health in particular. We have no doubts about its efficacy.’ FF

10/02/2020 14:58:34

Sea lice – Tarpaulins

Skirting the issue

Shields prove effective preventative tool against parasites BY DAVE EDLER

HE kilt is an iconic symbol of Scottish heritage, with its distinct tartan design and the mythology about how it is worn illuminating many a fireside discussion with a few wee drams. However, for Scottish fish farmers it is an altogether different kind of skirt that has been their main focus of attention over the past few years. Tarpaulin technology in the form of the sea lice skirt has advanced to a stage where the fabric can now provide a very effective weapon in the protection of fish from sea lice. For example, when Scottish Sea Farms (SSF) introduced the skirts at the company’s farm at Slocka, Ronas Voe, on Shetland in May 2017 they saw their crops outperform all of the previous years’ results and so rolled out the treatment to 11 other sites. Specially engineered to suit Scottish marine conditions, each skirt consists of a permeable fabric that lets water and oxygen move freely into the fish pens, while parasites are kept at bay. The fabric typically fully encases the pens to a depth of 6m, providing a

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barrier against sea lice, which are usually found in the first few metres below the water’s surface. The SSF lice skirts were provided by two Scottish suppliers, William Milne Tarpaulins from Aberdeen and W & J Knox from Ayrshire. William Milne designs, manufactures and supplies all its sea lice skirts directly from its Aberdeen factory. Meanwhile, W & J Knox works in conjunction with partners Garware Wall Ropes, headquartered in Pune in India. Garware’s robust and porous woven X12 material has a very high water flow, with good dissolved oxygen and water exchange, said the company. Chairman and managing director Vayu Garware told Fish Farmer last year that one litre of water goes through the X12 fabric in six seconds, compared to around seven and a half minutes in other lice skirts. In trials in Chile with square cages, two head cages were treated with X12 lice skirts and the rest were treated only using pharmaceuticals. After a full, 13-month cycle, there was a 55 to 60 per cent reduction in sea lice counts in the cages with the X12 skirts. ‘Additionally, the growth rate was better and they needed half the bath treatments,’ said Vayu Garware. As part of continued innovation across the whole of its Indian operation, the company is also currently working on algae resistant, anti-microbial and UV resistant tarps with additional properties to be added. Other significant players in the lice skirt market include Inverness based Tom Morrow, which produces a high quality and long lasting screen using 100 per cent non-degradable materials. Tom Morrow screens are protecting salmon across the globe and the company offers fully enclosed or wrap around screens with or without floatation. Marcus Sanctuary from the company said: ‘We always say, as a general rule, that our lice skirts should prevent 70 per cent of sea lice occurrence. The lice can be found in the top five metres of the net, and our shields cover six metres. ‘The best way to think of them is like a curtain blind. They pull up and down as required. All of

Clockwise from top right: A FiiZK lice skirt installed on a pen in Scotland; salmon pen; Tom Morrow lice ﬁlters; Tom Morrow freshwater tarpaulin; Tom Morrow wrasse hides. Left:Tom Morrow produces high-grade tarpaulin, nets and covers

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Containment – Nets

Skirting the issue

‘When it come to the sea lice skirts, the big advantage that Fiizk has is our huge production facility, which means we can offer a better cost benefit value. experience differenti al.’ ‘We have athe modern production line, good logistics and excellent R&D and Heall said some farms on short Scotland’s west coast of Scotland had expethis adds up to a really turnaround time compared to some other rienced challenges from marauding spur dogfi sh, which have easily suppliers.’ chewed through the bases of in nylon nets. Also making a name for itself the sea lice skirts market is Cunningham’s havewith identi fied anorth variant Sapphire with strands of of‘We Ireland, offices andof south of thenetti Irishng (now EU)fine border. marine grade stainless steel, which wefor hope beina any match fororthe The company custom makes lice skirts fish will farms shape size small but bothersome sharks. required, and says its bespoke skirts are extremely durable and suited to ‘Unlike standard ng and being FF designed with aquaculture withstanding harsh HDPE marinenetti environments.

The new name for sea lice skirts for the fish farming industry

“

ours are specially weaved here in Scotland, and although pretty much all suppliers use the same sort of materials, we place our emphasis on strength and durability. ‘We do offer cheaper options, but I would say that when it comes to really heavy duty installations then that would be our speciality. But there is no doubt that this is a great prevention method.’ Norwegian company FiiZK (which includes Botngaard) has developed a new version of its lice skirt which it claims has revolutionised the way in which lice skirts are made. The Trondheim based company also offers delousing tarps, which are used for freshwater bath treatments. Fiizk’s aquaculture tarpaulins sales manager Jan Borge Harsvik said: ‘The big advantage with the delousing tarps is that you don’t need to handle the fish. This greatly reduces the mortality risk.

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The best way to think of them is like a curtain blind, they pull up and down as required

“

Th EcoN are vir esca pro preda proof are a used shark n

Working together with Scottish Sea Farms to produce the strongest and most effective sea lice skirts on the market today.

”

William Milne Tarpaulins Scotland Ltd Aberdeen Scotland AB12 3AX T: 01224 631 012 M: 07786 578 456 Email: mark@wm-milne.co.uk 56

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10/02/2020 14:53:47

Sea lice – Tarpaulins

Sea lice skirt questions answered

How long should the lice skirts be? There is no ‘optimum’ length. Skirts are usually produced to a length that goes around the entire cage, but it is also possible to have two or more skirts covering the area. For steel cage systems, it is usual to encapsulate each individual cage. As most of the suppliers work on completely bespoke solutions, the length of skirts will always be decided on following consultation with the customer. Skirts can be delivered with overlap and either with or without closure.

not to bow it is necessary to have some down-soldering of the skirts. Again 4 kg download/m would be a standard measurement. Typically, down-soldering would be done using steel balls spun with polypropylene and polyethylene. The advantage that this has in front of the chain, is that spun down down-soldering gives fewer wear points, while at the same time being more compact and flexible than the chain itself. Is a splash edge recommended to prevent waves from breaking over the float? Some fish farmers find that they need a splash edge to prevent waves from

Above: Filling of a FiiZK freshwater tarpaulin on Skye; a FiiZK lice skirt being installed on a pen in Scotland Below: Tom Morrow water bag. Opposite: Tom Morrow ﬂoat

How deep should the lice skirts be? Typically, they would be produced at standard depths of either six or nine metres, although most suppliers can also cater for other depths on request. The site’s depth, flow, oxygen conditions, freshwater flow, cage and mesh type are all contributing factors that can determine the exact length of the skirt. However, it would be highly unusual to deliver a skirt outside of the range of 3-15m deep. How much flow is needed at the top? A typical flow channel would be 160mm x 50mm. This would give a buoyancy of 8kg per metre. A skirt with a flow and 4kg download/m would be approximately self-flowing depending on the prevailing current flow conditions. A floating element at the top of the skirt facilitates the fitting at the location, although it is also possible to mount a skirt without flow. How much down-soldering should the skirts have? In order for the skirt to hang straight down and

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10/02/2020 14:55:24

Skirting the issue washing over the float/skirt and into the cage. Most lice skirts can be supplied with a splash edge to reduce the impact of wave water. This would usually be in the form of a conventional gusset attached to the skirt at a height of 50cm, with slots for the groove attachment. Do skirts affect the oxygen levels in the cage? Testing has shown that lice skirts reduce the water exchange in cages. The oxygen level is therefore lower within the shielded volume, although the fish tend to stand deeper if they have space available underneath the skirt. The fact that the fish are deeper can, of course, help to prevent sea lice onset. However, this can present a challenge during periods of low oxygen levels. A lift curtain system can be introduced to increase water exchange inside the cages and, recently, new oxygen extractors have been tested in Canada producing Ultra Fine Bubbles (UFB) that are so small they lack buoyancy. Initial results have been promising, with better water dissolution reducing oxygen consumption. What is the maximum flow condition that the skirts can withstand? Testing suggests that lice skirts start to creep upwards when the current exceeds 80cm/s, with deeper skirts more affected than shallow ones. Should the skirt be mounted on the outside or the inside of the float ring? This is a matter of choice, although most suppliers would recommend mounting inside. For interior mounting, the best results are achieved by doing it before mounting the net. It is easier to keep the inside of the skirt free from growth when mounted on the inside. The skirt is washed at the same time as the net. Potential problems with external mounting include gnawing from the main foot attachments, as well as a greater chance of the skirt getting caught in the propeller. How often do the skirts need to be washed? As stated in the previous answer, when the skirt is mounted inside the float ring it is cleaned at the same time as flushing the net. If mounted externally, the skirts can be washed in the sea, with the frequency depending on how

exposed the site is to growth. When the skirts are picked up by the sea, they can be laid out for drying or they can be sent to the net laundry for cleaning. What is the shelf life of a lice skirt? This will depend on several variables such as power, the exposure level of the cages, and how well the skirt is maintained. Typically, skirts should last for between one and three seasons. Finally, how do lice skirts work alongside the use of cleaner ﬁsh? Typically, no sea lice remedy will work in isolation. A combination of methods will always produce the best results. Lice skirts combined with cleaner ﬁsh and expert cleaning methods are likely to produce a perfect cocktail. With thanks to FiiZK

A “ combination of methods will always produce the best results

”

Proven to be 300% less stressful on pumped fish compared to traditional methods. Available with Straight, 90 degree Electric or Hydraulic Drive Visit us at Stand No OS39, Aquaculture UK 19-21 May 2020 www.fishfarmermagazine.com

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10/02/2020 14:55:41

Sea lice – CleanTreat

The trial

continues Norwegian scale up for award winning UK innovation

HE company behind the prize winning CleanTreat filtration technology that cleanses treatment water after delousing is looking to scale up the system. Benchmark Holdings said last month it plans to invest £19 million in the breakthrough innovation ahead of the launch of its new sea lice medicine, BMK8 (formerly known as Ectosan), due in the first half of 2021. Over the past 24 months, more than 35,000 tonnes of salmon in five Norwegian farms have been treated with BMK08, achieving approximately 99 per cent efficacy, said Benchmark. The compound must be used in conjunction with CleanTreat, which removes medicinal residues from treatment water. Benchmark said there is growing interest from customers for the product and it estimates that BMK08/CleanTreat sales could reach £50 million in Norway alone and £75 million globally. However, there have been no trials of the products in Scotland yet, due to regulatory bottlenecks. The slow pace of Scottish bureaucracy emerged during the Aqua Nor show in Trondheim last August, when Benchmark won the coveted Innovation Award for CleanTreat.

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John Marshall, head of Animal Health at Benchmark, said at the time that his company had been approached by all the Scottish producers, interested in deploying CleanTreat at their farms, and he hoped there would be Scottish trials soon. Marshall and head of CleanTreat Neil Robertson held meetings during Aqua Nor with Scotland’s rural economy minister Fergus Ewing and Graham Black, director of Marine Scotland, to try to speed up Scottish trials. Roberston said after the discussions: ‘We’re encouraged by the positive message from the minister and from Marine Scotland. I think there is a really strong incentive to support us from the industry, and certainly from government as well.’ Marshall added: ‘The Innovation Award has helped in that everybody is saying this really works now, it’s got that big stamp of approval. ‘It’s not a case of having to have new regulation. I think there is regulation in Scotland to deal with it but, of course, regulations are interpreted and it’s about the interpretation of how you use the current regulation along with CleanTreat.’ CleanTreat, developed over a 10-year period at Ardtoe in Scotland, has the potential to be used on well boats, tankers, platforms and onshore, and has proven to be effective on most available bath treatments for sea lice, including pyrethroids, deltamethrin, and azamethiphos. The solution also removes treated sea lice, so they will not spread resistance. Chemical based bath treatments that are released into the water are one of the biggest grounds for objections to the aquaculture industry. Some farm sites have to treat over an extended period due to low discharge consents, but the CleanTreat system would allow treatments to be carried out over a reduced time as the

Left: Benchmark’s John Marshall (left) and Neil Robertson at Aqua Nor last August Above: The CleanTreat system has been extensively trialled in Norway

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The trial continues

medicine has been removed from the water before discharge. Ewing, whose office met the Benchmark team shortly after Aqua Nor, said he wanted to ensure that such sustainable technologies like CleanTreat are not only developed in Scotland but that Scotland is also an attractive place to trial such technologies. ‘Given the environmental benefits and sustainability credentials of the CleanTreat system, and huge potential for improvements in fish health, we would like to offer further support to reach a positon whereby trials could be started in Scotland.’ Representatives from Marine Scotland and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) toured a vessel fitted with the CleanTreat system last September, when it was docked in Leith before sailing for Norway to work on Norwegian salmon farms. Norwegian agencies have been strongly supportive of the system’s development and it will be the first market for a commercial roll‐out. Scotland was the preferred next market, but this is dependent on the regulatory process, said Benchmark. ‘We continue to actively work with the various authorities to bring this innovative process to our Scottish and Norwegian customers,’ said Robertson.

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We have been meeting with “ Benchmark to guide them through the regulatory framework ”

At Aqua Nor, they had had meetings with potential customers in the other big salmon producing countries. ‘Many of our customers based in Norway certainly have interests in Chile and Canada as well, and the Faroe Islands,’ said Robertson during the exhibition. Marshall added that their system is ‘revolutionising the way that we use medicines and we want to make it available for everybody’. Benchmark has revealed plans to raise a net sum of £41.5 million – to fund CleanTreat and other business ‐ through share issues. Executive chairman Peter George said last month: ‘We are preparing to launch BMK08, our novel medicinal treatment to combat sea lice, one of the main biological challenges in salmon farming. ‘This requires scaling up CleanTreat, our proprietary system that removes medicinal residues from treatment water, and which is integral to the delivery of BMK08. ‘Having reviewed a number of funding options, we strongly believe that an equity raise is the optimal funding strategy to deliver this scale.’ A Marine Scotland spokesman told Fish Farmer in January: ‘At the moment we and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate have been meeting with Benchmark on a regular basis to guide them through the regulatory framework to allow trials to start in Scotland; this work is ongoing.’ FF

10/02/2020 14:51:02

Sea lice – Chile

BY DR SANDRA BRAVO UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL DE CHILE

Resistance ﬁghter Challenges facing Chilean salmon farmers from the Caligus louse

EA lice is undoubtedly the main threat the salmon farming industry in Chile has faced since the beginning of production at sea. Caligus teres was the ﬁrst salmon louse reported infecting coho salmon in 1981 (Reyes & Bravo, 1983) and since 1997, Caligus rogercresseyi is the louse aﬀecting the susceptible salmonids species Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout, while coho salmon has been shown to be resistant (Boxshall & Bravo, 2000). At the beginning, C. rogercresseyi was widely distributed in the Region

Chile.indd 56

X (Los Lagos) where the salmon industry was first developed. However, through the years, salmon production was expanded to the south and so C. rogercresseyi spread together with salmon farming. Now its distribution in Chile is along the coastline of the regions X (42ºLS); XI (45ºLS) and XII (47ºLS). It has also been recorded in the anadromous brown trout in southern Argentina since 1998 (Bravo et al., 2006) and in northern Peru, infesting tilapias in 2001 (Bravo et al., 2011) C. rogercresseyi is about 5mm in length with no difference in size between males and females (fig. 1), but there is a difference from Lepheophteirus salmonis where females are larger than males. The lifecycle comprises eight stages: two nauplius, one copepodid, four chalimus stages and adult, with no preadult stages (fig. 2). The lifecycle is completed in about 45 days at 10ºC, while it is completed in around 26 days at 15ºC (Gonzalez & Carvajal, 2003). The fecundity rate of C. rogercresseyi is 10 to 20 times less than in L. salmonis. The number of eggs per string is around 50, lower than the number of eggs per string reported for L. salmonis. Both louse females produce up to 11 broods after a single mating. The egg strings in gravid C. rogercresseyi females can be produced with a periodicity of between four to six days depending on the water temperature. Females can survive under laboratory conditions for up to 79 days and males for up to 60 days. However, in the field their life span could be even longer. None of the sexes are able to survive free in seawater without a host for more than seven days under laboratory conditions, the same situation that has been recorded for copepodids (Bravo, 2010).

Left: Caligus rogercresseyi, male and females. Opposite - top: Caligus rogercresseyi lifecycle

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10/02/2020 14:48:11

Resistance fighter

Non“ pharmacological

methods have emerged as an alternative to fulﬁl the regulations

”

Both the chalimus stages and the adult lice cause severe skin damage to the host. In severe outbreaks, the level of infestation can reach over 200 parasites per fish (fig. 3). The infested fish show low condition factor and abundant petechiae on the body surface. Caligus rogercresseyi increases the host’s susceptibility to other infectious diseases present in Chile, such as Salmonids Rickettsial Syndrome (SRS), Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis (IPN) and Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA). Several products have been used in an attempt to keep the lice under control (Table 1). As in the northern hemisphere, bath treatments followed by oral treatments were initially used; however, resistance has been recorded for most of them. In 2007, there was the first report of resistance of C. rogercresseyi to emamectin benzoate (Bravo et al., 2008a), and then deltamethrin was authorised to control sea lice in Chile the same year. However, loss of sensitivity was recorded after only 14 months of use, a situation that grew worse in 2013, and the licensing authority then allowed azamethiphos to be used in salmon. Currently, the medicines used in sea lice control in Chile are the pyrethroid deltamethrin; the organophosphate azamethiphos; hydrogen peroxide; lufenuron and hexaflumuron. Both deltamethrin and azamethiphos are today not very effective because of the resistance developed by C. rogercresseyi, which has been well documented (Helgesen et al., 2014; Marin et al., 2015; Agusti et al., 2016). In contrast, hydrogen peroxide does not kill the lice, just temporarily paralyses them, causing them to detach from the salmon and reducing their ability to re-attach (Bravo et al., 2010). Therefore, wellboats are used for bath treatments, and the inactive lice are collected from filtering the water to avoid spread in the surrounding marine environment. The two last pharmaceutical products author-

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ised to control caligus in Chile are pesticides that inhibit the production of chitin. Lufenuron is applied in feed before the transference of the smolts to sea cages, while hexaflumuron is applied by bath in sea cages in fish weighing <800g. Both products are only effective against the chalimus stages and give a protection for around five months. After that, salmon are unprotected and are heavily parasitised by lice. Considering the loss of sensitivity of C. rogercresseyi against most of the medicines used for its control, much the same as in other countries, non-pharmacological methods have emerged as an alternative to fulfil the regulations established by the official authority (Sernapesca). Besides the coordinated treatments among shared areas, every week each salmon farm must sample 10 fish per cage in four selected cages. The lice monitoring must be conducted by a certified sampler. The classification for lice counting defined by Sernapesca considers gravid females; mobile adults, which include males and females without eggs strings; and chalimus stages. The regulations, implemented by the authority in 2007 and updated in 2015, require that farmers maintain the number of gravid females per fish < 3, after the application of any

10/02/2020 14:48:33

Sea lice – Chile

antiparasitic treatment. If a farm has three consecutive notifications of a high load of lice, it must face mandatory harvests. Among the non-pharmacological methods, treatments with freshwater have been used in Chile as an alternative bath treatment, considering the low tolerance of C. rogercresseyi to low salinity (Bravo et al., 2008b). However, due to the relatively low efficacy recorded, bath treatments with only freshwater have not been massively used. But freshwater used in combination with hydrogen peroxide in wellboats is an option that permits a reduced concentration of hydrogen peroxide from 1,500ppm to 800ppm or less. Following the strategies used by other countries, the salmon industry in Chile is considering thermal and mechanical delousing methods as alternatives to the pharmaceutical medicines. However, even though these methods have been improved, taking into account the condition and wellbeing of fish, these only have a topical effect (by contact), so once the treatment finishes, salmon are exposed to the parasite action again. As in other countries, researchers in Chile have placed the focus on the development of vaccines against sea lice. Since 2015, the injectable

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vaccine developed by the Argentine laboratory in Chile Tecnovax is available in the Chilean market. According to the pharmaceutical company, this stimulates the abundance and quality of mucus in the skin of the vaccinated ﬁsh, protecting it against caligus. Recently, a recombinant vaccine against C. rogercresseyi has been under development by the Research Center for Aquaculture (INCAR), at the University of Concepcion, lead by Dr Cristian Gallardo. He presented the experimental results of this at the international Sea Lice 2018 conference held in Punta Arenas. Dr Gallardo and his group of researchers have contributed signiﬁcantly to the knowledge of the C. rogercresseyi genome, producing abundant information on this subject (Gallardo et al., 2019). Besides the pharmaceutical medicines used to control sea lice in Chile, the producers of

Above: Salmon heavily infested with Caligus rogercresseyi. Opposite (top): Salmon farm in Southern Chile. (Below): Medicinal products used to control sea lice in Chile (February 2020).

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10/02/2020 14:49:03

Resistance fighter REFERENCES

If a farm has three “ consecutive notiﬁcations of a high load of lice, it must harvest

”

salmon feed have developed functional feeds to help salmon fight off sea lice, improving their natural defences and affecting the ability of the sea lice to attach to fish. In a different approach, the genetic selection of eggs resistent to sea lice is under research by salmon eggs suppliers. Several tools are available to fight against sea lice in Chile. However, C. rogercresseyi, like L.salmonis, has mechanisms which allows it to adapt to adverse conditions and to develop resistance against all the chemicals used for its FF Table 1: Medicinal products used to control seacontrol. lice in Chile (February 2020). Product Neguvon® Nuvan®) Ivermectin Emamectin Benzoate Hydrogen Peroxide Deltamethrin Diflubenzuron Cypermethrin Azamethiphos Lufenuron Hexaflumuron (*): products without authorization.

Date 1981- 1985 1985- 2001 1989-2003 1999 up to date 2007 up to date 2007 up to date 2009 up to date 2010 up to date 2013 up to date 2016 up to date 2019 up to date

Administratio n bath bath in feed in feed bath

Doze (active ingredient) * * * 50 µg/kg fish/ day/ 7 days 1 500 ppm/20 min

bath

02-0.3 ppb/30 min

In feed

6 mg/kg fish/day/14 days

bath

15 ppb/30 min

bath

100 ppb/30 min

in feed

5mg /kg fish/day/7 days

bath

2ppm/2 hours

Considering the loss of sensitivity of C. rogercresseyi against most of the medicines used www.fishfarmermagazine.com for its control, the same as in other countries, the non-pharmacological methods have emerged as alternative to fulfil the regulations stablished by the official authority (Sernapesca). Besides of the coordinate treatments among shared areas, every week, each Chile.indd 59 salmon farm must sample 10 fish per cage in four selected cages. The lice monitoring must

Agusti C., Bravo S, Contreras G., Bakke M. J., Helgesen K.O., Winkler C., Silva M.T., Mendoza J., Horsberg T.E. 2016. Sensitivity assessment of Caligus rogercresseyi to anti-louse chemicals in relation to treatment efficacy in Chilean salmonid farms. Aquaculture 458:195-205. Boxshall G.; Bravo S. 2000. On the identity of the common Caligus (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Caligidae) from salmonid netpen system in southern Chile. Contributions to Zoology, 69(1/2)137-146. Bravo S., Boxshall G.A., Conroy G. 2011. New cultured host and a significant expansion in the known geographical range of the sea louse Caligus rogercresseyi. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists 31(4):160-164. Bravo S. 2010. The reproductive output of sea lice Caligus rogercresseyi under controlled conditions. Experimental Parasitology 125: 51–54. Bravo S., Treasurer J., Sepulveda M., Lagos C. 2010. Effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide in the control of Caligus rogercresseyi in Chile and implications for sea louse management. Aquaculture 303, 22-27. Bravo S., Sevatdal S., Horsberg T. 2008a. Sensitivity assessment of Caligus rogercresseyi to emamectin benzoate in Chile. Aquaculture. Vol. 282: 7-12. Bravo S., Pozo V., Silva M.T. 2008b. The tolerance of Caligus rogercresseyi to salinity reduced in southern Chile. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists 28: 198–206. Bravo S.; Perroni M.; Torres E.; Silva M.T. 2006. Report of Caligus rogercresseyi in the anadromous brown trout (Salmo trutta) in the Río Gallegos Estuary, Argentina. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish pathologists. 26(4) 185- 192. Gallardo-Escarate C., Arriagada G., Carrera C., Goncalves A.T., Nuñez G., Valenzuela-Miranda D., Valenzuela Muñoz V. 2019. The race between host and sea lice in the Chilean salmon farming: a genomic approach. Reviews in Aquaculture. 1-15. Gonzalez L., Carvajal J. 2003. Life cycle of Caligus rogercresseyi, (Copepoda: Caligidae) parasite of Chilean reared salmonids. Aquaculture 220: 101–117. Helgesen K.O., Bravo S., Sevatdal S., Mendoza J., Horsberg T.E. 2014. Deltamethrin resistance in the sea louse Caligus rogercresseyi (Boxhall and Bravo) in Chile: bioassay results and usage data for antiparasitic agents with references to Norwegian conditions. Journal of Fish Diseases 37: 877–890. Marín S.L., Ibarra R., Medina M.H., Jansen P.A. 2015. Sensitivity of Caligus rogercresseyi (Boxshall and Bravo 2000) to pyrethroids and azamethiphos measured using bioassay tests - a large scale spatial study. Prev Vet Med. 122:33–41. Reyes X., Bravo S. 1983. Salmon coho (Onchorynchus kisutch) cultivado en Puerto Montt, Chile, nuevo huésped para el copépodo Caligus teres (Caligidae). Investigaciones Marinas 11: 51-54. With thanks to Dr Jim Treasurer for revision of the manuscript.

10/02/2020 14:49:26

From the archive – September/October 2000

Research shows how lice build immunity to treatment Jim Treasurer, Simon Wadsworth and Andrew Grant of Marine Harvest (Scotland) report the findings of an experiment with hydrogen peroxide

OSSIBLE development of resistance by sea lice to medicines in therapeutant treatments and how it may be managed is an important issue in sea lice control. This is particularly critical where the range of medicines available to treat salmon is limited. Until recently, dichlorvos (Aquagard, Novartis) and hydrogen peroxide (Salartec, Brenntag; Paramove, Solvay Interox) were the only medicines licensed in the UK for the treatment of Atlantic salmon with a sea lice burden. While dichlorvos is now used rarely, azamethiphos (Salmosan, Novartis) and cypermethrin (Excis, Novartis) have been licensed and are alternative bath treatments. Resistance of insects to pesticides, particularly organophosphates and pyrethroids, is well established, and is thought to develop by genetic selection for individuals producing detoxifying enzymes and alterations in target sites and in the balance of acetylcholinesterasae. Resistance of sea lice to dichlorvos has been demonstrated and its development described (Roth, 1999). Roth also quoted the possibility of resistance to pyrethroids in Norway. Recent anecdotal evidence from fish farms in Scotland suggested that treatments with hydrogen peroxide on some farms have been less effective than when first used. Hydrogen peroxide has been used in Scotland since 1992 and has been the main medicine used on many farms due to lice resistance to dichlorvos. The manufacturers’ recommended treatment is 1500 ppm for 20 minutes, but efficacy depends on water temperature and this recommendation would give ineffective treatments at temperatures below 10 deg C. Treatments are rarely fully effective and 85 to 100 per cent of the mobile stages may be removed. Resistance has been difficult to demonstrate conclusively in farm treatments as the concentration of peroxide varies, with highly variable volumes of water enclosed within the tarpaulin. Temperature and duration of treatment also affect the success of treatments. Resistance of the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis to hydrogen peroxide was investigated on a farm in Scotland following regular use of hydrogen peroxide. Resistance of lice on fish from this farm was also compared experimentally in bins containing a known concentration of hydrogen peroxide with lice from a farm where peroxide had not been used. Efficacy of routine treatments The effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide was assessed in January 1999 (water temperature 6 deg C, salinity 28 ppt) on farm A (total stock 78,000 fish in cages 16m square and 8m deep) where the fish had been treated exclusively with hydrogen peroxide over six years. Ten salmon were removed from each of four cages by handnet 24 hours prior to treatment, anaesthetised in 15 ppm benzocaine and total mobile lice (all were L. salmonis) counted. All cages were treated at a peroxide concentration of 2,500 ppm for 23 minutes by the bath method as there was poor efficacy in previous treatments with lower concentrations. The nets were first raised from 8 to 3m depth, oxygen was supplied, the cage enclosed with a ‘wedge’ tarpaulin and hydrogen peroxide, 50 per cent w/v diluted 1:1 seawater, pumped into the cage to give a concentration checked by titration. The treatment was terminated and the tarpaulin removed after 23 minutes. Lice were counted 24 hours after treatment and the percentage reduction in numbers calculated. Despite the high concentration and long exposure time, an average of only 63 per cent of motile lice was removed. These poor results confirmed verbal reports of reduced efficacy from farmers and were further tested in experimental trials in large bins, carried out in January 1999.

Archive - Feb.indd 60

Development of resistance From these experiments it can be concluded that Lepeophtheirus were resistant to hydrogen peroxide in experimental bin treatments on a farm treated regularly compared with a farm where hydrogen peroxide had not been used. These results support the findings of less effective farm treatments. In the fullscale treatments, only 63 per cent of lice were removed, even when high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide were used, 2500 ppm for up to 23 minutes. Resistance of insects to pesticides develops through genetic selection of individuals and, in lice, this may be selection for individuals with cuticle that provides a barrier to penetration by hydrogen peroxide or the presence of detoxifying enzymes, for example, catalase and glutathione reductase. Lice may have been pre-exposed to ineffective doses of hydrogen peroxide, and concentrations used to treat salmon do not kill most lice. A treatment that immobilises the parasite without a killing action at the treatment dose is likely to develop resistance. However, resistance may also be encouraged by poor application methods. Hydrogen peroxide cannot be used at a standard concentration and duration in different water temperatures, and treatment is a balance between achieving efficacy and minimising toxicity to the fish. In the first farm treatments with hydrogen peroxide in Scotland in 1992, only 83 per cent of lice on average were removed. A proportion of the resident lice population therefore remained after treatment, giving scope for selection of characteristics likely to promote resistance. Implications of resistance for sea lice control With increasing resistance to hydrogen peroxide, more treatments are required at higher concentrations to achieve a useful reduction in sea lice numbers and this may increase the risk of fish mortalities. An effective sea lice control strategy requires intervention before the ovigerous females shed eggs, and resistance to hydrogen peroxide and the reduced susceptibility of ovigerous lice to treatment compared with other mobile stages, even on a farm that had not used peroxide, may have reduced the effectiveness of the national sea lice control strategy in Scotland in 1998 and 1999. More effective treatments, particularly in-feed compounds, are required to improve the success of the strategy. A range of medicines that can be used alternately could reduce the development of resistance. The industry in Scotland and all major suppliers of sea lice medicines are therefore discussing the best strategy for using medicines in an attempt to achieve this. FF

Left: A sea lice treatment using hydrogen peroxide in progress

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10/02/2020 14:46:43

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10/02/2020 10:08:56

Smir – Advertorial

Go with the

ﬂow

Unique ﬁsh pump specially developed for larger ﬁsh

NORWEGIAN company whose name translates into ‘forge’ is indeed forging ahead with some innovative new developments that not only make everyday life better for the fish farmer, but also contribute to improving fish welfare. Smir Group consists of Smir AS, Hydro Shipping AS, Hydromerd AS and Hydrolicer Drift AS. The group supplies complete systems for gentle delousing, as well as semi-enclosed pens. In addition, Smir offers customised products developed in-house, such as water pumps and water filters. Smir invented the well-known Hydrolicer system and has since 2019 also operated their own vessels equipped with delousing equipment. The members of the crew are process operators specialized in fish handling and monitoring of fish welfare, experienced sailors and engineers. With the main focus being fish health and low mortality at all stages of the delousing process, the Hydrolicer has achieved astonishing results. The company uses methods, equipment and technologies that safeguard fish welfare and the environment. How it works The Hydrolicer system is a mechanical, non-pharmaceutical method for re-

moving sea lice from farmed fish. Neither tempered nor fresh water, nor chemicals are used. The system is based on a one-line delousing system that accommodates high capacities, with each line having a capacity of 35 to 40 tonnes per hour. More than 30 vessels have been equipped with the Hydrolicer system, with between two to eight lines installed – making it a total of over 130 lines with a total capacity of more than 5,000 tonnes per hour! Smir always offers thorough training by highly qualified employees, who are well versed in how their systems deliver. The Hydroflow Smir’s own fish pump, the Hydroflow, is specially developed to accommodate larger fish. The ejector pump has no moving parts and provides a gentle way of moving the fish through the system.

Left: Four-line barge in operation Above: Wellboat conﬁguration of the Hydrolicer system Opposite: Hydro Pioneer in operation

SMIR - PED.indd 62

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Go with the flow

The Hydrolicer The Hydrolicer delouses fish in a closed column of water. Radial water turbulence is created, causing the lice to lose their grip on the surface before being flushed away. Throughout the entire process, the fish are only exposed to minimal pressure variations. The Hydrofilter After being separated in a water separator, the fish continue their journey back to the pen, while water and lice go into a drum filter. The drum filter is made from stainless steel, is easy to clean and has a drum with a mesh of 100 microns where the lice and eggs are separated and filtrated for destruction.

of Smir, offers a full range of operational services from its vessels, as it has done with Hydro Pioneer. Hydro Pioneer is a converted supply boat used to working in tough conditions, with a low freeboard and excellent manoeuvrability, which makes it ideal for fish farming operations. Smir CEO Øyvind Nymark said: ‘Using four lines, the Hydro Pioneer has a capacity of 160 tonnes per hour, with the number of lines adjusted according to any customer’s needs and demands. ‘We like to be closely involved in consulting and leadership during the design phase; follow up and quality assurance during the installation phase; and be present and available when the system enters the operational phase.’ He summed up the company’s philosophy: ‘Optimal fish welfare, 100 per cent dedication to our customers, continous innovation, be open, be honest, keep to what we promise and take actions on whatever challenges we might face. A well delivered project is the start of a long-term good relationship.’ You can find out more about the company at www.smir.no. FF

The ejector “pump has no moving parts and provides a gentle way of moving ﬁsh through the system

”

Hydro Shipping The Hydrolicer system can be implemented as an open conﬁguration or mounted in containers on various vessels. The system can be installed on new builds, barges, wellboats, converted supply boats or as a retro ﬁt. Hydro Shipping, which is the shipping company

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10/02/2020 14:43:52

Billingsgate Seafood School

‘Help us deliver message’ How aquaculture industry can support market’s education programme BY CJ JACKSON CEO OF THE BILLINGSGATE SEAFOOD SCHOOL

HE Seafood School at Billingsgate delivers a number of programmes for the industry, general public and for the education of young people, in all things fish and shellfish. Our focus is to educate people from all backgrounds and ages about the choosing, preparation, cooking and storing of sustainable seafood, and we include aquaculture as an important part of that education. We still, surprisingly, find resistance to the use of farmed product right across the board. Some chefs tend to love using fresh wild fish and the general public – in the main - are still suspicious and confused about the messages that are promoted in the media about fish farming. Recently, we had a couple on a course that had ‘seen a film about farmed fish 10 years ago’ and they were so concerned about the negativity portrayed that they were put off trying it again. We explained that 10 years ago is the equivalent of the Middle Ages in farming practices and encouraged them to examine the whole subject again. Presenting aquaculture in a positive light, along with all the excellent work being done to address issues, is not headline grabbing news. Many join our courses thinking farmed product is not sustainable, damaging to the environment and full of antibiotics and chemicals. Just touching the tip of the iceberg, we seek to address many of these concerns and promote best quality farmed product. We make a point of using some farmed product in all our courses to enable us to discuss the importance of this essential food source. During our market visit we point out the increasing range of farmed product: Atlantic salmon, bass, bream, trout, turbot, halibut, sole, barramundi, prawns and seaweeds, to name a few. Well over half of the product available at Billingsgate comes from farmed sources and it is growing. We keep abreast of fish farming techniques by working with George Hide, who heads up the aquaculture programme at Sparsholt College. He has lectured on fish farming for many years and is passionate about the importance of this food source to feed an expanding global population. We run a monthly Sustain Course for chefs and caterers that includes an early morning visit to Billingsgate Market and a breakfast showcasing MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) Manx kippers.

Billingsgate.indd 64

“

The group are taken through a couple of presentations talking about MSC and, importantly, ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) and other groups promoting aquaculture. We then do a blind tasting of some farmed and wild product and request feedback. We are always amazed at how many from the food industry prefer the farmed product and struggle to tell the difference – often getting it wrong! When it comes to sea bass, and recent concerns over the sustainability of wild caught product, we display two farmed fish: a 4-6kg and a 1.5kg. Most think that the larger fish is wild caught and automatically choose it as the best option. Working with the fish and fish farming industry is very important to us. If anyone is interested in supporting our aquaculture programme by offering free farmed product or coming to Billingsgate to present to our industry chefs, we would welcome you with open arms. Please contact CJ Jackson or Stewart McQueen at admin@seafoodtraining.org FF

We are always amazed at how many from the food industry prefer the farmed product

”

Top: Billingsgate Seafood School educates young people in all things fish and shellfish Above: Preparing seafood is part of the course Left: Big focus on farmed fish

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10/02/2020 14:41:47

Europe's No. 1 Fish Egg Disinfectant Reduces VHS, IPN and ISA viruses by over 99.95%

Buffodine® Fish Egg Disinfectant

• For disinfection of eyed salmonid eggs and newly stripped non-hardened eggs. • Authorised to kill viruses harmful to fish at an economical 1:100 dilution rate. • Iodine based solution and colour coded to indicate virucidal activity. • Patented 'buffered' neutral pH; allows disinfection without harming eggs. • Improves hatchability of eggs. European Biocidal Products Regulation Authorised

Effective for over 40 years worldwide in aquaculture * Authorised biocide: UK-2019-1172.

Evans Vanodine International T: +44 (0)1772 322200 E: export@evansvanodine.co.uk

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www.evansvanodine.co.uk

10/02/2020 10:12:20

Products and services

What’s NEW Monthly update on industry innovations and solutions from around the world Alltech Coppens launches next-generation starter feeds 857 Fladen Flotation Bib N Brace Trousers ISO 12402-6, 50 Newton, Bib and Brace flotation trousers, uniquely designed to elevate the top half of the body when in water. Made from soft, comfortable fabric impregnated with a BIONIC ECO FINISH that is fluorine free, water and soil repellent, looks newer for longer, and allows textiles to dry quicker. With ITW NEXUS BUCKLES on the braces, 3 LARGE EXTERNAL POCKETS with drainage holes, ADJUSTABLE STRAPS at the knees and ankles, and an ELASTICATED WAISTBAND at the rear of the garment for an even better snug fit. Available in sizes S – M – L – XL – XXL, and in black or blue. www.ﬂadenﬁshing.org.uk T: 01305 821 111

TOP fry feed by Alltech Coppens provides key nutrients to trout during early life stages while improving water quality. Alltech Coppens, an aqua nutrition specialist, has launched an improved range of innovative starter feeds for trout. Backed by extensive research, TOP fry feed is shown to provide key nutrients while improving water quality. “We are excited about this feed and its ability to deliver optimum nutrition,” said Dr. Philip Lyons, global aquaculture research manager, Alltech Coppens. “Not only are

producers able to improve performance, but they can also do so with an eye toward sustainability.” Trials have shown that by reducing the digestible protein to digestible energy ratio (DP:DE) in every size of the TOP line, the protein utilisation by juvenile trout was markedly improved. Alltech Coppens, established in 1993, is a respected leader in innovative feed solutions. www.alltechcoppens.com T: +31 (0) 88 23 42 200

Sterner Aquaculture Contract Research Moredun Scientific, an established contract research organisation, now offers efficacy and safety studies to support the development of fish health products for the aquaculture sector. We have a range of infectious disease models for use in efficacy studies including Salmon Lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis), and Amoebic Gill Disease (Neoparamoeba perurans). The species we focus on are salmon and trout. All our regulatory work is conducted to the principles of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) or VICH-GCP (Veterinary Good Clinical Practice) and the data generated is used to support the registration of a wide range of fish health products, including vaccines, anti-infectives, anti-parasitics and feed additives. We also carry out early stage proof of concept studies. www.moredun-scientiﬁc.com T: +44 (0) 131 445 6206

What's New - Feb 20 -2.indd 66

Sterner has been bringing global expertise to aquaculture for decades, partnering with premier manufacturers and brands for all your aquaculture needs. 2020 sees a renewed commitment with the establishment of the Sterner Service Centre providing local support for repairs, upgrade and engineering support from our Inverness workshop and onsite with our manufacturer accredited engineers. Whether you’re looking to refurbish a drum filter, service a monitoring and control system or upgrade your fish transfer pump, our engineers and Service Centre team, with their years of expertise can help ensure the smooth running or your key equipment for your site. Contact Martin at martin.brodie@sterner.co.uk www.sterner.co.uk T: +44 (0) 1463 250275

New European Regulations for Fish Egg Disinfectants The use of disinfectants throughout Europe, including in the aqua and fish industry, is now regulated by a pan-European Union regulation (528/2012 (BPR)). The product Buffodine is now the only BPR authorised product for fish egg disinfection in Europe. Manufactured by the family-run company Evans Vanodine International, they have committed 40+ years of experience, resources and development into ensuring that the aqua industry has a trusted and proven fish egg and aqua disinfectant available to it. www.evansvanodine.co.uk T: +44 (0) 1772 322200

www.fishfarmermagazine.co.uk

10/02/2020 14:39:58

Processing News

SalMar signs deal for ‘world leading’ plant SalMar has signed a major agreement with the Icelandic processing technology company Valka to deliver what is claimed to be the world’s most efficient processing system for whole salmon at its new InnovaNor plant.

Above: SalMar’s new InnovaNor

THE Norwegian salmon giant says that under the deal, the cost of which has not been disclosed, Valka will build and install a ‘state of the art salmon grading and packing system’ at its

processing plant in Lenvik, in the Troms region. SalMar says it aims to create the world’s most efficient salmon factory by applying world class processes to reduce produc-

tion cost, increase productivity, improve material handling and product quality. Production is expected to start in the second half of 2021. The delivery from Valka includes a fully automatic grading and distribution system in addition to an integrated packing system with a processing capacity of up to 200 fish per minute. Valkar, which is based south of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, says its software suite for controlling the entire production process, from harvesting to

dispatch of packed goods, is also part of the agreement. Ole Meland, technical director at SalMar, said: ‘The InnovaNor plant will be the most advanced of its kind and we are excited to further work with Valka’s on this project which will change the industry.’ Kristjan Kristjansson, manager Valka, added: ‘SalMar is at the forefront in its sector when it comes to production and efficiency and we are really pleased to be selected for this extensive and ambitious project.

Challenging task The project “represents a

meaningful step in strengthening Valka’s position in the salmon industry

”

‘The project represents a meaningful step in strengthening Valka’s position in the salmon industry. It will be a challenging task, but we will do our utmost to meet and exceed the customer’s expectations.’

Scottish seafood firms raise standards Processors demand

A DRIVE to improve standards across the seafood processing sector in Scotland has paid dividends. Nine companies have achieved the new Scottish Seafood Association (SSA) Standard and of those, six are being assessed for SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval) accreditation. The SSA Standard is an initiative that involves the training of staff, guidance on aspects of the business, factory audits and mentoring. SSA chief executive Jimmy Buchan said: ‘A significant part of the remit of the SSA is to drive up standards

A WEST Country seafood processor is investing almost £2 million in a major project that supports the further growth of the business and is expected to create new jobs. Cornwall based Falfish, which processes 58 different species of farmed and wild caught fish, plans to spend at least £1.8 million on the construction of a 660 square metre food grade cold storage facility at Redruth, where it has its

www.fishfarmermagazine.co.uk

Processing News.indd 67

tariff free trade

across the sector in Scotland – putting the pro- in processing if you like. ‘We are determined that all of our processor members will gain the SSA Standard, giving seafood consumers the confidence that the highest standards of food hygiene and processing practices are being upheld.’ The nine successful companies are: Seafood Sourcing; Enterfoods; Above: Jimmy Buchan Jack Taylor; GMR Seafoods; Braehead (SFO Enterprises); J H Milne SCOTLAND’S seafood processors are Peterhead; Sustainable Seafoods demanding continued tariff free trade and Peterhead; Jack Fish Co; and Mess- access to labour in any Brexit deal. ers J Smith. In a new 2020 Vision document, the Scottish Seafood Association has outlined the sector’s objectives for the trade negotiations and beyond. It says main factory site. minimal impact on the sale of seafood This will increase the in EU markets and recognition of company’s storage capacity to 1,150 tonnes, employment needs are the top priorities. SSA chief executive Jimmy Buchan and will boost sales by said: ‘Fundamental to the processing providing 12-month sector will be the continuation of tariff availability to customers. free trade with the EU and no introduction Falfish is the largest seafood of non-trade barriers. We are urging processor in the South West. The ministers in the forthcoming negotiations £36 million turnover business processes 11,000 tonnes of fish and to balance the needs of the processing sector for continued unfettered access to shellfish a year across 56 species, EU markets with the expectations of the employing 200 people. The new facility is due to open in early 2021. catching sector.’

UK processor in major expansion move

Mowi creates ‘excellence team’

Above: Ivan Vindheim

Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim has announced the creation of a global processing excellence team, responsible for all the company’s facilities, both primary and secondary. According to a report in Mowi’s newsletter, The Scoop, the idea involves learning from processing plants around the world and adopting new or existing technology. Mowi, which has 38 primary and secondary processing facilities in 19 countries – including its Scottish plants at Blar Mhor in Fort William and Rosyth, is the largest processor of salmon in the world. It says its excellence team will be able to exchange expertise in a way that no other company in the salmon industry can. Vindheim said: ‘We must always strive to be best in class by developing and implementing new processes and technologies. ‘As a fully integrated salmon company, we must benefit fully from the many advantages of controlling the process from egg to plate.’ It is hoped that a director will be appointed internally to lead the team.

10/02/2020 14:38:53

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Opinion – Inside track

What source do you like? BY NICK JOY

F there was any thorny subject that preoccupied me during my long tenure with salmon it has to have been mostly about feed ingredients. I don’t suppose that my focus was necessarily the same as everyone else’s; in fact, I know it wasn’t. When fishmeal and oil started getting restricted in supply, others were looking for methods to grow volume, whereas I was interested in growing difference. The idea of ‘naturalness’ will no doubt get under some people’s skin, but nonetheless this was precisely what drove my interest. How do we keep farmed salmon as close to the original as possible through breeding, diet and culture? Breeding and culture were issues that could be solved at farm level but diet was driven by external factors and required intensive discussions with feed suppliers. As dietary possibilities became more sophisticated, the relationship between feed supplier and ourselves became, to some degree, a facilitation between the novel developers and us. This, in turn, put the onus on us to have a view about the different alternatives. I warn you that there will be some generalisations and opinions coming which may require those of a nervous disposition to look away. I plead necessity, as there were many options and sometimes it required a simplification in order to make decisions. For instance, I was and am of the view that marine algae, which can produce omega-3 oils, are, in general, a good thing and we tried to find as many people trying to develop them as possible. Plankton are the grass (even though some are not photosynthesisers) and building blocks of the sea. So, in my naïve view, protein and fats created from these organisms would create the same sort of proteins as you would see in wild marine organisms. Before anyone jumps down my throat, I am aware that this is not exactly true but it is true enough to make the research into possibilities worthwhile. It is very pleasing to see that some of the research into this area is bearing fruit.There remain the discussions about dark and light cycle production but better to start somewhere than not at all. (For those who are not aficionados, and again apologising for the unscientific description, dark cycle involves feeding the algae whereas light cycle uses light.) We felt that algae produced by light as the critical input rather than feed was the ideal product, but as far as I am aware the problems have not been cracked yet. So there was a nirvana for us but there were also, and remain, no go areas. GM for us was an absolute no no. I admit this may be less than fair in some cases. GM in a totally contained environment producing proteins or oils indistinguishable from non-GM can hardly be argued to be damaging the environment or a risk to society. As most GM uses exactly the same amount of inputs to produce the products they do, I am deeply cynical of their value. However, there may be special cases. My secondary issue with GM is their unlabelled use in the marketplace. I do accept that they should be allowed access to markets, but only if they are clearly marked as what they are, as long as they meet the criteria of totally contained and indistinguishable. For companies such as ours, their use would have declared an acceptability which I have never felt nor feel.

Nick Joy.indd 70

Market “percepti on

blocks proper use of the waste from our food industries

”

It is impossible to reconcile ‘naturalness’ with GM because the one is the negation of the other. Whether you feel that ‘naturalness’ is paramount probably defines how you feel about this issue. Maybe in 200 years people will know whether GM was a terrible mistake, or they would have worked out how to ensure that it can only be used beneficially. There have been so many other possibilities for use in feed. Insect protein is, of course, entirely natural to salmonids, especially in freshwater. It seems a perfectly sensible thing to develop this alternative and use it. Yet the species used have no link to the same countries in which salmonids are native. But then again, we use anchovy meals in our diets and these aren’t native either. The rights and wrongs in this area are not clear cut.What is very clear is that we must encourage people growing proteins from waste food, which can be fed to fish to create more food. I once discussed the use of LAPs (land animal proteins) at a sustainability conference in London, suggesting that this would be a way of ensuring the best use of feed process waste. The general view was ‘yuck’ and so their use was perceived as too risky.This sort of market perception blocks our ability to develop a proper use of the waste from our food industries and we need to try to counter it. Meanwhile, I laud all of those companies continually trying to find ways forward in this area, whether they be farmers or suppliers. It is a minefield to work in, in both cases. FF

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10/02/2020 14:32:27

Welcome

The annual meeting of the European Aquaculture Society

For more info on the TRADESHOW: mario@marevent.com For more info on the CONFERENCE: www.aquaeas.eu ae2020@aquaeas.eu

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