Fish Farmer November 2018

Fish Farmer VOLUME 41

Serving worldwide aquaculture since 1977

NUMBER 11

NOVEMBER 2018

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TARGET ZERO

SUCCESS STORY

HEALTHY GATHERING

SAVING THE PLANET

Seals campaigner on why the shooting has to stop

Marine Harvest manager: facts about farming

Gene theme at this year’s ‘Pharmaqademy’

Much to digest at shellfish conference

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06/11/2018 09:12:29

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Contents 4-15 4-14 News

What’s What’s happening happening in in aquaculture aquaculture in the the UK UK and and around around the the world world in

16 16-21 16-17 16-22 Aqua Sur Industry pioneer News Extra platform Parliamentary inquiry

JENNY JENNY HJUL HJUL –– EDITOR EDITOR

Fair hearing Worth wait?

French connection Farmers must fight back Uphold the code

TIAW

Steve Bracken SSC’s record results Stewart Graham Exploring markets The final sessions

salmon farming sector in Scotland, when it was to E had hoped tothat bring you news of thesti long awaited he focus this month istopictures on Europe, the internati T HE is coincidence andwhere videos of unhealthy Sno Fish Farmer went press, there was lltold no offi cialonal be the subject of a parliamentary inquiry, embraced the Holyrood report into farming in this issue, but industry willsent soon gathering the EASinto (European salmon were tobe news outletsfor just asjoint the Scotti sh salmon news from the Scotti sh salmon parliamentary inquiry opportunity this would provide explain how it month. operated. there was still no to white smoke from the Rural Economy Aquaculture Society) and WAS (World Aquaculture Society) parliament went back work atto the start of this These farming, conducted earlier this year by the Rural Economy The had to hide and, ifthe given fair hearing, Connectivity committee at time of going conference, to benothing staged over days in theaof southern French images had litt le to do with thefive current state Scotland’s ficould sh and industry Connecti vity (REC) committ ee.

MSPs have now heldto fipress. ve address much of the criti cism levelled against it. city As well asare highlighti ng the latest technological farms -Montpellier. where sea lice in decline and, in fact, at abe fimet veOur of efforts discover what progress had been made were meeti ngs, intoprivate, tolevels consider their report and we must Fish Farmer supported this view, but at ti mes felt that salmon 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 with little enlightenment from the parliament and no answer farmers were being drowned out bywhich the noisier elements offarming the sessions onpropaganda emerging markets and look atinvolves the role fishusual This campaign, allofthe made harder bycommitee leaks from within the to anti -salmon at alllatest from the convener, SirREC Edward Mountain.

But angling lobby, which had called for the investi gatiRural on.

But farming inthat alleviati ngof poverty. industry anti -aquaculture suspects, as Holyrood’s Economy acti vists.

The latest these (see our news story onmeeti page 4)the we trust the months ofcame ‘inIncreasingly, private’ deliberations areasngs so sessions progressed, and eventually farmers’ voices were heard, are broadening their scope, subjects such asthat the social protracted because the committee wants tothe provide the best we and Connecti vity committ eetackling returned summer recess to makes grim reading for the industry asfrom it suggests committ ee became misti c.into We now believe MSPs, perhaps with acceptability ofopti aquaculture and the contributi on it farming. makes toto global possiblemore template forwilling the sustainable of Scotland’s consider its draft report the future ofthat salmon members have been to listen togrowth those campaigning food security and saving the planet, aindustry move is toanti welcomed. the excepti on ofvaluable one two Greens cahoots with -farming valuable salmon industry.

Those who want toor shut down thein asbe expected, shut down this sector, rather thanthat tohave, those who operate Also investi gati ng initi ati ves in the developing world, Dr Harrison campaigners, will, on balance, regard the industry in a favourable We were justes,how valuable this is with the publication stepped their activiti which now involve breaching the within it.upreminded light.

They will hopefully that farmers take their environmental Charo Karisa ofthe WorldFish writes thesnatch farming potenti al inthe inOf October ofsuch annualsee production This showed that biosecure environments of farm sitessurvey. to photographs in course, stories may beabout inaccurate and, in any case, Nigeria, both in catf ish and ti lapia culti vati on. responsibiliti es seriously and that businesses will only ever invest in Scotland produced aincriminati record ofScotland’s almost 190,000 tonnes last the hopeee’s of fifinding ng evidence against farmers.

One committ ndings are notvolume binding. fish farmers In Scotland, the summer has been something of a waiti ngdead game growth that is sustainable. campaigner fi lmed himself searching, unsuccessfully, for year, always and thebeen aquaculture industry atof more £1 have fortunate to havewas thevalued support theirthan minister, while the parliament is in recess and the members of Holyrood’s If committ ee members, those yetHarvest to of fi shthe at ato Marine Harvest site.especially Another hewho saw ‘hundreds’ Fergus Ewing, to grow sustainably. billion the Scottish economy.

On topsaid of this, as have Marine Rural and vity ee conti nue to weigh up visit would like tocommitt learn more about the of infested salmon in go aConnecti pen, but we only have his word against that Buta Economy itsalmon should not unchallenged that some MSPs onsubject the REC seawater areafarm, manager Sean Anderson writes for this month’s the evidence in their inquiry into salmon farming.

We don’t expect their we have plenty of goodremains stories ourgrowth May of theinquiry, professional vets andfarming biologists who in manage theissue. welfare of committ ee, with their own agendas against the of theEven Industry Platform, salmon one of the most their report until the autumn but hope the MSPs are using the time the Highlands bett er, they could head to later this month, where efficient food production systems, with a much smaller impact on these farms on a daily basis. industry, are in breach of the Code of Conduct for MSPs. As they to become fully acquainted with the facts about fish farming. they will meeton thethan aquaculture industry en masse Scotland’s the environment other protein.

If the proud ofreti itsfarmed high standards, as itsalmon says itlongest is, it are in aindustry positi inflthe uence the future course ofat farming, This month alsoisto sees rement of Marine Harvest’s biggest fish farming show.

Finally, I’m sure the industry will want to join the team at Fish must mount a much more robust defence of itself, through its and of businesses vital to Scotland’s economy, we have a right serving employee, Steve Bracken. We had no trouble collecting We will certainly be at Aquaculture UK inindustry, Aviemore and Farmer inwho wishing the esteemed scientist, and cherished representati vethey body, the SSPO, than itthe has done tothrough date.

The to know are, and weand hope its warm tributes from his friends colleagues toour mark thelook forward to seeing many of you there too. editorial board member, Patrick Smith, aindustry, speedy recovery campaigners, we nowpressure see, willrest stop at representati ves, will the parliament toand investi gateatbefore milestone and, along with the of thenothing, thefarmers team Fish following aprepared spell of poor health. should to fivery ght back. the RECbe report published.

Farmer wish himisall the best for the future.

Fish Farmer Farmer isis now now on on Fish Facebook and and Twitter Twitter Facebook

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Meet the team

Contact us

Editorial Advisory Advisory Board: Board: Steve Editorial Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Steve Bracken, Scott HervéLandsburgh, Migaud, Migaud, PatrickJim Smith and Jim Hervé Patrick Smith, PatrickMigaud, Smith, Treasurer and Treasurer, Wiliam Jim Treasurer and Dowds William Dowds William Dowds Editor: Jenny Jenny Hjul Hjul Editor: Designer: Designer: Andrew Andrew Balahura Balahura Advertising Adverti sing Manager: Team Leader: Dave Edler Edler Dave dedler@fishupdate.com dedler@fi shupdate.com Adverti sing ve: Advertising Executive: Adverti sing Executi Executi ve: Scott Binnie Binnie Scott sbinnie@fishupdate.com sbinnie@fi shupdate.com Publisher: Alister Alister Bennett Bennett Publisher:

Tel: +44(0) +44(0) 131 131 551 551 1000 1000 Tel: Fax: +44(0) +44(0) 131 131 551 551 7901 7901 Fax: email: email: jhjul@fishupdate.com jhjul@fi shupdate.com

Ace Aquatec’s Mike Forbes Cover:Steve Alison Hutchins, Dawnfresh Cover: Bracken explains Lumpsucker Scotti sh Sea Farms regional (top) and Ace’s Chilean farming director, Loch Etive. salmon farming toon Prince Charles producti on manager fordistributor Orkney, show the firm’s Picture: Scott during his visit Binnie toelectric Marine Harvest Richard Darbyshire (left),stunner and theto potential customers, near in 2016. Photo: Iainat Ferguson Westerbister team ScapaPuerto Pier Montt, Chile (photo: Ace Aquatec)

Tel: Tel: +44 +44 (0) (0) 1371 1371 851868 851868 UK Subscripti ons: Subscriptions: UK Subscripti ons: £75 £75 aa year year ROW Subscripti Subscriptions: £95 aa year year ROW ons: £95 including postage postage-- All All Air Air Mail Mail including

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Contents – Editor’s Welcome

48-49 36-37 41-43 42-44 38-39 Brussels Containment Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture Salmon market Montpellier preview From torobust salmon Investor advice Jamieshrimp Smith on the STS

44-46 46-49 40-41 50-55 38-41 Brussels Containment Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture New processors’ groupon Saving seals Sti rling course Pictures atmarket the exhibiti Insurance

22-23 18-19 24-27 Salmon SSPO Industrymarket Platform

Current trends In good health Julie Hesketh-Laird Meet theHarvest new chief executive Marine

56 42-43 48-49 50-58 42-45 Book review Training Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture Containment Martyn Haines Conference round-up Best ofonthe start-ups Focus cleaner fish Net worth

57 46-47 53-55 60-63 48-49 Aquaculture Containment Nor Fishing Aqua 2018 UK Net cleaning

24 20 20-21 28-29 Comment Skills Review BTA Shellfi sh

Introducti on Globe on onangle trial Farming Focus Africa Robot soluti ons

Phil Thomas Martyn Haines What’s in a name?

Dr Nick Lake Phil Thomas

58-59 54-59 60-63 68-69 51 Aquaculture PHARMAQ Australia Training Sea bass UK

26 22-23 30 SSPO sh Shellfi Comment BTA

Barramundi boom Martyn Haines European leaders Chris Mitchell Annual gathering

Montpellier report Dr Marti n Jaff a Doug McLeod Julie Hesketh-Laird

28-31 24-25 24 32-33 SSPO Comment Scottish Shellfi BTA sh Sea Farms Doug nBrown McLeod Rising stars Marti Jaff a Orkney anniversary Janet

32-33 26-27 26-30 34-35 Shellfi shfiSea Cleaner sh Farms Scottish Comment Martin Jaffa Janet Machrihanish Orkney farm Marti nBrown Jaff a visit

13 13

28-31 34-35 28-29 32-33 36-41 ASSG visitfish Comment Cleaner Orkney Farm Marti nH a era Vaccines New Dawn ofJaff new Janetplayer Brown

36-39 32-35 34-35 43-45 32-33 IoA careers Dornoch Wild salmon Cleaner fiOysters sh decline Orkney

69 60-62 64-67 70-73 52-54 Aquaculture Hydrolicer UK Nigeria Networking Research Meet the team Battling lice on Boosti ngsea producti Dave Conley Chris Mitchell

81-82 76-77 56-59 68-69 From the Archive Value chains Aquaculture UK Archive Awards Peter Crook David LittinleChina reports Growth Developing trends

91 70 78-79 63 Retail & Marketing Processing & Retail News

Figure 9.

9. Development Development of of salmon salmon nominal nominal catch catch in in southern southern and and northern northern NEAC NEAC 1971 1971 to to 2016.

2016.

Figure Text at at top top inserted inserted by by author. author. Filled Filled symbols symbols and and darker darker line line southern southern NEAC. NEAC. Text

Lifting spirits The mackerel hypothesis Transport Leask Marine Sti rling students

Subscripti ons Subscriptions Subscripti ons Address: Address: Wyvex Wyvex

Save Pinneys jobs Carlisle jobs Recruitment Eat more fishchallenges Global expansion

92-93 72-73 80-81 64-65 Aqua Source Directory

Media, Media, FREEPOST FREEPOST RTEY RTEY YUBG YUBG TYUB, TYUB, Trinity Trinity House, House, Sculpins Sculpins Lane, Lane, WethersWethersfififield, eld, eld, Braintree, Braintree, Essex Essex CM7 CM7 4AY 4AY

Find Find all all you you need need for for the the industry industry

46-47 40 37 36-37 34-35 Brussels Containment Innovation Cleaner fishconference Aquaculture Innovation

94 74 82 66 Opinion

Figure 10.

10. Examples Examples of of the the young young mackerel mackerel currently currently growing growing up up ‘all ‘all over’ over’ the the North North Sea, Sea, Figure Norwegian Sea Sea and and along along the the Norwegian Norwegian coast coast at at the the moment. moment. These These were were caught caught in in aa ‘washing ‘washing Norwegian set’ by by the the purse purse seiner seiner ‘Brennholm’ ‘Brennholm’ at at an an arbitrary arbitrary position position 100 100 nm nm west west of of the the Lofoten Lofoten Isles Isles in in set’ January 2018.

At this stage these small mackerels are competitors to the postsmolt salmon, January 2018. At this stage these small mackerels are competitors to the postsmolt salmon, later they they will will be be both both competitors competitors and and potential potential predators. predators. The The new new and and abundant abundant availability availability later Printed in Great Britain for the proprietors Wyvex Media Ltd by J Thomson Colour Printers Ltd, Printed in Great Britain for the proprietors Wyvex Media Ltd by J Thomson Colour Printers Ltd, 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,of juvenile mackerel in the multi sea winter salmon feeding areas may be a good explanation to of juvenile mackerel in the multi sea winter salmon feeding areas may be a good explanation to Glasgow ISSN 0262-9615 Glasgow ISSN ISSN 0262-9615 0262-9615 why the the MSW MSW fishes fishes have have such such aa good good condition condition at at present present despite despite their their poor poor early early sea sea growth. growth.

Glasgow Glasgow ISSN 0262-9615 why Photo JC JC Holst.

Holst.

Photo

Introducti on Introduction Novel technology Temperature Introducti on

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09/05/2018 18:05:09 08/08/2018 15:36:28 06/09/2018 16:32:15 04/10/2018 09:15:28 05/11/2018 18:05:09 16:25:51 09/05/2018 08/08/2018 15:36:28 06/09/2018 16:32:15 04/10/2018 09:15:28

United Kingdom News

NEWS...

Bumper year for Scottish salmon farms SCOTTISH salmon farmers produced the highest ever volume of fish last year, with total production of 189,707 tonnes, an increase of 26,890 tonnes, or 16.5 per cent on 2016 figures.

And farmed salmon was worth more than £1 billion to the economy for the first time last year, an increase of 37 per cent on 2016.

The level of survival on farms also improved, up to 79.1 per cent compared to 73.3 per cent the previous year.

Following the publication in October of the annual Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey, rural economy minister Fergus Ewing welcomed the salmon industry’s success.

‘The fish farm industry forms an integral part of Scotland’s rural economy – creating jobs and providing capital in some of our most rural communities,’ said Ewing.

‘So it’s very encouraging to see salmon production value on the increase yet again. Demand for Scottish seafood has also increased domestically in recent years and, through measures such as the establishment of the Aquaculture Industry Leadership Group, we are putting in place the conditions for a sustainable industry that can meet future projected market demands.

‘This includes the pub-

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Above: Gilpin Bradley

lication of Scotland’s 10 Year Farmed Fish Health Framework which will ensure that fish health remains at the heart of sustainable production.’

Marine salmon production was undertaken by 12 businesses farming 226 active sites, according to the survey.This is a decrease of three businesses and 27 active site compared with 2016.

Freshwater salmon production was undertaken by 24 businesses at 79 sites.The number of businesses operating decreased by two and the number of active sites decreased by eight compared with 2016.

The total number of smolts produced in 2017 increased by 3,258,000 (six per cent) to 46.2 million, according to the production survey, published annually.

The number of ova laid down to hatch increased by 2.2 per cent to 65.7 million with the majority of these (90 per cent) being derived

from foreign sources. In 2017, 339,000 ova were exported.

Just under three per cent of the smolts stocked to Scottish salmon farms were sourced from outwith Scotland, less than one per cent of which came from sources outwith Great Britain.This was a very slight decrease compared with 2016.

Production figures for this year are forecast to drop significantly, however, with an industry estimate of 150,774 projected tonnage based on stocks currently being on-grown.

The decline is attributed to gill health issues in the autumn of 2017.

Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation chairman Gilpin Bradley welcomed the 2017 figures.

‘Volumes were strong and exports reached an all-time high, with sales of £600 million to more than 50 countries worldwide.

‘This is testament to the hard work and commitment of so many dedicated salmon farmers in the Highlands and islands and the global recognition of Scottish salmon’s enviable premium market position.

‘Demand for quality Scottish salmon continues to outstrip supply and the sector aspires to grow to meet demand, but we also recognise the importance of steady, sustainable development.

‘These new figures, alongside the investment in tackling emerging challenges, give us great confidence in the sector’s ability for sustainable growth over the coming years.’

Ahead of the anticipated dip in production in 2018, the sector is

putting investment in place.

There is an increased move towards the use of recirculated aquaculture systems to ensure the growth of more robust smolts, along with the installation of continuous environmental monitoring and other camera technology to closely monitor fish behaviour at sea.

Bradley, who runs Wester Ross Salmon, added:‘Salmon farmers have invested more than £60 million in new technologies and improved farming techniques, research projects and cleaner fish to remove naturally occurring sea lice which thrive in the warmer temperatures.

‘Farmers continue to work hard to improve fish health and salmon survival and we are

seeing benefits coming from the new innovations.

‘It is encouraging to see that the report confirms an improvement in the industry’s survival figures as a result of the ongoing investment in this area.’

Farm-by-farm reporting of sea lice levels, introduced this year, has shown that, on the whole, lice levels during 2018 are at a five-year low.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise recently reported that employment in the industry and supply chain topped 10,000 full time equivalent jobs.

To read the full production survey, visit /www.gov.scot/ publications/scottish-fish-farm-production-survey-2017

Four new jobs in SSC boat order first half of the THE Scottish year.

Salmon ComCraig Anderson, pany (SSC) has chief executive of commissioned the SSC, said:‘The a bespoke Scottish Salmon 30-tonne Company is proud workboat that this is the for its sites at Loch Striven, Above: Ewan Ferguson of Ardmaleish fifth boat built for us by Ardmaleish Argyll, with Boatbuilding Company and Keith Boatbuilding Comdelivery McTaggart of Scottish Salmon Company at the boatyard on the pany. The close expectedthe Isle of Bute working relationSCCin early ship allows us to 2019. work together to incorporate new Built by Ardmaleish Boatbuilding technology and to design improveCompany on the Isle of Bute, the vessel commission will see the family ments in the vessels.

‘SSC is committed to using Scotrun firm employ four new modern tish suppliers where possible and we apprentices to assist with the build. look forward to launching the new The announcement follows SSC boat next year.’ reporting positive results for the

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All the latest industry news from the UK

Farmed and wild salmon sectors seek consensus of Fisheries Management Scotland, Roger THE first meeting of the farmed and Brook of Argyll District Salmon Fishery wild salmon interactions group, Board, and representatives of Sepa, held on October 31, got off to SNH Marine Scotland and Scottish a good start, according to its Environment Link. chairman, John Goodlad.

A schedule of meetings has been The group, established by set up, with the next one planned for Scotland’s Rural Economy SecNovember – ‘everybody is agreed we retary Fergus Ewing in May as should try and do this job, obviously as part of the Strategic Framework efficiently and as well as we can, but also for Farmed Fish Health, includes Above: John Goodlad as quickly as we can’, said Goodlad. representatives from the farming While the recommendations must be ‘evidence and wild salmon sectors, as well as from governbased’, there is not time to undertake new ment and regulatory bodies. scientific research.

Its aim is to find a common approach between ‘If there is something that can be done quickly aquaculture and wild salmon leaders, particularthat can enhance existing knowledge, then we’ll ly in relation to sea lice management. do it, but we’re not in the game of commissionThe group was a good cross section, said Gooding research, which would take far too long. lad, and it was ‘an excellent meeting’.

We’re going to have to work with what’s already ‘There was a real feeling from everybody there there.’ that we wanted to make progress and wanted to He said his aspiration was to reach a consensus make progress quickly. and recommendations that improve wild salmon ‘Our task is to produce a series of recomand also improve the salmon farming industry. mendations which will be passed to the two ‘It’s a high bar, it’s not going to be easy, but I cabinet secretaries, Fergus Ewing and Roseanna think we got off to a good start. There is a real Cunningham [environment], and then they will feeling that we’ve got to make this work, this act on those recommendations.’ time.’

The group includes Ben Hadfield, managing This is the third interactions group, and there director of Marine Harvest Scotland, Julie is pressure for it to produce more concrete Hesketh-Laird, chief executive of the Scottish results than previous groups.

Salmon Producers’ Organisation, Alan Wells

Scotland seafood summit SCOTLAND is to get its own seafood summit next year – days before the UK is due to leave the European Union.

The landmark event is being organised by Seafish and is a spin off from the UK-wide Seafood Summit, held near Scunthorpe last month, and its predecessor, the Humber Seafood Summit.

Seafish, the industry authority, said it took the decision to create a sister event due to its popularity

in discussing and debating the challenges and issues affecting the seafood industry.

The two-day gathering will continue the theme ‘Seafood is the way Forward’ and give the industry in Scotland and beyond another opportunity to get together, particularly in the days before Brexit, scheduled for March 29, 2019.

The Scottish summit is due to take place at the Hilton Double Tree Hotel in Aberdeen, from March 26-29.

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United Kingdom News

Gael Force buys yard to build steel barges Cooke’s recipe for offshore success

Above: Corpach Boatbuilding Company, , situated at the entrance to the Caledonian Canal

GAEL Force Group has acquired a 75 per cent stake in a Fort William boat builder, a move which could see the introduction of steel feed barge building on the west coast.

Gael Force said the development was an opportunity for Scottish salmon farmers to benefit from a competitive home-built substitute to imported steel feed barges.

The company, a major aquaculture supplier which employs more than 200 people, already builds concrete barges at its Inverness facility, but many steel barges are currently manufactured outside the UK in Eastern Europe.

Gael Force group managing director Stewart Graham said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Corpach Boatbuilding Company as part of an expanding Gael Force Group.

‘Throughout our discussions it was clear we share the same motivation for close customer collaboration, with an aim to deliv-

er outstanding quality in product and service.

‘We look forward to working with our colleagues at Corpach to grow the existing business as a first-class boat builder and achieve our long term objective of offering an innovative Scottish built substitute to imported steel barges.

‘Additionally, we see this development as strategically critical to Scotland’s boat building and servicing capability and also for Lochaber’s exciting development plans too.’

Corpach Boatbuilding Company is experienced in the construction of steel craft and has provided services for fish farms since 1992.

Corpach’s marine development manager, Donald Hind, said: ‘This is an exciting milestone for our business, and one which promises to give rise to new opportunities for both Corpach and Gael Force.

‘We are hugely excited by the product and workforce development opportunities this deal presents and look forward to strengthening the relationship we have already established.

‘We are very confident that by sharing our skills, expertise and experience we can grow our business and workforce, which will, in turn, deliver value to the markets we serve in support of our loyal customers.’

Manager jobs for fast track trainees THE first two graduates from a salmon farm management scheme have both started new jobs at Marine Harvest.

Kendall Hunter (pictured), 23, and Benjamin Weis, 27, completed a fast track programme at the company, involving 75 weeks of intensive training,They have taken up positions as farm managers near Kyle of Lochalsh and on Lewis.

They studied every aspect of the salmon farming business, from fish health to finance, in a course that took them to farms across the Highlands and islands, following the fish from hatchery to sea farm.The two new

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SCOTLAND’S rural economy minister, Fergus Ewing, learnt about advances being made in offshore salmon farming during a recent trip to Orkney.

The minister visited Cooke Aquaculture’s Kirkwall base to hear about progress at the company’s new, high energy site at East Skelwick in Westray.

Granted planning permission last summer, the farm is 2.5km offshore, and is equipped with durable technology that can withstand sustained exposure to high wind and wave loads.

The new site will consist of eight pens measuring 130m in circumference, the largest currently used in Scotland.

There will also be a wave measurement buoy, a weather station incorporating hydrographic sensors, and real-time environmental sensors.

They have been procured with assistance from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), negotiated by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) with Marine Scotland.

Ewing said: ‘Cooke are championing innovative approaches to sustainably growing the Scottish aquaculture industry, and are a fantastic example of what can be achieved in Scotland when there is a combination of vision and wider support.’

Colin Blair, managing director of Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, said: ‘To maximise the

data gained from the new site, wind, wave and hydrographic conditions will be monitored in real-time, alongside routine farm operational observations.

‘This enables the resilience of cages and moorings, site accessibility and salmon performance to be correlated with the prevailing physical conditions, including any extreme weather events.’

The experience gained by Cooke at the East Skelwick site will be shared with the wider fish farming community.

Dr Robin Shields, senior aquaculture innovation manager at SAIC, said his organisation was ‘delighted’ with the progress at Cooke’s high energy site.

‘We will liaise with Cooke Aquaculture to help ensure that the important data from these instruments is interpreted fully, allowing a more accurate assessment of site performance.’

Above: Fergus Ewing (second right) with Christopher Webb, Cooke environmental and development manager; Vicci Laird, head of HR; Stewart Rendall, Westray/East Skelwick manager; and Robert Peterson, Orkney area manager.

Local talent fuels feed plant

managers also took part in managerial courses, including the Junior Executive Leadership Programme organised by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre.

Gideon Pringle, Marine Harvest’s operations director,

said there was a need to encourage highly educated young people to join the industry: ‘Today’s modern salmon farms use technology never dreamed of 40 years ago, which means we now need different management skills.’

AROUND 60 per cent of the workforce at Marine Harvest’s new feed plant on Skye have been recruited locally, according to the company.

Some 37 out of a total of 53 positions have now been filled and another six staff are due to join the team at Kyleakin before the end of the year.

While employees represent seven different countries, including India and Italy, the majority hail from Skye and across the Highlands, according to site manager Kevin O’Leary, quoted in the company’s newsletter,.

‘The feed plant offers excellent career opportunities for our

employees and has even made it possible for some to return to the area to raise their families,’ said O’Leary.

‘The state of the art technology has also proved a real draw for staff with specialist skills and knowledge in engineering, finance, feed and safety management from across the globe.

‘There is a real sense of pride and anticipation now on Skye as we gear up to opening in 2019.’

Construction is nearing completion and, once operational, the plant will ship feed directly from Kyleakin by boat to the company’s farms in Scotland, Ireland, Norway and the Faroes.

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05/11/2018 16:41:50

All the latest industry news from the UK

Loch Duart recognised in rural awards SALMON farmer Loch Duart has been named runner up in the Best Food Business category at the Rural Business Awards North, held in Bolton, Lancashire.

The awards, which are supported by online retailer Amazon, celebrate ‘all that is great’ about rural business in the north of the UK, said the organisers.

Alban Denton, managing director of Loch Duart, which farms in Sutherland and the Hebrides, said: ‘It’s great for Loch Duart to be named runner up at the Best Rural Food Business Award.

‘Our efforts to raise extraordinary salmon, asked for by name and enjoyed around the world, are completely wrapped up in being located in the Highlands and islands.

‘The beautiful rural environment we work in and the wonderful people who live and work in this area are central to Loch Duart’s success.’

The awards ceremony took place at the Last Drop Village Hotel in Bolton last month.

As a major business and employer in remote north west Scotland communities, Loch Duart makes a substantial contribution to the local economy.

Among the projects it has supported are the rewiring Scourie Village Hall in Sutherland to enable it to secure an entertainment licence; the funding of local school trips; and donating to the Lochinver Lifeboat Station.

Loch Duart has also promoted a new honey and bumble bee community project in partnership with Plan Bee; funded an automated external defibrillator (AED) in Uist; and supported the refurbishment of Lochinver Community Hall.

And it has kick-started funding for a kit car project for pupils from Durness, Kinlochbervie, Scourie and Lochinver; donated money towards Kinlochbervie Playing Field Association football pitch refurbishment; and supported both Ross County Development Squad and Lochinver Junior football team.

Gill health weakens Grieg Shetland Q3

GRIEG Seafood has reported weakened third quarter earnings in both its Shetland and British Columbian operations.

An increase in gill related diseases in Shetland and recurring incidents of harmful algal bloom in BC have resulted in reduced survival rate and higher costs, leading to a NOK 50 million writedown in Q3.

The company said Norwegian operations had performed better than expected during the quarter, however.

Biological performance in both Finnmark and Rogaland were good, and costs continued to decline.

In addition, GSF Finnmark acquired two new locations in Q3, improving capacity utilisation in the area. Quarterly earnings in Rogaland are low due to planned low harvest volumes.

Preliminary figures for the third quarter 2018 indicate a total harvest volume for Grieg Seafood of 16 940 tonnes and a group EBIT per kilo of NOK 9.43.

In Shetland, Grieg harvested 4,511 tonnes in the period, compared to 4,391 in Q3 2017, but EBIT/kg was down to NOK -1.21 against NOK 6.03 last year.

In BC, 2,642 tonnes were harvested compared to 2,350 in Q3 last year, and EBIT/kg dropped from NOK 14.18 to NOK 4.55.

Overall, Grieg Seafood’s harvested volumes in the quarter were 16,940 tonnes, up from 16,875 tonnes in the corresponding period last year. But EBIT/kg fell to NOK 9.43 from NOK 13.59.

Hydrolicer appoints new CEO

Above: Loch Duart managing director Alban Denton at the ceremony

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THE manufacturers of the Hydrolicer, designed for the mechanical control of sea lice, has announced structural changes in the business.

Since the development of the Hydrolicer system in 2015, Cflow Fish Handling AS has been an important partner, responsible for delivering system to customers.

Above: Øyvind Nymark Now, Hydrolicer Production AS will take over the sales process, customer contact and project management itself.

Hydrolicer Group has appointed Øyvind Nymark as CEO, with special focus and responsibility for sales and marketing of Hydrolicer.

The two companies said they will continue their cooperation in the future.

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European News

NEWS...

Marine Harvest records best ever Q3

MARINE Harvest has announced its ‘best ever’ third quarter results, with an EBIT of 207 million euros, up from €194 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenues soared to just short of a billion euros at €990 million (€868 million in 2017).

Total harvest volume was 109,896 tonnes in the quarter (95,338 in 2017). Harvest guidance for 2018 remains unchanged at 380,000 tonnes. Estimated harvest volume

for 2019 is 430,000 tonnes.

However, in Scotland harvest volumes declined by 20 per cent compared to last year, down from 10,912 tonnes to 9,024 tonnes, and biological costs increased by 20 per cent.

Incident based mortality losses amounted to €1.2 million (€2.1 million in 2017), mainly due to gill issues and mortality at the Inchmore hatchery, said Marine Harvest in its Q3 re-

port. Sea lice levels at the end of the quarter were lower than at the end of the comparable quarter of 2017.

In Norway, lice is still a challenge for the farming operations, particularly in combination with fish being weakened by other biological challenges.

Sea lice levels at the end of the third quarter of 2018 were higher than in the comparable quarter for both Region Mid and Region North.

Although sea lice mitigation costs are still high, health costs are lower than in the comparable quarter.

Salmon of Norwegian origin achieved an operational EBIT per kilo of €2.25 (€2.24 in 2017), while salmon of Scottish and Canadian origin reported €1.36 and €1.05 respectively (€2.33 and €1.73).

Salmon of Chilean origin reported €1.28 (€1.30).

MH Feed reported an operational EBIT of €7.3 million (€9.4 million) and the company saw an all-time high production volume for feed at 97,564 tonnes.

MH Consumer Products reported an operational EBIT of €16.0 million (€14.6 million).

CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog said: ‘This has been a very good quarter...Marine Harvest Feed produced record high volumes in the third quarter. I am very pleased that the growth continues with the opening of the new feed factory in Scotland in 2019.

‘It is also very encouraging to see the growth and margin achievements in our value added production in the US and Asia.’

Norwegian visitor centre tells salmon’s story

Above: The control room shows live images from Nova Sea’s fish farm at Træna

OSLO is home to a new salmon visitor centre, which opened to the public last month. Sponsored by Akva and built by salmon farmer Nova Sea, the centre, called The Salmon, aims to tell

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Grieg and AqaGen sign strategic partnership GRIEG Seafood has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with the salmon egg company AquaGen, which specialises in breeding disease and lice resistant stock.

Grieg said that its operations at Erfjord in Rogoland, Norway, will produce broodfish and eggs belonging to AquaGen. The agreement also includes egg deliveries from AquaGen to the company’s Finnmark and Shetland farms.

Commenting on the value of genetics, Grieg Seafood CEO Andreas Kvame said: ‘Genetic material is a fundamental input factor in any food production, and an important success factor in achieving a good salmon production.

‘AquaGen selects salmon with good growth properties and high disease resistance, and was the first using advanced methodology in the selection.

‘This gives a good match to Grieg Seafood’s focus on increased survival and improved production growth that will take the company towards a production of 100,000 tonnes by 2020.’

Both Grieg and AquaGen said there were other key areas, such as environmental sustainability and profitable growth, in which the two companies could work together.

Nina Santi, chief executive of AquaGen, said: ‘We are looking forward to working closely with such a forward looking producer as Grieg Seafood.’

the history of Norwegian fish farming and spread knowledge about salmon and the fish farming industry in general.

To provide an insight into modern farming operations, Akva has installed a miniature control room. Here, real-time video images are transferred from Nova Sea’s location at Træna in Nordland County, to give the audience an idea of how technology such as cameras and sensors helps the farmer get the best possible understanding of the health and performance of the fish The visitor attraction, at Tjuvholmen in Oslo, is open to the public all week days and Saturdays and entrance is free.

In addition to interactive displays, the centre offers a selection of both modern and traditional salmon dishes.

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05/11/2018 16:43:07

All the latest industry news from Europe

Seafood index soars on rising salmon prices THE prospect of high salmon prices for the next 12 months almost sent the Seafood Index on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Børs) into orbit at the end of last month.

Launched only two and a half years ago, the index includes most of the big Norwegian salmon farming companies. It hit a new high on October 29, signalling a huge vote of confidence in the sector.

The index rose to 1554.08 points, up by 4.06 per cent for the day. The Oslo Børs said on Twitter that the figure represented a historical peak and comes at a time when the main Stock Market index fell by seven per cent just over a month ago, followed by stock market falls in the United States and across Europe.

The main driver appears to be reports of a bright future for the salmon industry, along with predictions that salmon prices could rise

to between 61 to 63 kroners per kg in the next two years, from a previous forecast of around 58-59 kroners.

Reports from the financial brokerage firm Pareto Securities suggest that prices will start to rise between now and Christmas and remain high into next summer.

One of the biggest rises is by Lerøy Seafoods, which is a major player in both fish farming and conventional fishing, with one of Norway’s largest cod and haddock quotas.

Pareto said it expects its share prices to climb further this year, partly due to lower volumes as a result of salmon disease. And despite high prices, demand for salmon across the world remains strong.

The Seafood Index has already been described as moving like a ‘bullet’ this year, rising by almost 68 per cent.

One analyst said that seafood, along with the oil and gas sector, is in a ‘sweet spot’ at the moment.

However, the main salmon farming companies will be publishing their third quarter results in the next few weeks and they are likely to determine whether the index will rise further or drop back.

But it has already got off to a bright start, with Marine Harvest announcing its best ever third quarter performance.

Norway salmon exports at all time high 55.8 billion, EXPORTS of up by seven Norwegian per cent in salmon hit volume and a monthly five per cent all-time high in value. in October, the The average latest figure Above: Paul T. price for show. whole fresh The country’s Aandahl salmon in Ocaquaculture companies last month tober was NOK 58.39 per kilo against NOK sold 104,000 tonnes 54.50 a year ago. of salmon worth 6.5 Seafood analyst billion kroners (almost Paul T. Aandahl said £600 million) sales in September This represents a were somewhat weak, volume increase of but they were now eight per cent and a value increase of NOK moving up sharply, with two countries, 827 million or 15 per Poland and the Nethcent on October last erlands, recording year. volume growth of 43 Norway is now well per cent and 29 per on course to sell cent respectively. more than a million ‘This gives an inditonnes of salmon cation of a positive this year. To date, consumer trend in salmon sales for other markets, such 2018 total 862,000 as Germany.’ tonnes, worth NOK

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European News

Irish seafood breaks billion euro barrier SALES of Irish seafood – both farmed and caught - broke through the billion euro barrier for the first time last year, with more than half that figure sold as exports.

The annual report from Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) said that seafood exports grew by 10 per cent to €666 million, and the domestic market increased by four per cent to €429 million.

BIM has described 2017 as an exceptional year for Ireland’s marine economy. Chief executive Jim O’Toole said that an earlier €240 million allocated under the Seafood Development Programme had played a major role.

‘This funding facilitates the industry’s efforts to compete in the fast paced global market place,’ he said.

‘In addition, €30 million of ongoing EU support from the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development of Aquaculture has enabled BIM to implement a range of schemes to support the aquaculture sector.’

He also told the Irish Independent that the country was well placed to take advantage of

global seafood trends.

BIM chairman of Kieran Calnan said the seafood sector is fast becoming one of the major contributors to Ireland’s international reputation.

Above: Jim O’Toole

Turbot growth driven by aquaculture PRODUCTION of turbot is growing throughout Europe, largely thanks to an evolution in farming techniques.

This is the view of EUMOFA, the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture, which has recently completed a case study on the species.

EUMOFA said that this evolution began in Scotland in the 1970s; it was then introduced to France, but Spain took over a decade later, with a large scale increase in production, particularly in the Galicia region.

Techno-biological improvements in the early 1990s triggered a steady but slow growth in production across numerous European countries,

including the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Romania and Croatia.

But a considerable amount of turbot is still caught by conventional fishing methods. Some 6,000 tonnes were landed in Europe in 2015, the latest year for which figures are available, with EU countries, including the UK, accounting for 85 per cent of this total.

However, when it comes to aquaculture, the production of farmed turbot in Europe reached 10,173 tonnes in the same year.

This compares to a global farmed total of 65,000 tonnes, of which China is by far the largest non EU producer.

Most of this European production was in Spain (73 per cent) and Por-

tugal (23 per cent).

EUMOFA said EU production of turbot reached a peak in 2012 at more than 11,000 tonnes, due to increased production in Spain and Portugal.

However, over the past decade, the French production has experienced a marked downward trend (minus 65 per cent), whereas the Dutch production has remained relatively stable.

The report said: ‘Overall, approximately 15,000 tonnes of turbot are consumed in the EU, mainly fresh. Consumption is concentrated in Spain, France and Italy, which represent about three quarters of the EU apparent market.

‘This makes turbot a niche market compared with other major species. Turbot trade is characterised almost entirely by intra-EU flows, mostly related to the export of farmed turbot from Spain and Portugal and wild caught turbot from the Netherlands.’

EUMOFA said fishing is also showing a positive trend, with 93 per cent growth between 2006 and 2015. The main producers are the Netherlands, France and the UK. Left Turbot

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Norway to fly seafood direct to China from next spring THE Chinese operated Hainan Airlines is to start the first direct flights from Oslo to Beijing next spring in a move that will boost Norway’s seafood market in China.

Norway is looking to increase its salmon exports to China’s burgeoning middle classes and the Norwegian Seafood Council predicted in the summer that the volume of trade would triple in the second half of 2018.

Martin Langaas, freight director of Avinor, which operates most of Norway’s airports, said: ‘The direct flight to China will be very positive for the export of fresh Norwegian seafood to the fast growing Chinese market.

‘Fresh fish have a short shelf life, and faster shipping time will ensure the quality of the goods. The route is expected to transport seafood to an annual value of NOK 200 million.’

After the lifting of a ban on Norwegian salmon, imposed in 2015, exports reached 7,000 tonnes in the first six months of this year.

Chinese total salmon consumption could climb to 100,000 tonnes this year and 240,000 tonnes in 2025, the Seafood Council’s China director, Sigmund Bjoergo, said in July, up from a previous estimate for 2025 of 156,000 tonnes.

Based on the Seafood Council estimates, China would consume 12 per cent of global salmon production by 2025, up from four per cent in 2017.

There will be three flights a week, according to a report in Norway Today. Hainan Airlines launched direct flights from Edinburgh to Beijing in June, facilitating the export of Scottish salmon to the Chinese market.

Super hub for fishery research groups NORWAY’S Institute of Marine Research and Directorate of Fisheries are to be relocated in a futuristic new building in Bergen, the government has agreed.

The aim is to give both organisations the space and facilities to develop innovative research into fishing, aquaculture and good sea management.

Research director Sissel Rogne said: ‘We are planning for the next 50 to 100 years, so our vision must be seen in that perspective.’

The government, he added, was determined to ensure sustainable use of the sea.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/11/2018 16:45:54

All the latest industry news from Europe

Salmon tax probe underway ture industry has developed THE Norwegian government has strongly, making the country appointed a special committee the world’s largest producer and made up of leading financial exporter of Atlantic salmon.’ and economic experts to work Many of Norway’s more remote out how the country’s aquaculcoastal communities are already ture industry should be taxed in receiving large sums from the future years. auction of new fish Finance minister Siv farming licencJensen said the es, but it is committee will thought the assess how Oslo group the tax will now system look at should be the indesigned dustry’s to help overall the tax commustructure nity get Howa share ever, the from the industry is considerable wary. Geir Ove sums that are Ystmark, CEO of now being made Seafood Norway, from fish farming. which represents But she stressed that Above: Geir Ove Ystmark, both fishing and any new system should CEO of Seafood Norway fish farming combe structured in such panies, said the a way that companies last thing such a forward looking continue to receive incentives to industry needed was a ‘devastatmake new investment decisions. ing tax system’ that weakened ‘Norway is one of the few innovation and slowed down places in the world where climate conditions naturally facilitate the investment.

But he said he was pleased efficient farming of salmon and that a thoroughly professional trout in the sea,’ she said. investigation was being carried ‘Since the beginning of the out into the tax issue.

1970s, the Norwegian aquacul-

Changes in MH top team MARINE Harvest Group has announced changes in its top management team following the decision by long serving executive Marit Solberg to retire.

Solberg, who has worked for the company for more than three decades, was COO Farming Canada, Scotland, Ireland and the Faroes.

The company has decided to return to its original management team structure of having one COO farming position with global responsibility, appointing Per-Roar Gjerde.

Gjerde has been COO Farming for Norway and Chile since January 2017.

Born in 1967, he is a graduate from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH), and has completed executive management courses at Solstrand in

Above: Per-Roar Gjerde

Norway and Insead in France.

He has extensive experience within salmon farming and sales, said Marine Harvest. He started his career as a salesman with Domstein Salmon.

In 2002 Gjerde became controller for farming at Fjord Seafood Norway, which became part of Marine Harvest in 2006.

And in 2007, he was appointed regional director for Region West, one of the four business units of Marine Harvest Norway at that time.

In January 2016, he moved to Chile, was appointed managing director for Marine Harvest Chile and led the business restructuring process there.

Marine Harvest’s Group management team, effective from November 1, will now be: CEO: Alf-Helge Aarskog CFO: Ivan Vindheim COO Farming: Per-Roar Gjerde COO Sales and Marketing: Ola Brattvoll COO Fish Feed: Ben Hadfield Global Director R&D: Øyvind Oaland Chief Strategy Officer: Glenn Flanders Global Director HR: Anne Lorgen Riise Communication Director: Kristine Gramstad Wedler

Iceland’s premier steps into fish farm row ICELAND’S fisheries minister submitted a bill to the country’s parliament last month amending the Aquaculture Act to ensure that the two companies who have lost their licences to expand salmon farming in the Westfjords can temporarily continue their operations.

The minister, Fiskeldi Kristján Þór Júlíusson, said he wants to be able to grant provisional licences for up to ten months.

It is the latest development in a saga which has become a national issue and has seen Iceland’s prime minister, Katrina Jakobsdóttir, step into the debate.

Both Arnarlax, backed

by Norweigan salmon farmer SalMar, and Arctic Fish Farm, half owned by Norway Royal Salmon, were taken aback last month when

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an Environmental and Natural Resources Complaints committee unexpectedly ruled that an earlier decision by the country’s Food Authority to grant them licences to produce up to 17,500 tonnes of salmon in the Westfjord coastal ports of Patreksfjordur and Talknafjordur should not be allowed to go ahead.

The committee maintained that a proper impact assessment had not been carried out, following objections from Iceland’s highly vocal environmental and fishing rights groups.

The two companies still retain older licences for smaller expansion plans and it was suggested these

were still valid and could be adapted.

Premier Jakobsdóttir said that two government departments were working on ways to provide the affected farming companies with a ‘fair deadline’ to overcome any deficiencies in their original applications.

The two developments are expected to create more than 150 jobs, a high figure in towns where the populations number less than 2,000 inhabitants.

Rebekka Hilmarsdóttir, mayor of Vesturbyggð, one of the nearby communities which would have benefited from the development, described the committee’s ruling as a major blow to the area.

‘Yes, this was a big surprise,’ she said. ‘This is a huge shock to this area.

‘It will have a huge impact on the whole community here.

‘It directly affects over 150 jobs and, consequently, the many families and many individuals who live here.’

Left: Katrina Jakobsdóttir

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05/11/2018 16:46:09

World News

NEWS...

Chilean farmers report improved survival with SRS vaccine

Above: Chiloe Island, Chile

CHILEAN salmon farmers have reported a sharp reduction in mortalities caused

by salmon rickettsial septicaemia (SRS) after using Pharmaq’s vaccine LiVac SRS.

a recent presentation of the vaccine’s results that it was ‘an essential element for an effective control of SRS’.

During the first full cycle since the launch of the product, there was a drop of between 27 and 85 per cent mortalities, Intrafish reported on November 1.

The vaccines were used by six different The company’s gen- companies on 27 eral manager in South farms treating 100 America, Guillermo per cent of their fish, Staudt, said during and the full cycle at the sites ended with an average mortality rate caused by SRS of 1.45 per cent per farm.

The farmers used

an average of 300g of antibiotics per tonne produced at these sites during the cycle, 36 per cent below the average use of antibiotics in Chile in 2017.

‘LiVac SRS has proven a very effective tool, but it has to be used in an environment of high quality smolts, good sanitary conditions and good management of farming centres, a complete strategy for fish health, high quality diets and good anti-parasitic treatments,’ Staudt said.

LiVac, the first attenuated live SRS vaccine, was

launched in Puerto Montt 2016 for the Chilean market, following years of research.

SRS is considered to be the most prevalent disease in the Chilean industry. The disease is caused by the bacterium Piscirickettsia salmonis, generating a severe disease that has caused major economic losses in the aquaculture industry since its appearance in 1989.

The disease is known to affect three species of fish, Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout and coho salmon.

Pharmaqademy: Page 54

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THE Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is planning specific requirements for farms to properly dispose of plastics and aquaculture gear, becoming the only aquaculture body to join the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI).

The GGGI is an alliance of organisations working to find solutions to the problem of lost, abandoned or discarded fishing gear – known as ghost gear.

Every year at least 640,000 tonnes of ghost gear is left in the oceans, but the impact by fish farms remains unexplored.

The ASC said it would learn from the experiences of its GGGI partners with an eye towards applying lessons to aquaculture production.

‘As with fisheries, plastics have become increasingly important materials for much of the equipment used in aquaculture, such as nets, pens, and buoys,’ said Marcelo

Hidalgo, standards and certification coordinator for ASC, who is leading the work.

‘Many of these materials have allowed big improvements in efficiency and productivity of the sector.

‘But with so much plastic entering our oceans, we decided that action was required to assess how aquaculture can reduce the impacts of plastic from the sector.’

The ASC has begun comprehensive research into the most commonplace and highest risk plastics used in aquaculture equipment.

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18/02/2015 11:57

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World News

BC salmon row ‘threatens world food source’ Smart fish farm

Above: Federal fisheries minister Jonathan Wilkinson

THE polarised salmon debate in British Columbia is threatening a viable and sustainable food source for the world, Canada’s fisheries minister told business leaders in the province.

The region, a major salmon producing area, has long experienced disputes between its farming companies and activists campaigning on behalf of wild salmon interests.

Jonathan Wilkinson said people will come to the conclusion that there is too much risk and BC should just stop the industry as a whole, SeaWestNews reported.

‘I think this would be a shame for British Columbia…I think this would be a shame for the world in terms of addressing some of the food requirement,’ he said during questions at

Vancouver Island’s Economic Alliance Annual Summit in Nanaimo.

‘I think we hear a lot of the time a fair bit of concern in the media and from individual persons about the potential effects that aquaculture may be having on wild salmon.

‘And there is a debate even around a lot of the science, where scientists on one side will say one thing and scientists on another side will be saying another thing… a very confusing situation for the average person that is trying to actually figure out what is right and what is wrong.

‘At the end of the day, protein needs to come from somewhere and so what we need to do is ensure that we are getting to the point where we can actually legitimately say, and convince the average person on the street, that aquaculture is being done in a manner that is environmentally, ecologically sustainable, such that you have social licence, or whatever you want to call it, with an industry that could be bigger than what we have today.

‘I will tell you personally that I believe that aquaculture is part of the solution.’

SeaWestNews reported that the minister had earlier revealed he preferred closed containment solutions in the oceans for fish farming so coastal communities can continue to benefit from aquaculture.

And he said the federal government, with the help of the BC provincial government, plans to launch a study into the type of technology needed to grow the aquaculture industry regionally.

technology unveiled SOUTH Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has shown off some of the latest technologies used in the management of fish farms.

A demonstration of a new system was held at a mullet fish farm in the southern county of Hadong in the South Gyeongsang Province - a system which adopts new information and communications technologies, as well as advanced equipment such as small unmanned submersible vehicles and underwater cameras.

These will allow workers to manage their fish farms from afar with their smartphone, according to the ministry.

‘Smart fish farms will help boost the efficiency of farming operations, create more jobs and develop eco-friendly ways of doing this business,’ said maritime minister Kim Youngchoon.

Above: Kim Young-choon

Huon expands to Western Australia HUON Aquaculture, the large Tasmanian salmon farming group, is to create a 24,000 tonne capacity fish farm on a 6,000 acre location off the Abrolhis Islands in Western Australia.

David Kelly, the fisheries minister for Western Australia, confirmed that the company has signed a contract with the state government for a lease in the mid-west aquaculture development zone. It will cultivate not salmon, but yellowtail kingfish.

Also known as Australian kingfish, the yellowtail has a pale pink flesh and a sweet, rich flavour with few bones. It is often used in Japanese and Thai dishes.

Kelly said Huon’s venture, when fully operational, will be one of the biggest seafood operations in the state and is expected to create up to 3,000 direct and indirect jobs.

He said in a press statement: ‘To get an operator like Huon, who know what they’re doing and have the know-how to do aquaculture well, is great coup for Western Australia.

‘Aquaculture is something that, compared to other states, has been significantly underdone here.’

He said he felt confident that conventional activities in the area, such as lobster fishing and pearl diving, would not be affected.

‘Biosecurity is one of the key conditions up there, they understand [that] and it is in their interests — they have to make sure all of those things are taken into account,’ he said.

‘We think they’ve all been properly dealt with and we don’t anticipate any problems in that regard, but it is one of the monitoring requirements that will be ongoing.

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‘Huon have been operating in Tasmania for a long time. They have been highly successful, so we’re pretty confident that they’ll be operating successfully at the Abrolhos.’

Huon was started in 1986 by Peter and Frances Bender as a side activity to their family cattle and sheep farming business.

Producing 17,000 tonnes of salmon a year, it has since grown into one of the largest fish farming operations in Australia.

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05/11/2018 16:47:13

World News

Feed additives firm invests in Indian team NUTRIAD, the feed additives specialist, has boosted its aquaculture team in India with the appointment of a new sales manager.

Goud Dhanunjaya has a Master of Fisheries Science (Aquaculture) from the College of Fisheries, Ratnagiri, India, and 15 years’ hands-on experience in aquaculture sales and technical support to shrimp farms, shrimp hatcheries, aqua feed manufacturers and fish growers in Asia.

The Indian sub-continent has shown tremendous growth in aquaculture during the past decade, with shrimp production increasing in India from around 100,000 tonnes in 2010 to more than 800,000 tonnes this year.

India is widely expected to become the number one producer of shrimp, surpassing China, in 2019.

The region has a tremendous potential in terms of water and coastal resources for future growth.

And Bangladesh has dramatically increased the volume of farmed freshwater fish such as catfish, carp and tilapia.

Erik Visser, CEO of Nutriad, said: ‘The fast expansion of aquaculture is driving the need to solve a number of limiting factors for the industry, including the reduced availability of local fish oil and fishmeal and the increasing impact of diseases on productivity.’

Above: Goud Dhanunjaya

Nutriad has recently joined forces with Adisseo, which operates 11 research centres and has production sites in Europe, the US and China, from where the company designs, produces and markets nutritional solutions for sustainable animal feed.

‘Now that the integration of Nutriad and Adisseo is well advanced, we can offer the combined product portfolio of both our companies, as well as the service of local support teams, to build value adding species specific solutions for our customers,’ said Visser.

‘This is a very exciting development that will bring us accelerated growth into the aquaculture market in the coming years.’

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05/11/2018 16:47:34

All the latest industry news from around the world

Chile charges farmer over mass escape MARINE Harvest has been charged by Chile’s environmental regulator with breaching the terms of its permits, following the escape of hundreds of thousands of salmon from a facility in southern Chile in July.

Chile’s Environmental Superintendent (SMA) said the company had failed to properly maintain its infrastructure along the country’s coastline, allowing the fish to escape out to sea. ‘[Marine Harvest] risks the revocation of its environmental approvals, closure, or a fine,’ the SMA said in a statement.

The company was given up to 15 days (from October 31) to

contest the charges, or to file a plan to bring its operations back into compliance, the SMA said.

A spokesman for Marine Harvest said the company was reviewing the charges and planned to respond with ‘relevant information’.

After a storm damaged enclosures near the southern city of Calbuco, nearly 700,000 fish escaped, according to reports. Only around 38,000 of the fish, or 5.5 per cent, were recaptured, the SMA said.

Chile is the world’s second largest producer of salmon, after Norway.

Aqua Bounty in limbo in US as losses grow

AQUA Bounty, the Canadian farmer of transgenic salmon, reported a net loss for the first nine months of 2018 of $7.96 million, up from $6.60 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The company, headquartered in Prince Edward Island, attributed the downfall to pre-production and production costs at its land based salmon farm in Indiana, in the US, and to R&D activities at its Canadian hatchery.

Aqua Bounty has begun rearing traditional Atlantic salmon eggs at this farm while waiting for approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to import its AquAdvantage salmon eggs.

The US authorities have already approved AquaAdvantage salmon for consumption in the US but the company is in limbo until the FDA decides how the fish should be labelled.

The company, which has spent more than 20 years pioneering genetically

modified salmon that can grow faster than conventional farmed stocks, has finalised a loan of CA$2 million (US$1.6 million) from the Department of Economic Development of Prince Edward Island.

This will be used to complete construction of the company’s 250 tonne production facility at its Rollo Bay hatchery in Prince Edward Island.

Ronald Stotish, CEO of AquaBounty, said: ‘In this quarter, we commenced grow-out of non-transgenic Atlantic salmon at our site in Albany, Indiana, which will allow us to begin utilising this facility and to make any necessary adjustments to our processes or standard operating procedures while we wait for the FDA import alert on AquAdvantage salmon to be lifted.’

AquaBounty is currently growing its transgenic salmon in Panama, to sell in Canada, where it won approval for sale in 2016.

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World news.indd 15

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05/11/2018 16:47:50

Conferences and exhibitions – Aqua Sur

GREAT show Scottish sector explores opportunities in Chile

W

ITH salmon production in Chile reaching record levels (according to aquaculture information management firm Aquabench) in the last few months, and the market strong, a small but representative Scottish delegation descended on the biennial Aqua Sur exhibition, held in Puerto Montt in October.

Salmon farming in Chile generates a reported 35,000 direct jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs in the Los Lagos region alone and there are significant opportunities for enterprising overseas suppliers.

Taking advantage of these was Dundee based Ace Aquatec, which had its own stand at the show for the first time (see Containment, page 44), while OTAQ and the Institute of Aquaculture were represented on the UK’s GREAT booth, set up by the British Chambers of Commerce and the embassy.

Also there from Scotland were delegates from Marine Scotland, Scottish Development International, the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), and Scottish Enterprise.

Tasmyn Ewart, of Scottish Enterprise, which supported Ace Aquatec’s presence at the show, said Chile – and South America – offer a huge opportunity for innovative Scottish companies through the aquaculture supply chain.

‘The event was a great opportunity for collaboration between universities, research institutions and Chilean counterparts,’ she told Fish Farmer.

The GREAT stand featured Swansea University and CEFAS, too, but was dominated by Scotland and promoted Scotland’s sustainable aquaculture sector.

The embassy pulled together a programme for the participants of the GREAT stand to go and visit a Marine Harvest site at Chiloe Island, and gain an overview of the aquaculture sector in the country.

And the British ambassador, Jamie Bowden, organised a series of technical talks led by the UK participants, and hosted a networking reception.

There were a number of talks by Chilean government and research institutions around the direction of the Chilean market, said Ewart, with the very clear message that they wanted to grow but must do so sustainably.

SAIC’s senior innovation manager Don Fowler said he was there to assess the market opportunity for Scottish/UK supply chain businesses in Chilean aquaculture, and to seek collaborative opportunities for Scottish aquaculture.

‘They are still in recovery and adapting to new regulations on biomass and stocking, and going through a site re-location exercise,’ said Fowler.

‘But with the right synergies between the regulators and companies and communities, the future looks optimistic.The challenges remain, which are opportunities – sea lice, algal blooms, emerging diseases and predation control.’

He said he had good discussions with Intesal (the Instituto Tecnológico del Salmón), which may lead to joint Scotland/Chile projects.

And he visited the Marine Harvest site as part of the UK delegation, and alongside the Canadian delegation.

This, he said, was very interesting, with 5,000 tonnes biomass and 6,000 tonnes consent.

‘The Chilean market is large, three times as big as Scotland’s, and there is real opportunity for supply chain companies from the UK and Scotland.’

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the “With right

synergies between the regulators and companies and communities, the future looks optimistic’

Making the most of these opportunities will require an innovation mindset with innovative products, fluency in the language, cultural understanding and local market presence. He also noted a strong presence from Canadian and Danish companies at Aqua Sur. Following the enthusiasm of this year’s Scottish mission, there has been talk of a Scottish stand at the 2020 exhibition, along the lines of the

”

Above: Marine Scotland’s Alasdair Mitchell and Mike Palmer; SAIC’s Don Fowler and the Institute of Aquaculture’s James Dick; visiting a Marine Harvest site in Chile

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05/11/2018 16:12:56

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05/11/2018 11:14:25

Industry platform - Marine Harvest

BY SEAN ANDERSON

Salmon farming: the facts Marine Harvest’s Seawater Area Manager sets the record straight on the industry’s environmental credentials and the benefits the sector brings to local communities and to human health

R

ECENT media coverage of salmon farming has offered a snapshot of the aquaculture industry and largely portrayed it in a negative light. For those of who work as salmon farmers and suppliers to the industry, this media storytelling bears no relation to our day to day reality and the improvements made over recent years to produce top quality salmon, which is in growing demand worldwide.

When I host visitors to my salmon farms, they are often fascinated to learn first-hand about what we do to care for our fish over its three-year lifecycle. It’s this balance that has often gone missing from recent media reports.

Yes, challenges do occur and farmers must overcome them, but there are also important successes, innovations, and benefits to the community and human health.

Below are some of the interesting discussions about my career that I have enjoyed while hosting visitors to my salmon farms.

Salmon farming has a much smaller impact on the environment than many media reports would suggest. Far from producing amounts of waste equivalent to large towns, it is important to point out that waste from fish is not the same as waste from humans.

It is estimated that organic waste from salmon farming accounts for less than five per cent of the total organic matter reaching the sea from land. It is also estimated that, in 2016, Scotland’s 6.8 million sheep excreted about twice as much nitrogenous waste as farmed salmon, while producing only a quarter as much food.

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Salmon farming also remains one of the most efficient protein production systems, benefiting from CO2 emissions one-tenth of beef.

Far from being an environmental risk, producing farmed fish in the oceans is a significant part of the solution to the pressures placed on our limited lands that are available for farming.

According to the National Farmers Union, about 80 per cent of Scotland’s land mass is used for agricultural production, which is the ‘single biggest determinant of the landscape’.

Scotland is known around the world for its stunning beauty, attracting millions of visitors each year.

Its agriculture is and should be celebrated. But in comparison, aquaculture uses the sea to grow fish in their natural environment, providing around 40 per cent of the country’s food export value while using less than 0.02 per cent of Scotland’s available coastline.

With aquaculture taking up so little space to grow such a large proportion of the world’s protein, many people will never have seen a salmon farm- which is both good and bad. Good that it highlights aquaculture’s very efficient food production model, but bad that most people’s understanding of the industry is largely left to news outlets to communicate, and not first-hand experience.

Negative media coverage gives the impression of ailing fish and poor growing conditions, whereas we salmon farmers know that is far from the reality.

We know that it makes no commercial sense to neglect the welfare of our fish and to employ anything but the best husbandry techniques. Healthy, tasty, top quality salmon is in huge demand by consumers.

Salmon grow best in clean, unpolluted waters so it only makes sense for us to keep the environment we work in as untouched as possible. Negligent practices lead to poor quality fish, which would soon be rejected by our customers.

Land based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are often refered to as a wholesale replace-

“

We need to be ever more transparent and encourage people to visit our farms to see our successes

”

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05/11/2018 16:11:06

Salmon farming: the facts

ment for farming fish in the sea.

However, our decades of experience investing in these systems to grow our salmon in its freshwater phase (to about 150 grams) has shown that much more work needs to be done before it could be considered a viable alternative for growing salmon to market size.

As an example, over the last five years at Marine Harvest Scotland we have spent £47 million growing smolts from eggs in our RAS hatcheries. To produce 160,000 tonnes of market sized salmon using the same systems would cost the Scottish salmon industry £4.7 billion, resulting in farm raised salmon, which is currently considered a reasonably priced and healthy source of protein, rocketing in price at the supermarket.

The sheer size of the premises required to grow fish on land is also one of the main issues. For example, our new freshwater hatchery in Glenmoriston is the size of two football pitches and produces 800 tonnes of fish per cycle.

For Scotland to just keep up with current demand (160,000 tonnes per year) the industry would need 200 buildings of a similar size to our hatchery.

For ease of transporting fish to the market, these would be moved to the Central Belt, or even further south, probably to industrial estates where planning permission was not an issue, wiping out the hundreds of well-paid jobs salmon farming provides across the Highlands and islands.

Whereas we utilise the ocean’s natural tidal power to flow oxygen-rich water over a salmon’s gills, land based systems would require power hungry buildings requiring energy to pump, heat, cool and treat incoming and outgoing water.

My farms are certified to the RSPCA welfare standards, which are very strict about providing a comfortable environment for our fish. In order to make land based farm economically comparable, densities of fish would be up to 10 times higher than what we carry in a sea pen.

Clockwise from top: Muck Our salmon are grown in pens which are 1.5 per cent fish and 98.5 per cent farm, one of the farms water.

Sean manages (photo: Recently quoted figures also give the impression that the higher levels of MHS); Sean Anderson mortality experienced over the past year are commonplace and an accepted (photo: Sean); Inchmore RAS plant (photo: MHS). part of salmon farming. This is definitely not the case.

At Marine Harvest, 65 per cent of the overall mortality at our farms in 2017 Opposite: Caring for fish feeding with the newest occurred at only 10 of our 49 sites and we are working hard to rectify this. equipment (photo Last year was particularly challenging but this has certainly not been the MHS) norm in the salmon farming industry – unlike in the dairy and beef industries, where an average of 25-30 per cent of cattle in UK dairy herds are removed annually due to illness, and the Scottish upland sheep farming industry, where between 25-50 per cent of lambs expected by pregnant ewes are lost to unexplained causes each year.

As I write this, our farms are experiencing the best fish survival we’ve seen

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Industry Platform.indd 19

in five years, and our sea lice levels are the lowest they’ve been in over 12 years. This is very good news – but unfortunately not the kind of news that would be shared at six o’clock.

All in all, the issues faced by the salmon farming industry are complex but the situation is far more positive than much of the media coverage we attract would suggest.

At Marine Harvest, we regularly host visits to our farms from people who tell us they are astonished at how the reality differs from what they have heard from our critics.

This would suggest we need to be ever more transparent and actively encourage people to visit our farms to see our successes for themselves. FF

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05/11/2018 16:11:27

News extra – Training and education

BY MARTYN HAINES

Mapping the route ahead Industry scrutinises skills needed for sector growth

W

HEN planning a long and complex journey it is an age-old maxim that it helps to be sure of where you are starting from.

We sometimes wish that the starting line was in a different place, but as our leaders often say, ‘we are where we are, so let’s look forward with honesty and realism’.

There was a refreshing dose of realism during the recent Aquaculture Skills Review Action Plan Development Workshop held in Aviemore on October 26 and led by Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

This gathering was called in response to the Skills Review, initiated by the Aquaculture Industry Leadership Group 2030, the results of which were published in May 2018.

The report was well received and certainly made clear where the starting line is with respect to some key workforce development issues.

And although many of the solutions are in the hands of the education and training sector, and agencies supporting aquaculture workforce development, the industry has a vitally important role to play, which was emphasised throughout the day.

Representatives from the fish producer and supply sectors joined those involved in the development and delivery of aquaculture education and training, and set to work.

By the end of the day, the bones of an action plan were beginning to emerge, and a draft framework will undergo consultation and refinement before approval and release early next year.

Opaque qualifications Undertaken in five sub-groups, each tackling a different issue, we proposed ‘high level actions’ and associated activities which were presented during the plenary.

Our group was addressing the lack of ‘transparency, recognition and transferability of aquaculture training and qualifications’ highlighted by the Skills Review.

A growing issue plaguing the industry’s HR

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managers had been highlighted. Commonly, they are receiving job applications from candidates referring to courses, training and in company qualifications that are an unknown quantity, to everyone other than the company that previously employed them.

As a result, some employers have become more reliant on references, followed by their own appraisal and/or staff development systems, post appointment, than qualifications. Problem solved?

Not really, as many recruits end up repeating courses and training that they have previously undertaken to a different company format or provided by a different external trainer. This is frustrating for all involved and represents a duplication of effort and an inefficiency that needs to be challenged.

Revising the occupational map So, what high level actions arose in response to this clearly articulated problem? A number were agreed, but a review of the occupations that exist in aquaculture today was an overarching requirement.

The producers and technology suppliers in the group quickly recognised that advances in technology and techniques have been accelerating.

As is the case for other northern European producer countries, the aquaculture workforce has been restructuring. Today, it includes many specialists who may have high level technical operative skills across a narrow field of activity, and generalists, including fish husbandry staff and site managers with a wider perspective and astute awareness of fish health, growth and welfare.

The group concluded that the industry needs redefining in some detail, effectively redrawing the ‘occupational map’ for Scottish aquaculture.

Any “ review is

only as good as those engaged in the process

”

National Occupational Standards Although Scotland is blessed with a world class vocational education and training system, governed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, we may be failing to take full advantage of all that it can offer.

Vocational Qualifications validated by the SQA must be underpinned

by National Occupational Standards (NOS). The NOS is a definition of the knowledge and skills required by each occupation, and can be used to drive staff development, leading to a fully competent workforce.

In the absence of an up to date and comprehensive NOS it is very hard for education providers to develop National Qualifications (NQs) that are Above: The industry has understood and respected by industry. a vitally important role It was pointed out that a couple of years ago the aquaculture NOS were to play reviewed in Scotland. However, can we be confident that those with the best knowledge of the technology deployed by industry now and in the future were at the table?

Hence the rallying call during the workshop for the industry’s full and active involvement was music to my ears, as any review is only as good as

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/11/2018 16:09:36

Mapping the route ahead

those engaged in the process.

Without a well informed and respected NOS, any subsequent rebuild of our education and training supply could become an anarchistic melee.

BlueEDU research findings Recent research by the European BlueEDU Sector Skills Alliance within Scotland has indicated that many respondents believed that the current NOS was incomplete and a little dated in places, and emerging specialist occupations were not well defined, further strengthening the case for a root and branch review.

With a broad church of industry experts involved, including experienced fish production managers and those supplying the technology, each occupation can be analysed, defining the skills and knowledge required.

Once completed, the education and training supply can be mapped to the revised aquaculture NOS resulting from this process.

Equivalent qualifications and certificates that provide the knowledge and skills required, including duplicates, can then be recognised across all companies and any gaps in the national portfolio of available courses and qualifications identified.

Courses and qualifications Within this process it will be essential that we do not confuse a ‘course’ with a ‘qualification’. One can lead to the other, but in the absence of an effective quality assured assessment of the course attendee, the imparting of knowledge and development of skills cannot be assumed.

If it is, we are not seriously embarking on a journey towards increased ‘transparency, recognition and transferability of aquaculture training and qualifications.’

Or worse still, we have failed to understand where we are starting from and what we want to achieve, before we work out how we are going to get there!

Martyn Haines is director of Pisces Learning Innovations, an education consultancy, and partner within the BlueEDU Aquaculture Sector Skills Alliance, and welcomes your questions. He can be contacted by phone (01387 840697) and by email: info@pisceslearning.com). FF

WORLDclass research a L LT E C H C O P P E N S A Q U A C E N T R E

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05/11/2018 16:10:00

Trade Associations – Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation

BY JULIE HESKETH-LAIRD

Record results Production figures give great confidence in the sector’s ability to grow

L

AST year was positive for Scottish salmon farming production, according to new figures published in October by the Scottish government.

The Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey for 2017, produced by Marine Scotland Science, reported that 189,707 tonnes were harvested, the sector’s highest ever output.

The official annual statistical bulletin also reported increases of just over three million smolts put to sea, as well as other measures of productivity.

The level of survival on farms has also improved, to 79.1 per cent compared to 73.3 per cent in the previous year.

At the same time as delivering such impressive production volumes and survival rates, the sector’s exports reached an all-time high, with sales of £600 million to more than 50 countries worldwide.

Such figures are, of course, very welcome for our sector. The good results are testament to the hard work and commitment of so many dedicated salmon farmers in the Highlands and islands and the global recognition of Scottish salmon’s enviable premium market position.

Demand for quality Scottish salmon continues to outstrip supply by some margin and the sector aspires to grow to meet demand.

However, we also recognise the importance of steady, sustainable develop-

ment. These new figures, alongside our investment in tackling emerging challenges, give us great confidence in the sector’s ability to achieve sustainable growth over the coming years.

Like other farming sectors, salmon farmers must plan for and respond to environmental challenges.

There is a significant amount of work going on to support this.

Salmon farmers have invested more than £60 million in new technologies and improved farming techniques, research projects and cleaner fish to remove naturally occurring sea lice which thrive in warmer temperatures.

Ahead of an anticipated dip in production in 2018 arising from gill health issues during autumn 2017, which affected salmon due for harvest in 2018, the sector is putting investment in place to help smooth fluctuations in production.

There is an increased move towards the use of

Opposite: Investing in growth

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05/11/2018 16:08:15

Record results recirculation aquaculture systems to ensure the growth of more robust smolts, along with the installation of continuous environmental monitoring and other camera technology to closely monitor fish behaviour once at sea.

The industry’s commitment to continued improvement is evident in the newly established farm-by-farm reporting of sea lice levels, which has shown that, on the whole, lice levels during 2018 are at a five-year low.

It is particularly encouraging to see that the report confirms an improvement in the industry’s farmed salmon survival figures as a result of the ongoing investment in this area.

Farmers are leading contributors to the Scottish government’s Farmed Fish Health Framework, the 10-year strategy for continued improvement in fish health, which encourages collaboration between industry, regulators and scientists.

Farmers continue to strive to improve fish health and salmon survival and we are seeing real progress and benefits coming from the new innovations, initiatives and investments.

These investments signal optimism in a strong long-term future for farmed Scottish salmon, cemented by wider investments in the sector’s supply chain.

This includes landmark developments such as Marine Harvest’s £105 million project to deliver a 170,000-tonne fish feed facility and visitor centre at Kyleakin, Skye, which is already underway and due to open in the near future. Proof that we are not standing still.

All of this matters for so many reasons and for so

“

many people. Salmon farming is an increasingly important sector of Scotland’s economy and it is in some of the most remote parts of the country where its value is truly felt.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) recently reported that employment in the industry and the wider supply chain topped 10,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Charlotte Wright, chief executive of HIE, commented on the production survey following its release: ‘These figures are good news for Scottish aquaculture and show the significant social contributions the industry makes to remote rural, island and coastal areas by supporting high-skilled jobs, diversifying and protecting communities.

‘Salmon farming is a major contributor to the Highlands and islands economy and brings additional business opportunities to the area.

‘We have supported the aquaculture industry since its inception and as a vital sector which provides many jobs for rural communities.’

These supportive comments are welcomed and those who work to further the success of salmon farming can take pride in them.

The survey is a timely reminder of the great work the Scottish salmon farming sector is doing to grow sustainably and support jobs across the Highlands and islands.

Julie Hesketh-Laird is chief executive of the SSPO. FF

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05/11/2018 16:08:39

Trade Associations – British Trout Association

Still at the table

Post-Brexit, the EU’s influence will continue to loom large

BY DOUG MCLEOD

I

T must be somewhat ironic that, as we approach next year’s Brexit date of March 30, I am finding that an increasing proportion of my time is absorbed by/devoted to discussions at the European level.

Two recent visits to attend meetings of the Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) in Brussels involved discussion of issues relating to fish welfare (with a particular focus on transport and slaughter), structural funding (specifically the successor to the current European Maritime and Fisheries Fund), feed ingredients (fish in/ fish out ratios, responsible sourcing and novel ingredients), definition of sustainability (failure to achieve agreement between AAC participants – ‘quelle surprise’!), the launch of the ‘fitness check’ of the Water Framework Directive, the consultation on the Open Method of Coordination (national multiannual development strategies) and microplastics in fish.

Maybe I’m just not in the loop but, with the exception of future structural funding, where there is the prospect of Defra/industry debate over future support for the industry, I am not aware of equivalent discussions taking place at a UK or Scottish level, and these are issues that are certainly wider than the EU and relevant to the UK industry.

I would suggest that this is because there is no equivalent forum where stakeholders (industry and other) can debate the issues and produce consensus views to submit to government.

The Aquaculture Industry Leadership Group in Scotland and the Seafood Industry Leadership Group in England may generate strategic policy positions to submit to government, but these are solely industry perspectives and lack the additionality of other stakeholders, which – while constraining an industry dominated advisory capacity – gives the AAC a greater degree of stakeholder legitimacy.

The first AAC meeting of the autumn, the September general assembly, was also marked by the death in the previous month of the chairman, Richie Flynn. His absence from the Brussels aquaculture scene leaves a significant gap in the industry’s presence.

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Flynn’s knowledge and insight into how the Brussels bureaucratic machine operates was second to none, and his ability to consider issues in the context of the big picture of multiple regulations and directives always impressed. He will be sadly missed.

The British Trout Association Annual Conference and AGM at Sparsholt in mid-September also enjoyed a European flavour this year, with a keynote address from Courtney Hough, secretary general of the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers, who assessed future opportunities and challenges for the European trout farming industry.

And Brian Thomsen, director of the Danish Aquaculture Organisation, gave an insightful description of the current Danish aquaculture scene, characterised by intense political currents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I find it difficult to believe that, post-Brexit, we will not continue to have close ties with our EU based colleagues, and that Europe will not continue to have a significant influence on our UK industry.

It will be a pity that our role at the table will be much reduced, although there will undoubtedly be some advantages from being a third country.

However, the EU will not fade into an ethereal presence but will continue to loom large in influencing many aspects of our operations and activities.

And I expect to continue to collaborate with European colleagues, even if it will be as an interested observer, rather than a full member of organisations such as the AAC. FF

expect “toI collab-

orate with European colleagues, even as an interested observer

”

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/11/2018 16:05:40

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05/11/2018 11:27:10

Comment

BY DR MARTIN JAFFA

Own GOAL

Global reach may not have much relevance locally

I

SUSPECT that most people reading this were not aware that the Global Aquaculture Alliance recently held their GOAL (Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership) meeting in Guayquil in Ecuador.

They were expecting 400-plus (375 turned up) aquaculture professionals from more than 30 different countries to attend, with many coming from the Americas.

The organisation has been around for about 20 years and says its mission is to promote responsible aquaculture practices through education, advocacy and demonstration.

I can’t say that I have been aware of GAA’s activities other than they did recently award the Scottish Salmon Company their Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification.

The problem is that GAA have a global reach and thus seem to offer little in the way of regional interest. I wonder whether they are really relevant to what is happening in Scotland’s aquaculture sector.

Even salmon farming critic Don Staniford has recognised that sometimes a global reach has little relevance locally. He has shifted the focus from his Global GAAIA to Scottish Salmon Watch, although they are both just him.

There is nothing wrong in having a global organisation but, at the same time, shouldn’t GAA have a local presence? I don’t really want to have to travel halfway round the world to attend their conference. Next year, the conference is being held in India. Why not GAA Scotland or GAA UK? Despite being many thousands of miles away, I have come across one or two reports from the GOAL conference and these relate to seafood marketing.

This is understandably important to GAA as they are, among other things, involved in the certification of farmed fish and seafood. After all, there is no point in producing fish and seafood in the most responsible or sustainable way, if the market isn’t interested in buying it. This is one of the conflicts in marketing that clearly requires a resolution.

One of the aspects of marketing that was raised at the conference was the question of farmed versus wild in relation to salmon. This is more of an American issue simply because the US has a significant wild salmon industry of its own, whereas most farmed salmon is imported.

Bert Bachmann of Chilean salmon farming company Camanchaca told the GOAL conference that, in the past, sales of farmed salmon would decline as the wild salmon season got underway. He said that this no longer

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Martin Jaffa.indd 26

happens and that demand for farmed salmon remains consistent.

This is of no surprise, given that American consumers have always shown a preference for value for money farmed Atlantic salmon, as fresh wild salmon can be relatively pricy and is seasonal.

Farmed salmon can be a much more attractive proposition, especially as it’s available all year round.

Bachmann said that once farmed salmon might be targeted at those who chose to eat wild Pacific salmon, but this was no longer the case.

The real target for farmed salmon are those who don’t eat any fish but choose to eat chicken, pork or beef. And this market is large enough for both wild and farmed salmon.

There is a similar discussion underway in the UK but not between farmed and wild. It focuses on trying to persuade consumers to eat alternative species to the ‘big five’ but I think such a discussion is misplaced.

Rather than widen the range of species, any fish marketing must be directed towards those who don’t eat fish.

The “ issue is not

farmed versus wild, it is getting consumers to eat more fish and seafood

”

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Own GOAL

Above: Salmon farm in southern Chile

Surely, it’s good if consumers already eat fish so why distract them from continuing to do so by telling them that they should be eating something else, and not the fish that they clearly like to eat.

It makes no sense, in much the same way that fighting over market share between wild and farmed makes no sense.

Another speaker at the conference was Maria Molde from Datassential, a market research company specialising in the food market.

Molde told the GOAL audience that a new study has shown that US consumers are reluctant to try farmed produce. She said that 53 per cent of consumers and 42 per cent of suppliers prefer fish and seafood from the wild rather than farmed.

According to Molde, the reasons for the negative attitude to farmed produce include antibiotic use, unnatural farming techniques and welfare issues.

I suspect that such attitudes date back to the demarketing campaigns against farmed salmon that ran during the early 2000s. Such was the spend on these campaigns that these attitudes have become significantly entrenched.

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Martin Jaffa.indd 27

However, my experience is that what consumers say and what consumers do are two very different things.

Molde told the conference that shrimp is the most popular seafood for consumers who eat out. Shrimp is served at 65 per cent of restaurants while salmon is served at 43 per cent and tuna at 38 per cent. She added that tilapia continues to experience negative growth in restaurants.

My suspicion is that Molde believes that tilapia is an example of a farmed fish and shrimp and salmon are wild. Thus, tilapia being a farmed species is failing to obtain consumer interest, while the others do.

David Weir, the buyer for Meijer supermarket, also spoke at the conference. He said that buyers like him love to innovate, such as offering new species. However, he said that consumer demand does not match their enthusiasm for new fish species.

I mention Weir because Meijer is a typical mid-range US supermarket.

Meijer sells nine different packs of frozen shrimp, including raw and cooked. Three of the packs are prominently labelled as ‘wild caught’ on the front of the pack, while the other six don’t carry such labelling.

The three wild caught packs all state ‘Product of the USA’, the other six don’t. The other six packs are labelled L. vannamei, a species of shrimp typically grown on farms.

Shoppers at Meijer don’t seem to have a problem with farmed seafood. As Bachmann rightly pointed out, the issue is not farmed versus wild. What the issue is, is getting consumers to eat more fish and seafood, but it is an issue that never seems to be properly addressed. FF

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l columns from pointed Minister for the Environment, Paul Wheelhouse. est aquaculture Looking further afield there are also interesting insights – ASSG SG and SSPOTrade – to Associations into oyster growing around the globe and also an t topics of the day overview of the Hungarian aquaculture industry, which is ors respectively. beginning to evolve from production of carps to higher Trade Associations - Association Scottish Shellfish d we hope you’ll value predatory fish. Weofhope you Shellfi enjoy sh all Growers the changes. FF

Rob Fletcher News Editor

Shellfish - International focus

has 0 years of the stry. Now ournalist, er food magazine.

ry Board

s

ons culture

BY JANET BROWN H BROWN

Paul Wheelhouse is Scotland’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change and is an MSP for the South of Scotland.

Janet Brown works to support and promote all aspects of sustainable shellfish culture and restoration via The Shellfish Team and edits The Grower.

Buoyant business The other side of thein pond Put some mussels Saving the planet

What do Chinese and Scottish shellfish aquaculture have in common?

Reducing salmon liceofinfection it starts – canlearn bivalves help?from the Can the Association Scottishbefore Shellfish Growers anything 8 HealthELL,and environmental benefi ts of shellfi sh visiting the is Instiorganised? tute of Oceanology, at the Chinese Academy of Science (IOCAS) the quick answer that questi on is that it is not volume ofAssociation way America’s East toCoast Shellfish Growers production.

China outstrips not only Scotland but just about every- in Qingdao, plus several conversations, what follows is an insight into a very highlighted at annual conference own or in association with phytoplankton. small part of Chinese shellfitheir sh aquaculture. where in terms of production of all types of mollusc.

W AD

No, what they have in common is that the greater part of the culturerSSOCIATION isRobert suspended culture.

I had ve not fully appreciated, until I our gaveannual a talk in B Rheault – more commonly chief executi Dr Nick Lake, opening China on oyster aquaculture in the UK (Fish Farmer, May 2018), that the Scotknown as ‘Skid’ Rheault (Rheault being conference, made a good case for the claim in the title, ‘Scotti sh tish emphasis on suspended culture owed a lot to the quirk of Scotti sh law that pronounced ‘row’) or Bob – set up the Cultivated Shellfish: Our Role in Saving the Planet’. had theEast Crown owning all the rights tots the and mussels seabed.

Shellfish Growers Association HeCoast pointed out the benefi foroysters human nutriti on, on thethe low carols Why didin the Chinese up suspended aquaculture?

I assume it in relates (ECSGA) 2004 andtake has been its executive bon footprint farming, which becomes even more impressive com-to maximising the on by using three dimensions in their very intensive directorto forterrestrial sixproducti years.agriculture, parison and the ecosystem services shellfish d culture.

Since we now bett er understand the ecological benefi ts of undisSkid became involved in the idea of an asculture provides. turbed habitat on theheseabed and the complex ecosystem that can be as built, this sociation because hadresponsible been working an sh farmers He also highlighted the roleasshellfi play is a goodfarmer thing toinhave in common. oyster aenvironment, state withoutciti anngaquaculguardians of the a specific case where the late Theindustry species are the in oneawareness respect, the oystertoCrassosture at also theGibbon timesame – raised Rhode Island.

Commander Philip ofJapanese the damage shellfish gigas.

But everything else appears very diff erent.

On the basisTBT of one day rectory trea ‘I had to be very active on the state level to populations being done by the anti-fouling paint containing some spent visiti hatcheries in Laizhou (north west of Qingdao) and one morning get things going,’ he said.

‘I established a state years ago.ng growers’ association with a few allies, started This responsibility now conti nues, with problems such as Didemnum surer, Steve Bracken, Herve Miguad, Sunil Kadri and Ken Hughes writing an industry newsletter and sent it to all vexillum, the invasive carpet sea squirt. n: Andrew Balahura the state legislators, brought in guest speakers But shellfi sh farmers also need the good environment and the regwds wdowds@fi shupdate.com Publisher: Alister Bennett from other states where things were going ulatory means to protect this good environment, so it is not entirely Fax: +44 (0)well 131and 551where 7901 e-mail: editor@fishfarmer-magazine.com selfless vigilance.nary a negative word was .com www.fiheard. shupdate.com we got to some andof shellfish in saving the If NickEventually seemed anxious justitraction fy the role fixed thatworried were2DL holding back ettes Park, 496planet, Ferrythe Road, Edinburgh EH5 heregulations needn’t have since Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet NTEGRATED multi-trophic the industry.’ er’, P.O. Box 1,Secretary Crannog Lane, LochavullinClimate Industrial Estate, Oban, PA34 for Environment, Change and LandArgyll, Reform, was 4HB both aquaculture (IMTA) aims This led onphilosophically to a larger consortium, withhim a when she addressed deleliterally and right behind 0) 1631 568001 to reduce the environClockwise from top right: number of growers getting together at various board. gates, arguing that everyone f world £95 including postage.

All Air Mail.needed to get onmental impacts of monECSGA meeting; oyster; meetings and the idea of establishing an East First, however, she stressed the importance of the aquaculture inoculture of fish byRobert farming them in ietors Wyvex Coast MediaShellfish Ltd by Headley Brothers Ltd., Ashford, Kent ISSN 0262-9615 Dr B Rheault.

Growers Association was banassociation with filter feeding molluscs, died about. They had seen how well organised and so remove particulate waste the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association m material and algae to utilise dissolved (PCSGA) had become, how effective they could nutrients. A further possibility has been considered be in meetings with regulators, how they - that of pest control. It sounds ideal: why not use the siphoning focused government research dollars toward power of mussels or other bivalves to take out the infectious key problems – they wanted that. stage of the sea louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis?

While setting up the ECSGA, Skid continued This is a free swimming planktonic stage, the copepodid. Since the size to run his own company, farming and marof this infective stage is around 500μm, it is within the range of particle keting oysters trading as Moonstone Oysters size that can be taken up by mussels, although their normal diet of phytoworking out of Narragansett, Rhode Island, plankton is much smaller. and he is still an adjunct faculty member in Initial trials carried out in the University of Maine demonstrated that the University of Rhode Island’s Department mussels in experimental situations did indeed take up the copepodids. of Fisheries and Aquaculture. He established They were found in the stomachs of mussels but also in other parts of the East Coast Shellfish Research Institute the mussel, but the main point was that they were clearly being removed and has been successful in attracting several from the water column.

Researchers further north, in New Brunswick, Canada, looked at a wider 12 range of filter feeding bivalves and also looked at the effects of temperature, shellfish individual size and whether the sea lice were presented on

26

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28 22 012-013_ff03.indd 32 ASSG.indd 22 28 ASSG.indd

12

The of bivalves were basket The hatcheries I visited were allspecies reminiscent of basicused shrimp hatcheries, cockles, (Clinocardium nutt allii), Pacificoncentratc oysters which they may well have been once since this area had previously substantial federal research grants to address critical industry research (Crassostrea gigas), mussels (Mytilus edulis and ed on shrimp aquaculture before disease wiped it out. priorities.

M galloprovincialis and hybrids) and Pacific Theyhas were laid outgrown on the sameisbasic lines, withtheir square concrete tanks How theallECSGA and it still growing? scallops (unconfi rmed hybrids ofhatcheries Mizuhopectfor larval rearing, but the scale of them was impressive.

The now We grow in membership by about 10 to 20 per cent a year and we ensuccession yessoensis x Pati nopecten caurinus), which produce different species using same then had a sharp increase thisinpast year, but wethe still onlysystems, have a scallops, small fracwere obtained fromgastropods, commercial growers in oysters, then in some cases abalone and other of which more tion of the industry as members. Of the estimated 1,300 farms on the Island, British Columbia. later.Coast, we only have Vancouver East about 15 per cent. The nature of the industry For theways trials, were provide placed individually The system is integrated in other too.bivalves Scallop shells thewho settleis such that many farmers are very small, part-time operations in two litreoyster containers with 450 copepodids in ment material for the oysters and the spat are sold att ached to these won’t pay dues. There are few large farms, and several of these believe 750ml of water. scallop shells. they don’t need to join an association. They can hire their own lobbyist.

Allleast four species were to ingest Theyare settthe le atmain a density of at per shell, butfound often far higher.the They are What issues facing20 ECSGA? larvae, and temperature wasareas not aassignifi then grown on in the same tanks as there are no nursery such.cant The We spend a lot of time and energy dealing with shellfish sanitation factor.

Large shellfi sh individuals ingested far shells can then be broken to allow the oysters more room to grow.

They aremy issues. Vibrio parahaemolyticus control seems to dominate much of more than small. eventually grown on in lantern nets. time. We are also trying to rectify the trade war with the EU so we can Of the species investigated, scallops were Of thesome very many hatcheries ng in Laizhou (of aintotal of 3,000 in north restore of the lucrativeoperati connections we had EU markets five found to take in comm. greaterXiming numbers of2018) larvae, China and 5,000 in China as a whole – pers.

Guo onlybut five years ago. We are trying to get acknowledgement for the ecosystem sizeOnly for size the cockles consumed theoysters most. and are producing triploid C. gigas. one is producing the tetraploid services we provide through nutrient credit trading, and we are conIn separate experiments, thethough shellfishis were this oneworking hatcherytois improve really controlling the technology even out of stantly water quality and expand harvestitareas. found to consume between 18 to 38 per cent of patent now.different chapters in the ECSGA or are members Are there mainly the hatcheries copepodids to them.

While They sell sperm to the other or presented the actual triploid larvae.

C. the oyster folk? bivalves took in the larvae regardless of whethhongkongensis is the only commercial oyster species cultured in China We represent about 60 per cent clam farms, 40 per cent oysterwhich farmsis er phytoplankton was present or not, they took not hatchery reared – it is collected aft er sett lement in estuarine areas and has and there is a nascent mussel industry. in a far higher proporti on of phytoplankton difficultyou to raise in hatcheries so far.

Iproved have heard talk at conferences about the importance of lobbydustry as a whole to Scotland with its £620 million gross value added. when both present.

Thewhat species scallop grown is the baywere scallop (Argopecten irradians), introing doofinyou advise?

She–said that marketi ngThis Scotti sh produce it presents itself as much from could bethan related to findings from duced in the early 1980s, producing more 800,000 tonnes. is really important tolandscape. ensure thatThis themarketi regulators don’t putreal youand out of aItpristi ne and beautiful ng has tosea be older work on the behaviour of lice larvae, This wasIfintroduced because of disease problems with the Chinese scallop, business. you are not involved in the process of writing the regula3 therefore we need to take careitofwas theshown environment. where that the copepodids can and is then now the species sinceconsequences it can be grown to market sizethey within tions, thepreferred lawproper of unintended that will The conference (held in the acti Corran Hallsdictates in Oban from take evasive on when they detect the one year. probably hurt you if you don’t protect yourself.

You need to participate October 4-5) started after the lunch - fias usual rich in omega 3 fatty befeeding flowatti eld bivalve.

This evasive Ithe heard from various sources that the tudeoftoaand environmental issuesofhad in scientific research, the outreach education your acids and deliciousness –haviour and,public appropriately, theviewed fithe rst talk wasYouTube on the can actually be in this changed radically in the past five to 10 years, in in that before this farmers could legislators.

By demonstrating the growth green jobs, the sustainable 08/02/2013 11:24:01 nutritional benefits of shellfi clip, sh. http://bit.ly/2neRpfg do more production or less anything, but much more controlled now. seafood and thewere ecosystem benefits, weacknowledged can enlist the that help Professor Baukje de Roos of the Rowett tute How can thisrelated be Insti applied in thepracti commercial I was curious to know how this atti tude toifhatchery ce. I of was of politicians when the regulators get crazy, or we have a need reshellfish are often left out of health exhortati onscomplicated. and unfairly The so; she on?inThis is more rst shown what wasEducating added to situati the water the hatcheries.

There were twoisfihuge search dollars. the legislators is a constant task.

There went on to explain how shellfi could actually make claims as a vely health issue Iissh the larvae of L salmonis are positi different products and although couldn’t the labels, was told turnover and they know nothing aboutunderstand your industry.

If youIdon’t have food for some qualiti es. phototacti c and will be found at greater concenthey were diff erent you brands of mixes ofsomeone several species ofitbacteria species time toofdothe it then need to pay to do forthe you.diff This isused why One things I found parti cularly interesti ng was erences trations in the surface metres of the sea.

Above: Mussels as probioti cs. busy professionals are members of trade associations.

Thisof behaviour wouldinhave to be accommoOpposite page: Scallops; was strikinginterest was the lack people working the hatcheries; water Is What export a major for your growers? dated for by the12 placement of theseemed shellfishtobut Pacifi c oysters exchange was manual and took place every hours but there We are experiencing an explosion in the market for oysters right be this is easily possible with suspended culture. almost young around. now, sono there is people not a lot of surplus production to send overseas, but And how effecti veno is longer it likelyviable to be?

I was told that many of the hatcheries were as they were Much the work IMTA and this being left behind by technology, butofthere clearlyon is demand foralso spaton and I saw www.fishfarmer-magazine.com potentialascontrol little evidence of much technology such. of sea lice has been carried out in the north eastern states of the US.may be A visit to IOCAS in Qingdao provided insights into where aquaculture

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The need for regular monitoring has “ been highlighted before but it seems the need is more pressing than ever ”

going. I was particularly interested to see that they were researching the cultiwww.fishfarmer-magazine.com www.fishfarmer-magazine.com vation of Rapana venosa (Asian rapa whelk), which I had seen being reared in 10:29:56 06/03/2015

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Saving the planet

between individual countries’ estimates of their population’s requirements, as shown in their national dietary guidelines - so much for uniformity within the EU! This information was from a recent publication by the professor in response to dramatic changes in nutritional values in farmed salmon, with reduced values for the important omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, and also in levels of vitamin D and selenium, which could influence the value of recommendations to eat fish generally.

Perhaps the shellfish industry could do more to promote the benefits of eating their products, generally low in lipid in absolute terms, but what lipid is present is all omega 3.

Shellfish is also a valuable source of vitamin D, selenium and vitamin B12.

Mussels and oysters are certainly in the same range as oily fish in terms of the long chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and the values for these valuable nutrients have also been shown to change little over the season.

There are opportunities for promotion of shellfish as a health benefit. To claim a product is a ‘source of’ a particular beneficial nutrient, it must contain at least 15 per cent of the recommended daily amount for that nutrient.

To say it is ‘high in’, it should provide more than 30 per cent. So, using these criteria, mussels and oysters could claim to be ‘high in’ N-3 PUFA and vitamin B12, with oysters ‘a source of’ zinc, and mussels ‘a source of’ iodine.

Morven Robertson, UK project manager for the Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE), followed with an upbeat report on work in European flat oyster restoration and the benefits thereof.

She explained the benefits that can follow from this, as already demonstrated by work pioneered in the US: increased biodiversity, improved water quality, denitrification, increases in fish population, as well as providing a valuable and nutritious food source.

Restoration is not new in that there is a long history of trying to restore oyster fisheries, but the focus on restoring the ecosystem services that the healthy productive oyster bed can provide is relatively new.

Morven highlighted a number of the projects in both the US and Europe, not all of which

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Opposite (top): Dr Nick Lake watching as Prof Baukje de Roos answers questions from the audience.

Opposite (below): Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, opens the conference.

Top: From left to right, Dr Nick Lake, Roseanna Cunningham and Stephen Cameron.

Right Judith Vajk of Caledonian Oysters and Douglas Wilson of Inverlussa Mussels display their awards for best native oyster and mussels respectively. with Elaine Jamieson of HIE. HIE generously sponsor these sought after awards. Left: Morven Robertson answers questions from the audience after a lively presentation.

could be covered in her lively talk but are available to view on the ASSG website (www.assg.org.uk ) in useful detail, along with other presentations from the conference.

The problems of the native oyster have been recognised for a long time. Mussels, while equally nutritious, have been seen as the species that is always there and always available. But is this still the case?

Three speakers touched on this potential issue, the first, Nicolas Chopin of BIM talking of his work on the mussel bed stock survey carried out each year around Ireland.

There had been a huge drop in recruitment: 20,000 tonnes recorded in 2012 and 3,500 tonnes in 2013. An INTERREG project has been set up between Ireland and Wales, part of which will investigate the settlement behaviour of the mussels in the Irish Sea. Michael Tait of Shetland Mussels spoke of the work on the mussel hatchery in Shetland, which probably would not have started had there not been problems in the past with mussel recruitment.

They have achieved some of their stated aims with getting spat out to sea - a total of 80 million larvae, one batch in 2017 and three batches this year - but there remain very many questions as the current project ends. These centre on the diametrically opposed factors of biology and economics.

There is also the unknown aspect as to what the benefits might be from the hatchery concept in terms of selective breeding and triploidy.

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Trade Associations - Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers

Åsa Strand of Gothenburg University was the third speaker on mussels, first setting the scene on mussel culture in Sweden. This has some interesting differences from Scotland, not least because mussels are grown as treatment against eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. Åsa reported that while the industry was small in Sweden, there were lots of new companies entering and moving away from traditional methods, using floating long line systems as there were increasing conflicts because of increasing tourism.

She also raised some real concerns regarding supply of seed globally, with reduced supply reported from as far afield as Newfoundland and Alaska. In Sweden, they had had reported concerns locally over lack of mussel spat but have only started work on this problem this year.

She provided evidence of varying levels of recruitment in different years where studies had been done over a long period, such as in the Wadden Sea, which showed that recruitment could be very sporadic.

She talked of a particular case where making a comparison with the ‘wrong’ year could give such a different picture as to what was going on with mussel populations and recruitment that it could be very misleading.

The need for regular monitoring has been highlighted before but it seems the need is more pressing than ever nowadays, but also the answer may lie with studying historic records (if such can be found) and looking into restoration of old mussel beds.

Adam Hughes of SAMS started his talk on shellfish production and ecosystem service by giving the audience a useful rejig of the world view. From the Scottish perspective, shellfish production is not the major part of the aquaculture industry, but mollusc production worldwide

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so dramatically outstrips fish, crustaceans and ‘other’ that the conference title once again earned its keep.

Adam was providing the factual evidence of the benefits of growing shellfish in terms of the ecosystem services they provide, not all of which are fully understood by any means, but

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Saving the planet

which are far too numerous to detail here.

They are, however, provided in clearly explained, annotated photographs on his presentation, also available at the ASSG website.

Adam’s talk was underlined by the presentation from Matthew Service of AFBI (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute), Northern Ireland.

He gave precise examples of where shellfish culture had demonstrated benefits in terms of Above: Nick Lake controlling eutrophication in Lough Foyle, while presents the cheque of course providing a product at the end. This, raised by the raffle to however, is done by mitigating the symptoms RNLI representatives, Richard Johnson (left), of eutrophication, not by nutrient removal.

With Northern Ireland being such an agriculcoxswain of Oban tural area there are problems with run off and lifeboat, and Mike how to maintain water quality, and he advised Robertson, chairman. the audience to build a greater interaction with Left: The editor, Jenny agriculture in order to get better mutual underHjul, with Gareth standing of issues.

Moore, editor of Fish Other talks addressed specific interests or Farming Expert, at updated the audience knowledge on certain the dinner. Top right: Conferring at the trade issues, such as Amanda Bryan, chair of Crown Estate Scotland (interim management), talking fair: from Navalu, of the changing structure of the organisation Romain Garnier and Nicolas Chopin of BIM. and how it is still very much working with the sector to help achieve Scottish shellfish farming Right: Col Bridges of ambitions.

Smart Oysters with Richard Slaski of SARF and Eleanor Adamson Claire McAsh. Col of the Fishmongers’ Company both gave talks gave a talk on the addressing funding issues, particularly related Australian oyster to shellfish research and the work of their farming scene. respective organisations in supporting the shellfish farming industry.

And Elaine Jamieson, of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, finished with an explanation as to

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and oysters are certainly in “theMussels same range as oily fish in terms of long chain poly unsaturated fatty acids ”

how HIE could help develop the business.

The case that we had a role in saving our planet had been made, the consumption of shellfish and seafood of all types had improved our health and wellbeing, and there had been much conferring among the delegates in the larger than ever trade fair.

The HIE-donated prize plates for best Scottish shellfish had been awarded after diligent work by the panel of judges, led by Nicki Holmyard, to Barra Oysters for best gigas oysters, Caledonian Oysters for best native oyster and Inverlussa Mussels for best mussels.

The next ASSG conference will be held from October 31 to November 1, 2019. FF

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Shellfish

Go Firth and

multiply

Glenmorangie gets oysters growing again by recreating extinct reefs

A

PROJECT between shellfish specialists and the Glenmorangie whisky distillery aims to recreate native oyster reefs in the Dornoch Firth, fished to extinction more than a century ago.

The second phase of the scheme, which began last year, will see 20,000 oysters introduced into the sea near Glenmorangie’s Highland base.

It is the first time such a restoration initiative has been attempted in Europe, although successful programmes have been conducted in the US. The Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP), a collaboration forged by Glenmorangie with Heriot-Watt University and the Marine Conservation Society, hopes to promote marine biodiversity in the Firth.

In 2017, researchers introduced the first 300 native European oysters- from the UK’s only sizea-

ble wild oyster population in Loch Ryan – to two sites in the Dornoch Firth in ballasted bags, to confirm that they would thrive in the water.

These oysters did thrive, with a survival rate in line with the highest expectations – up to 86 per cent on one site.

For the next phase of the project, a total of 20 tonnes of waste shell from the scallop and mussel industry were placed in two locations on the seabed in October, to form reefs mimicking the oysters’ natural habitat. This will help to stabilise the sediment and allow the oysters to grow on top.

Then, between now and next spring, 20,000 oysters will be placed on the first of the reefs.

The native oysters, all grown in the UK and cleaned and checked for disease and ‘unwanted hitchhikers’, will be regularly monitored, according to Glenmorangie.

Based on a successful outcome of the trial, numbers will be increased to 200,000 over three years. Over five years, the population will be built up to four million, spread over 40 hectares, restoring the self-sustaining oyster reefs that existed in the Firth until they were fished out in the 1800s.

An Independent Research Advisory Panel (IRAP) of leading European ma-

We are all “very proud

that the distillery has such a pioneering environmental project right on its doorstep

”

Left: Scientists lay native oysters on the reef.

Top: Glenmorangie’s Hamish Torrie and Dr Bill Sanderson. Opposite (above): Dr Sanderson inspects the shell used to recreate the reef; (right) Heriot-Watt student Seb Jemmett; native European oysters settle into their newly created home on the bottom of the Dornoch Firth

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DEEP background

rine scientists has also been created. Led by Professor John Baxter, the panel will have oversight of the DEEP project.

Hamish Torrie, Glenmorangie’s corporate social responsibility director, said: ‘We are very excited to move DEEP to its next stage and have been hugely encouraged by the enthusiastic support

that our meticulous, research led approach has received from a wide range of Scottish government agencies and native oyster growers – it is a truly collaborative effort.

‘We are all very proud that in our 175th year the distillery has such a pioneering environmental project right on its doorstep.’

Dr Bill Sanderson, associate professor of Marine Biodiversity at Heriot-Watt, said: ‘This is the first time anyone has tried to recreate a natural European oyster habitat in a protected area.

‘Working closely with Glenmorangie, we hope to create an outstanding environment for marine life in the Firth – and act as a driving force behind other oyster regeneration work across Europe.’ FF

The DEEP project is the first attempt to restore the endangered native European oyster to a protected area where it has become extinct.

Begun in 2014, DEEP is delivered through a partnership between Glenmorangie, which has provided seed funding, Heriot-Watt University through research and field work led by Dr Bill Sanderson, and the Marine Conservation Society.

The project’s first phase, led by Dr Sanderson, trawled archaeological records, ancient literature and fisheries records, then sampled shell material, to show that oysters had existed in the Dornoch Firth up to 10,000 years ago – and that reintroducing them was feasible.

As this is the first attempt to establish a natural habitat for the native European oyster, scientists will vary shell type, shell density, the way it is laid and the location, to inform their research.

Once the oysters are placed on the reef, scientists will monitor them every six months. When numbers eventually reach four million, the scientists believe the reefs will cover an area and density large enough to ensure a self-sustaining oyster population – replicating the numbers which would have existed before the species was wiped out in the 19th century.

The success of DEEP would offer many benefits to the marine environment. Oysters filter water as they feed, soaking up nitrogen and improving the water quality (one oyster can filter up to 200 litres of water a day).

Native oysters also create micro-habitats for other marine life, which increases an area’s biodiversity.

Oyster reefs are among the most endangered marine habitats on earth – and scientists hope that the research conducted as part of DEEP might one day enable conservationists around the world to reintroduce the species to other areas where it has become extinct.

Furthermore, DEEP is helping to sustain oyster growing businesses across the UK, creating demand for the native European oyster.

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05/11/2018 15:57:39

Containment – Introduction

Tightened security Farmers update equipment to meet new standards

W

ITH recent mass fish farm escapes in Chile, North America and Australia, the security of marine sites can never be taken for granted.

The consequences of these big losses are not just measured in financial costs for the companies involved. They can lead to possible prosecution (Marine Harvest in Chile currently), loss of licence (Cooke in the US state of Washington in 2017), and, of course, a damaged reputation for the industry as a whole.

To avoid this high price, farm companies are ever vigilant, nowhere more so than in Scotland, where escape numbers have remained relatively consistent over the past few years.

There are clear procedures to follow here in the event of an escape from a fish farm, beginning with immediately notifying Scottish

ministers of the circumstances.

The reporting of all escapes of farmed fish - or circumstances which gave rise to a significant risk of an escape of farmed fish - is mandatory.

Reports must be submitted to Scottish ministers through the Fish Health Inspectorate and an up-to-date record is kept, easily accessible to the public (aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/fish_escapes.aspx).

There had been 28,549 escapes at Scottish farms in 2018 (at the time of going to press), compared with a total of 31,158 last year. In 2016, there were just 11,696, well down on 2015 (18,090). But 2014 fared worse, with 184,468 escaped fish, some 154,569 from just one big Above: Containment event. challenges ahead These are still very small numbers considering the number of fish (nearly 190,000 tonnes last year) that are produced each year, but the containment of stocks is a key priority for farmers.

The Scottish Technical Standard, to be implemented less than two years from now, has highlighted the importance of good containment, and farming companies are investing heavily in technical improvements.

Also on the horizon is the US legislation banning the import of any fish

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Containment - Intro.indd 34

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Tightened security

that does not meet animal welfare standards.

This will hit exports of salmon from farms that kill seals, and to protect the valuable US market - worth £193 million to Scottish salmon producers last year – many farms are reviewing their current anti-predation systems.

Over the next few pages, we look at advances in netting, in enclosed farming methods, and at cutting edge acoustic deterrents.

We talk to the new chairman of the Containment Working Group, Jamie Smith of the SSPO, about the challenges ahead, as well as to one of the key players in the working group, Finlay Oman of W J Knox.

And we hear from the man campaigning to end all seal shooting at

Scottish fish farms, Andy Ottaway of the Seal Protection Action Group, who discusses the ongoing collaboration between animal conservationists and farmers. FF

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05/11/2018 15:55:52

Containment – Scottish Technical Standard

Work in progress Training is a chief focus of Containment Working Group says new chairman

I

N less than two years the Scottish Technical Standard (STS) for finfish aquaculture will be implemented and the pressure is on the industry to ensure it is an effective measure to minimise escapes.

Since the standard was launched in 2015, salmon farming in Scotland has come under ever greater scrutiny as the sector pursues ambitious strategies for growth.

While investment in technological advances is at an all-time high, the number of escapes from farms has not seen a big drop; in 2010, just before the Improved Containment Working Group was formed to create the STS, the total number of escapes was 37,963; this year, so far, it has been 28,549.

‘Containment performance compared to previous years has been reasonably good in terms of the number of events. It’s been a downward trend – but with blips,’ said Jamie Smith, the man now in charge of overseeing progress.

Smith is technical executive at the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation and one of the original members of the working group.

As he says, he has ‘big boots to fill’ as the new chairman, replacing Marine Harvest’s Steve Bracken, who retired in the summer and who was responsible for the genesis of the STS and its subsequent development.

‘Steve has done such a good job over the last years and the committee would like to express their thanks to him,’ said Smith.

The original remit of the working group was ‘to focus on improving containment by adopting best practice to reduce escapes, improve profitability and secure the future and credibility of the industry, while minimising adverse environmental impacts and preventing conflicts with other interests’.

This has not changed but Smith identifies three chief areas of focus. The first is how the STS is officially implemented in 2020 to make sure people are meeting the criteria in the standard.

When first published, it was stipulated that the STS would be implemented by a regulation under the Aquaculture & Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013.

‘We’ve got a bit of work to do on that – does it become a piece of legislation, does it become a voluntary code of practice, is there some sort of regulation,’ said Smith.

‘It’s important it’s something that is rigorous and demonstrates that we are meeting the standard.’

He

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Containment - STS.indd 36

Above: Jamie Smith

said the committee has not yet reached a consensus on this but probably it will be a combination of a number of different things.

‘It almost certainly won’t be direct legislation…but likewise it probably won’t be completely voluntary. There will be some middle ground but we’ve got to figure out what that will be.’

The argument against enshrining the STS in law is that it wasn’t written from a legal perspective, said Smith.

Also, the standard will be continually evolving, as one of the initial criteria when it was established was that it would ‘take account of new developments’.

This is the second area Smith and his group is focused on now – ‘how do we ensure that the standard is up to date and how do we make sure it continues to be up to date and doesn’t hinder innovation in this whole area of new technology, in terms of improvement in infrastructure, to make sure containment is as high a standard as it can be.

‘What we’re developing is a system where individuals or companies can put forward changes to the standard and these will be assessed by appropriate experts.’

The group will then decide whether it’s an appropriate change to be made. And even after 2020, members will continue to ensure the standard is up to date, to bring any new equipment or materials to the market or make sure they can be used in the market and are not hindered by the standard, said Smith.

The third area of the team’s work centres on training and this, Smith believes, is where the most improvement is needed.

‘The focus has to be on training to make sure the industry is capable of meeting the requirements of the code, and to make sure that staff are all appropriately trained.

‘I think there’s a recognition that the industry could do better in that area.’

Problems can occur where there is a high turnover of staff, or a lack of staff, possibly because of the remoteness of the location, or not enough time for training.

‘What we’re trying to do is make sure we’ve got a really good baseline standard for everyone in the industry and the aim would be to get everyone in the industry to that particular level.’

The group is looking at the containment course delivered by the NAFC Marine Centre UHI, in Shet-

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Work in progress

land, which many farmers have been through.

‘If everyone did that, then we would improve the standard of containment across the whole industry,’ said Smith.

The salmon producers are investigating whether this is something they would be able to do. Another option is for companies to develop their own in-house, on the job training.

‘The Scottish Salmon Company have been the pioneers in this,’ said Smith.

‘Iain MacIntyre (head of production, South) has really developed this technique of going out on a site and setting up a cage with faults, and the staff have to go out and find those faults and report them.’

This form of practical teaching has been found to be effective in showing staff the consequences of poor husbandry.

Smith thinks farm companies are persuaded of the merits of the training, but the practicalities of getting it set up are more challenging.

‘What Ian has found is that they need to do it in a fallow period, when the guys on the site have a bit of a down period. But it’s difficult when they then get pulled off to other sites.

‘But the other larger companies have certainly looked at what Ian’s done and what they can do to implement that in their own companies.’

A training sub group has been created with MacIntyre, who sits on the Improved Containment Working Group, one of its leaders.

Smith said the industry is on board with the new technical standard and is generally updating its equipment to comply in time.

‘I think with nets and pens there’s an ability at the moment for companies to invest and they are making sure they are future proofing that investment by making sure it’s up to the STS.’ What happens if they don’t comply still has to be sorted out, though, and the group is negotiating with the government over possible enforcement action and penalties.

‘Ultimately, there is a requirement for farmers to meet their aim of containing all of their fish or Marine Scotland will come along and could remove their ability to farm.

‘That’s not in the standard but it is in the regulations – if there’s an escape event, the farm has to undergo an enhanced inspection by the [Fish Health] Inspectorate.

‘And if they don’t believe that measures are in place to contain the fish, there would be enforcement action and they could remove their authorisation – that’s the ultimate sanction.’

Whether that is in the standard itself or in a document that describes how the standard will be applied is ‘still to be nailed down’, said Smith. FF

We must make sure the industry is “capable of meeting the requirements of the code ” www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

Containment - STS.indd 37

Members of the Improved Containment Working Group Jamie Smith (chair), SSPO; Robin MacLean, Marine Scotland; Fiona Watt (secretariat), Marine Scotland; Ron Smith, FHI; Duaine Coetzer, MHS; Graham Smith, SSF; Iain MacIntyre, SSC; Colin Blair, Cooke; Grant Cumming, Grieg Seafood; Peter MacDougall, Dawnfresh; Rhuaraidh Edwards, Fusion Marine; Duncan Perrin, Sunderland Marine; Lawrie Stove, Aquamoor; Jason Cleaversmith, Akva Group; David Goodlad, Mørenot; John Howard, Boris Nets; Finlay Oman, W J Knox Jamie Young, Gael Force Group; Jonathan Knappett, University of Dundee

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05/11/2018 15:54:04

Containment – Seal Protection Action Group

Don’t shoot!

Working together, we can stop seal killing for good says campaigner

T Above: Andy Ottaway in Alaska. Opposite - (top): Adult grey seal.

(Photo: Ben Burville SPAG)

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Containment - Andy.indd 38

HERE has been a ‘spectacular fall’ in the number of seals reported shot by salmon farmers in recent years, concedes Andy Ottaway, executive director of the Seal Protection Action Group, who has been campaigning hard to end what he believes became a ‘bad habit’ on some farms.

With these concerns in mind he could have regarded salmon farmers as the enemy, but Ottaway has long been an advocate of working with producers to achieve his goal of zero shootings around salmon pens.

And he is quick to give credit where it’s due for the ‘huge decline’ in reported killing since the Scottish government introduced the seal licence scheme seven years ago.

‘It’s something in the order of 85 per cent on those reported back in 2011, which was the first year of the new licence scheme,’ he said.

‘The total has gone from approaching 500 seals shot in 2011 down to around 43 (out of 72) reported shot by salmon farmers last year.’

However, he does question why levels were so high before if companies have been able to reduce numbers so quickly and dramatically.

‘It strongly suggests that shooting was a bit of a bad habit, and perhaps more could have been done to deter seals without having to resort to a lethal response.’

He emphasised that this is a significant welfare and conservation issue and not simply a public relations problem for the industry. For example, the UK is home to globally important populations of grey and harbour seals.

‘These animals are facing serious and growing threats from climate change, ocean acidification, toxic pollution, entanglement in fishing gear, plastics ingestion, over-fishing of prey species, critical habitat loss and increasing disturbance at important feeding, breeding and resting sites,’ he said.

‘In fact, harbour, or common seals, are actually suffering a serious decline in several areas in Scotland and while grey seals may appear abundant in UK waters, the global population numbers less than that of African elephants.

‘Additionally, from a welfare point of view, shooting seals can cause terrible injuries and severe suffering, where death is not instantaneous, while shooting in the breeding seasons means pregnant animals may be killed and dependent pups left to suffer a lingering death from starvation.’

But he has always believed that the way forward lies not in recriminations but in positively engaging with all players, and to this end he established the Salmon Aquaculture and Seals Working Group (SASWG) in 2008.

Among its founder members were Marine Harvest, Sainsbury’s, Marine Scotland, the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, the RSPCA International Animal Rescue and Scottish Natural Heritage.

Chaired by Dr Simon Northridge of the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University, they have met regularly to seek solutions to a predation problem that may cost farmers lost revenue if they do nothing, and lost reputation if they do too much.

Ottaway, who has been involved in environmental campaigning for some 35 years and directly with seal campaigns for the past 15 years, acknowledges the progress made by those on the SASWG, though he wishes more farmers had become involved.

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Don’t shoot!

‘We would have preferred far more salmon farmers joined us, obviously, but we worked on the principle that by talking to the biggest producer and the biggest retailers of Scottish salmon, along with Marine Scotland and the SSPO, that any solutions we found would have credibility and that the industry would eventually adopt them.

‘One of the reasons we wanted to engage with the industry was so we could get a real handle on the circumstances in which people feel they’re forced to shoot seals – and investigate those that don’t, and why.

‘We’ve always felt this was a very resolvable problem, but what was lacking was the time and the will from industry to do so.’

He thinks the licence scheme has helped by focusing minds, but was flawed from the outset and should have introduced a phase-out period for seal shooting.

‘The industry has been able to continue killing because both the Scottish government’s seal licence and the RSPCA Assured (formerly Freedom Food) schemes permit seal shooting ‘as a last resort’.

‘But how do you correctly identify the problem seal and what actually constitutes last resort? If you’ve got a seal looking sternly at your salmon stock, do you pick up the rifle? Or do you wait until the seal has got a salmon in its mouth, or it’s actually in the cage?

‘Or do you have a problem and start shooting until that problem goes away? All too often, the evidence suggests the latter scenario is what was happening.

‘We’ve also found – which is not entirely surprising – that much of

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Containment - Andy.indd 39

the time people were simply too busy getting on with the daily business of farming and that made it very difficult for them to focus on anything else.

‘Perhaps some of them thought, ‘we’ve paid a lot of money for these acoustic deterrent devices and if they don’t work, nothing will, so we’ve got no choice’.’

He also thinks a lot of sea farms were situated in environments not best suited for fish farms, which made the predation problem more likely.

‘There may be strong tidal currents and other environmental factors that may make it much more difficult to keep the nets correctly tensioned or for the ADDs to work effectively,

The looming US sanctions are “actually focusing minds within a time frame now ” 39

05/11/2018 15:50:54

Containment – Seal Protection Action Group which may provide an opportunity for seals to exploit.

‘But with so many farms established in sea lochs all around Scotland, in prime seal habitat, it was a problem that was always going to happen.

‘There are important moral and environmental considerations here: we’ve invaded the seals’ habitat and established farms there, which attracts the seals, and we all know the consequences.’

But Ottaway said there has been ‘a sea change in attitude’ in the industry and more care and time is taken now to deal with the problem.

The SASWG says on its website that it welcomes input from individuals, businesses or organisations to help identify solutions.

Ottaway believes the time is right for several past approaches to be revisited.

‘I think the looming US sanctions [see box right] are actually focusing minds within a time frame now and what we always wanted was to establish a programme of credible scientific trials to find out what really works when deterring seals.

‘I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s likely to need a suite of measures that resolve this issue rather than just one, but who knows what’s around the corner.’

He said on some fish farms, staff couldn’t be sure if their acoustic deterrent devices were even working properly – ‘remarkable when you consider the level of investment in these devices’ - but the current campaign has led to some manufacturers developing more sophisticated products.

‘It’s been a long time since many deterrent measures were explored and I don’t think many working trials were conducted under the most rigorous of scientific controls. However, new technologies and ongoing research suggest that what failed, or was abandoned before, could yet prove more effective in the future.’

In particular, acoustic deterrents have been developed that can be targeted at frequencies that only affect seals, so there is less distur-

40

Containment - Andy.indd 40

We put “ men on the moon 50 years ago, surely we can keep a seal away from a salmon net

”

Opposite: Seal pup.

(Photo: Ben Burville SPAG)

bance to wildlife such as whales and dolphins.

Furthermore, these devices don’t damage the hearing of seals – ‘there’s real concern that perhaps persistently offending seals have been deafened by the very devices that were put in the water to deter them,’ said Ottaway.

‘They are trialling acoustic devices now that work on a ‘startle response’, which means there is no habituation problem. And if we can deter seals in that way, with no harm to the animals or the environment, then that would be a great step forward.’

But he also thinks correctly tensioned nets are a hugely important factor – ‘if the nets are strong enough and taut enough, the seals simply can’t get to the fish’.

‘This isn’t rocket science! We put men on the moon 50 years ago, surely we can keep a seal away from a salmon net.’

He is convinced the industry can achieve zero shootings by the date set for Scottish exporters to comply with the US regulations.

‘The sanctions mean, to put it crudely, that every seal shot at current levels would be worth up to £4 million in lost export revenue to producers. I think that’s obviously going to focus minds a huge deal in the next couple of years.

‘If we can all pull together in a concerted programme of research looking into past, present and future ideas on how to resolve the problem, I’m sure we can crack it. I think

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Don’t shoot!

there’s absolutely no doubt about that.

‘I think there’s been lacking a willingness to do it, complacency if you like, but all that’s changed with the US sanctions.’

Ottaway would like to see a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss how to move forward collaboratively, starting with a comprehensive review of all available tools and strategies.

‘That’s what we’re encouraging and promoting, but we’re still not sure it’s going to happen. We would totally support this approach and be more than happy to engage in the process.

‘Hopefully, a number of fish farming companies will hear what we’ve got to say and recognise that we are trying to be reasonable in working with the industry to help resolve what is a highly emotive issue.

‘Working together, we can find and implement real solutions so there is absolutely no need to ever shoot a seal in future – and that, of course, would be good news for everyone.’ FF Andy Ottaway can be contacted on 01273 515416 or at andyo@sealaction.org

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Countdown to hitting zero target THE legislation that threatens to halt Scottish salmon exports to the United States has been in place for nearly 50 years.

Called the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it makes it illegal to intentionally kill, injure or harass seals (or other marine mammals) in any commercial US fishing operation.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reviewed the Act more than a year ago and decided to bring all imports into line with domestic welfare standards, including those from aquaculture sources.

This ruling will embargo Scottish salmon exports if any seals are shot during production. The US export market is currently worth around £200 million to Scotland’s producers.

NOAA said: ‘Scotland has until 2021 to demonstrate that they have eliminated the intentional mortality or have the required procedures in place.’

Andy Ottaway said the same US laws have been a vital tool key in curbing commercial whaling and reducing the massive and deliberate kill of dolphins in global tuna fishing operations.

Officials from Marine Scotland had argued that the industry in Scotland was ‘very different from fish farming in the US’.

They pointed out that the rules in Scotland do not allow the ‘reckless’ shooting of seals, and that the intention was not to reduce the overall seal population. They also argued that shooting individual seals is a measure of last resort.

However, these efforts were unsuccessful and Ottaway believes that Marine Scotland is now taking the issue ‘extremely seriously’.

‘I think negotiations with their US counterparts have convinced them that any sort of exemption for Scotland’s salmon industry is simply not going to happen.’

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05/11/2018 15:52:09

Containment – Nets

Gem of a solution How Sapphire range is helping keep predators under control

S

ALMON farmers have reported greatly improved predator exclusion with a range of specialist HDPE netting.

Sapphire Seal Pro and Sapphire Ultracore, designed especially for aquaculture by Garware Technical Fibres and supplied by their partner, W&J Knox of Ayrshire, are ‘in a league of their own’, according to Knox commercial director Finlay Oman.

Knox also supplies the knotless version of the same filaments using the trade name ‘Star’.

Scottish Sea Farms’ regional director for Orkney, Richard Darbyshire, said the nets had resulted in better containment, with no seals being shot at SSF’s Orkney sites for more than two years.

Oman said Cooke Aquaculture has also switched

more or less entirely to the Sapphire nets in Shetland and Orkney.

‘Everybody that’s taken them for that reason [to keep out seals] has done very well,’ said Oman. ‘They were quite positive about the fact they could have a single layer net that did the job of containment and predator exclusion.’

Sapphire Seal Pro has a polymer centre, with stiffness enhanced by injected hot wax and autoclaving – a heating process that is used to stretch the netting out and lock the knots and geometry of the square open mesh.

‘Netting in general is produced as diamond mesh, and similar products on the market tend to geometrically pull back to the diamond because that’s the way they were woven,’ said Oman.

‘This can have implications for the security of the cleaner fish as well- but this product is heat set square so it gives you a very open mesh that stays that way.

‘The manufacturing process culminates in a semi-rigid mesh that hinders predatory strikes. When the seals push against this netting, it doesn’t collapse around their snouts like nylon mesh.

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Gem of a solution ‘It’s like a semi-rigid wall that requires considerably more momentum for a diminishing result. The chances of managing to successfully bite into their prey is greatly reduced and, hopefully, they give up and move on to an easier target,’ said Oman.

Sapphire Ultracore is enhanced further with stainless steel wires and tends to be used as an extra layer that can be fitted either half-way up the cage net or all the way to the top. This netting is also used in standalone predator exclusion systems and has an enviable cut resistance and strength profile, said Oman.

Sapphire knotted netting for aquaculture was initially developed by Garware for excluding sea lions in Canada, before Kilbirnie based Knox began incorporating these ranges into its designs.

‘We’ve contributed some of our own ideas to the production process and it’s come on so well now that most of our major customers are utilising nets with the Garware specialised mesh,’ said Oman.

He said researchers from the Marine Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University had found that seals don’t like knotted netting because they’ve got very sensitive snouts.

Sapphire netting is designed with a single sided knot. The outside is very rough, with the inside being relatively smoother.

‘When they come up against the rough knots on the outside of the net, they find it very irritating so that’s another inbuilt deterrent,’ said Oman.

‘Care has to be taken during crowding exercises, harvesting, that kind of thing, to avoid pushing the fish into the netting.’

In the last three years, the proportion of nylon nets to HDPE nets Knox has sold has changed dramatically, with 80 per cent being HDPE, said Oman.

‘Farmers tend to fit them on a replacement basis, but there are certain sites where the companies have said, we just want to go straight to a high level of protection, and kit out the whole site.

‘Some farmers have trialled them on two pens and found the seals were excluded on these but concentrated on the others. Later, they installed them on the whole site and the seals moved away completely.’

Some of the newer, high energy sites are also opting for the nets because of their abrasion resistance qualities.

‘It’s harder wearing than standard knotless nylon, so it stands up better in the in situ washing situation, so that’s another reason to choose this material.’

Oman, a former site manager with Hydro Seafood and one-time editor of Scottish Fish Farmer magazine, has worked at Knox for 21 years. He said farmers now were prepared to invest more in predator deterring nets, with the impending US legislation and the introduction of the Scottish Technical Standard.

After the initial outlay, they save on costs from the predator mitigation angle, and provide a much more robust system for mechanical cleaning at sea.

‘These nets are more expensive than standard nylon nets, but the farmers who’ve tried them say the savings they’ve achieved purely on reduced seal attacks justify the initial outlay very quickly.’

He said over the last couple of years, most farm-

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Containment - Seal Pro - + HP.indd 43

ers had been taking ‘a broad view’ on the whole containment issue and viewed their additional expenditure as not only a sound business decision, but the right thing for their local ecosystems.

‘I’d expect the escape situation to be rapidly and continually improving, although there will still be the odd event – extreme weather or human error, but with an emphasis on learning from any mistakes.

‘Farmers are much more aware of the condition of nets, how much life is left in them, what is a risk and what’s not. I think, in general, there’s a better level of understanding across the industry.

‘This could be partly due to the increasing sophistication of the technology, but also the technical standard and the associated committee meetings.

‘I think that the technical standard has been taken seriously by all of the major companies and their suppliers. They are all striving to meet and probably surpass what’s expected of them, and they do take a more mature view of things.

‘The standard is still under development, but much of the early work undertaken under the chair of Steve Bracken has provided a solid foundation for the future.

‘As the industry and products evolve, the standard will need to be amended to match current thinking. It was always the intention to have this as a working document.

‘Now when our customers specify their net requirements, one of the main demands is the need to meet the Scottish Technical Standard. For the industry, this has to be a good thing.’ FF

Above: Left to right Sanjay Raut, Garware president, Milind Mirashi, associate vice president, Jim Traynor, chairman of W&J Knox, Dave Hutchens, managing director, Finlay Oman, commercial director of Knox, and Kanwal Malik, European sales manager with Garware..

Opposite: Close up shot of Sapphire Seal Pro netting stripped back to expose the polymer core with wax. This plays a large part in the stability of the geometry of the mesh that helps to prevent the mesh pulling back on to the diamond, enhancing cleaner fish retention as well as predator exclusion.

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Containment – Deterrents All the latest industry news from the UK

Drones to monitor water quality

proved head

SCIENTISTS sear in Argyll. at a local hearing’. from the Uniby Argyll tions imposed on Dawnfresh include versity of Stirhe finished surfaces of the hoppers ling launched a cages are of a into dark recessive colour. project in SepatoGille, eaststocking of any more than the first tember using 2 permitted cages or any increase new technology hich have biomass across the site permitted to enhance the Marine must ‘submit a strategy Dawnfresh monitoring of ing and managing the interactions water quality.

Above: Shuna Island pethe Friendsof the operation farm and the wild Along with the Above: Andrew Tyler nment’.

In a second application, Marine Harvest planned to boost production at Plymouth Madegy to local should address responses to Ceann (BDNC) its Bagh Dail Nan at Loch Shuna, Ardfern, byfrom expanding rine farm, Laboratory and colleagues across ors where containment and sea lice it from 10 tocon12 x 120m circumference cages, and increasing its capacity Europe, they are testing cutting edge to omically es at theand site, as3,500 well as set out a tonnes. techniques as part of a €5 million scheme e for the monitoring of changes in the There were 24 objections, including CraignishUnion’s Community Council funded byfrom thethe European Horizon tion of seatolice infestations wildDistrict Salmon and the among Argyll and Fishery Board.

2020 programme. ts uponawild within zone of 30km from community the farm. councillors Craignish ‘to the the creeping incremental Theyobjected will study feasibility of using ew, and increase in capacity posed by this application application drone and otherand in the situassociated technology to (outwith the area but in themonitor same water body) at Poll Gille’.The work will the quality ofna water.

They called for a moratorium on expansion further theis dovetail with a until Stirling ledresearch projecton that environmental impacts of salmon farming hadtobeen concluded. using satellites monitor water quality But the planning report said supporters from space. of the farm had argued: ‘The development of the site will support local jobs,hope particularly for young people with Scientists that information gathered opportunity for progression, and will help retain working age people in Argyll. from drones or lochside devices will help lant site ‘In terms of complaints made regarding and light pollution, the site address gapssound in conventional monitoring s and JourCEisAquatec, the Dundee based technology innovator, has been manager approachable and sympathetic to local opinion.’ and support data collected with satellites. ocation producing deterrents 2004 but wanted to establishexpandbest Councillors againseal agreed with thesince recommendation, approving Professor Andrew Tyler, deputythe dean and and seems practi ce in the Scotti sh market before perfecti ng its export package. associate dean for Research in the Faculty sitor centre ed fish farm. patiplans ence seems toits have paid offsite , and the company has just reMarine This Harvest to close Ardmaddy of the changes and of Natural Sciencesasatpart Stirling, leads the out more fresh farming director Alisonthe Hutchins turned from Aqua Sur exhibiti on in Puerto Montt , Chile, with more than combined capacity from to 9,500 tonnes. project. £2.99,600 million GloboLakes and enjoy a reduce 100 new contacts, according to Mike Forbes, head of sales and marketing. n. e of the stories mers and all ell and we would be a n carrying kye. ontingency be good spects of discussing m regulatofacility cking levels the feed ms. at the end ecent y, less yson said: mpanies d mill for a hard ward apace, ajority of o see that y are not nking here be a rojects that orld Trade he local March also help r through e of the wareness on and due to s facing omplex a specialist on of a ecause the e showet set out tory and s that will he fish te in the try, which case of a edge will al Brexit, it f its kind, y hard for welcome ry to be ducational hat they epared.

Warm reception

centre

in Chile Ace Aquatec finds new markets for innovative equipment

A

Brexit

• Fish Cage Nets – Nylon & HDPE • Predator Solutions • Net Service Plant • Treatment Tarpaulins • Lice Skirts • Supplier of LIFT-UP • Wrasse Hides

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Containment - Ace.indd 44

5

08/08/2018 16:25:30 15:30:39 06/09/2018

‘I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was busier than I thought, more interesting conversations than I thought, and the vast majority of people we were speaking to had a genuine interest opposed to just walking round and seeing what was there,’ said Forbes, who ran Ace Aquatec’s stand with Ace operations specialist Andrew Gillespie.

‘They were mostly Chileans but also a few people from Brazil, Panama, some who were very interested from Mexico, and from Australia and New Zealand.’

Forbes visited Chile in April this year on a fact finding mission and to catch up with the company’s distributor, Pablo Gaete, managing director of Abick, which has already installed two Ace electric stunning machines in the region, and also distributes the firm’s deterrents.

The acoustic deterrent device (ADD) range includes the mid frequency 10-20khz US3 and the low frequency RT1, and it is the latter Forbes believes will have most traction in the Chilean market, where the predation problem is sea lions – or sea wolves as they are called – rather than seals.

‘ADDs have not been so prominent there. A lot of the companies want to check they don’t go against any welfare regulations, there’s a good awareness of that,’ said Forbes.

Although there will be local people to service and install the equipment, the deterrents will be sold rather than rented, because of the risk factor.

‘We’re not entirely confident yet that if we put a £25,000 piece of kit somewhere that it won’t go missing and we won’t be able to do anything about it on the other side of the world.’

In time, they hope to set up an Ace Aquatec branch, as they have done in Canada, although it is not the company’s business model to have large numbers of people out in every country.

One of the biggest attractions on the stand at Aqua Sur, said Forbes, was Ace’s electric fish, which behaves like a mort and sits in the bottom of the net. When a predator touches the ‘fish’, it gets a shock that is paired with an ADD. As well as the Chileans, visitors from Australia were very interested in the fish.

‘In Australia, it’s very difficult to get acoustics because of local regulations, but they thought the electric fish would have huge potential for farms there because there are huge predator problems.’

Forbes remained in Chile after the show to follow up contacts and take potential customers to see the electric stunners installed in two factories owned by Abick, a fish processor.

It’s more common in Chile for people to take their fish to an independent processor than it is in Scotland, said Forbes, and Abick works with some of the big producers.

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Warm reception in Chile

“

Regionally, there are a lot of differences but the products apply to everyone, wherever we go

”

Clockwise from top: The Ace Aquatec team cart one of their acoustic detrrents down to the water in Chile; Andrew Gillespie and Mike Forbes on the stand ; Mike forbes with British ambassdor Jamie Bowden (Photos: Ace Aquatec).

Also attracting crowds to the Ace Aquatec stand was its new 3D biomass camera, the BioCam, although there wasn’t an actual unit in Chile.

‘We were going to have one on the booth but the one in our office has been sent out to a customer in New Zealand, so they had to make do with a picture on the wall, but people were very much drawn in anyway.’

The BioCam captures images by sending out a beam of light, waiting for that beam of light to bounce back and then calculating the shape of the object.

‘It gives you a much more accurate measurement for a lot less effort,’ said Forbes. Farmers will save money because they won’t waste so much on feed and will be able to harvest more accurately.

Nathan Pyne-Carter, Ace Aquatec company director, told Fish Farmer earlier this year that the BioCam was the only genuine 3D underwater time of flight camera in the world and he had high hopes for its future.

‘Everywhere we’ve been, all over the world, they are calling out for a more accurate biomass measuring system,’ he said.

That was very much the case in Chile, too, where Forbes said the potential market was ‘very encouraging’.

‘Loads of people have said that as soon as they can have them, they want them on their farms.

No one is doing the same technology in exactly the same way and people are very much open to something that can do more.’

The cameras have been trialled in Scotland and Ace Aquatec is currently building pilot units for customers.

‘We’re understanding who is interested in that and trying to get homes for a few more of our pilot systems, to take them on to the farms,’ said Forbes.

‘We’re happy with the machine itself but the more data that comes into it, the more certainty we have that the numbers are going to be right.

‘We’ll be renting these systems but we’re saying to people, particularly with these pilot systems, that we’re looking at short term rentals so they can try them and we can capture more data, but

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Containment - Ace.indd 45

with the idea that if everything goes fine, they can become a long term customer on a contract after that.’

It may be a challenge to meet demand for the units but ‘we’ll be working hard to keep up with that’, said Forbes, who was sounding out likely distributors for the BioCam while he was in Chile.

Ace Aquatec was able to exhibit in Chile with support from Scottish Enterprise, said Forbes, who doesn’t speak Spanish as well as his colleague Andrew Gillespie, but is learning.

‘I would imagine we’ll be coming out here two or three times a year. Regionally, there are a lot of differences in terms of the cages people use, and different approaches, and different fish farms, but what we find is that the products we have, and the core issues they are addressing, apply to everyone –accurate biomass measurements, protection from predators, humane slaughter –those things are consistent wherever we go.’ FF

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05/11/2018 15:44:31

Containment – Development concepts

Round one Fish ‘globe’ tested in Norwegian fjord

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NOVEL fish ‘globe’ will grow post-smolts to 1kg in a trial in a Norwegian fjord, after the project was granted research licences.

The completely enclosed floating structure, being developed by Rogaland based FishGLOBE, will be trialled in Lysefjord in the south of the country.

The globes used in the research licences will be 22m in diameter and three will be placed in the fjord, with a capacity of 250 tonnes each.These globes are for producing post-smolts.

Arne Berge, founder of FishGlobe and its spin-off RyFish , said they had also applied to the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate for development licences and were awaiting approval.

‘Last summer we asked for a development licence – to grow fish in the globe all the way to harvest,’ he said.

He has just been told the concept is within the scope of the development licensing programme and is confident of getting the go ahead, possibly with final approval by next spring.

In the meantime, FishGLOBE is working on the post-smolt globes for the trial licences.These summer. From this production, lasting six months, will be built next year and the fish will go in next the team will hopefully take the fish all the way to harvest if they then get their development licences.

The company will only start building the bigger globes once the development licences are in place.

The concept has been tested with Nofima and three prototypes have already been trialled, said Berge, including a 5m diameter globe that has been located in Lysefjord for one and a half years with ‘very good results’.

The globe is fully enclosed but doors give access to the fish – one third of the surface area contains water and fish – and feed storage is contained within the globe.

‘There is no need for support from feed barges because we have everything inside,’ said Berge.‘We only need energy from land and also oxygen tanks, but oxygen could be produced on board.’

The globes are moveable and can be towed from one site to another, either empty or with water and fish inside.

Berge said the system is designed to be in the fjords, with particle waste collected so there is no problem with pollution underneath.And there is a low inlet for the intake water so there will be no sea lice problems, he believes.

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The system is based on changing a high volume of water, with the water exchanged twice an hour.

‘One of the strengths of the system is the quality of the water inside the globe,’ said Berge.

The development licence, if approved, will be on a much larger scale than the pilot, accommodating 2,300 tonnes of fish in one globe, with a diameter of 44m (about 140m circumference).

This is equal to the capacity of an entire small farm in Norway – with five conventional cages, plus a feed barge.

The increased density in the fish globe is made possible by the fast change of water, said Berge.

‘We found, together with Nofima, the optimum density of fish, and the optimum swimming speed for the fish, and the optimum oxygen levels.’

So far, investment has amounted to around five

There is no need “ for support from feed

barges because we have everything inside

”

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05/11/2018 15:42:40

Round one

float empty on the water, which provides an easy and gentle way of moving fish out of the globe, said Berge.

For more information see ‘Qualifying the design of a floating closed containment fish farm using computational fluid dynamics’ by Jagan M.R.Gorle, Bendik F.Terjesen,Astrid B.Holan,Arne Berge, and Steven T.Summerfelt (Biosystems Engineering,Vol 175, November 2018, pages 63-81) FF

to ten million Norwegian kroner (£0.5-1 million) just to get to the prototype stage, but Berge, an aquaculture engineer by training who has worked in the industry since the 1980s, is optimistic about the project.

‘When I started this five years ago, there was no interest, but in the last one and a half years that has changed completely,’ he said.‘It hasn’t been difficult to find fish farmers to test it.’

Grieg Seafood has agreed to trial the research globes, along with RyFish, growing 100-200g smolt to 1kg.

Berge said that they use HDPE material to build the globes.This is the preferred material for the farmers, since it is the same as used in the standard cages.

To build such big constructions in this material, two patented solutions have been developed.

Now the construction is so strong that it can also

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Containment - Globe.indd 47

Top: Analysing the prototype with Nofima.

Above: Prototype in the fjord. Right: How the scaled up version will look. Opposite: The prototype in Lysefjord; Arne Bergex.

Norwegian aquaculture development licences

Development licences are a special scheme for salmon and trout farming in Norway.The purpose is to facilitate technology that can contribute to solving challenges in the aquaculture industry.

Development licensing is a temporary scheme open for applications for two years, with the application period ended November 17, 2017.

Licences are granted free of charge, but can, after certain criteria are met, be converted to ordinary licences for NOK 10 million (about £1 million) per licence. One licence equals 780 tonnes maximum allowable biomass.

The Norwegian Fisheries Directorate has received more than 104 applications, which include more than 898 licences.

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05/11/2018 15:43:05

Containment/Health – Ecomerden advertorial

Closed encounters Simple but successful concept demonstrates economically sustainable growth

Above: Efficient and smooth delivery of fish from the Ecocage.

Opposite (top): Illustration of the Ecocage main construction. (below): Ecocage post-smolt produced salmon - 1kg and sea lice free and perfect quality

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ORWEGIAN company Ecomerden has developed a simple, heavy duty, closed cage flow-through technology over the last ten years that has proven to be a successful production concept for salmon.

Called the Ecocage, it has resulted in zero sea lice, very low mortality levels and a significantly reduced feed conversion ratio (FCR), through several production cycles.

The system confounds perceptions that electricity and oxygen use will lead to high production costs in closed cage flow-through systems, said the company.

In fact, Ecomerden claims the total production cost per kilo in the Eco-

cage will be significantly lower than in equally sized open pens.

Ecomerden believes the Ecocage offers great potential for environmentally and economically sustainable production growth in Scottish salmon farming.

The Ecocage can either be used in conjunction with open cages, with smolts grown to a large size and then transferred to open cages, or fish could be left to grow out in the enclosed cage.

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05/11/2018 15:40:16

Closed encounters The company founder is Jan Erik Kyrkjebo, a civil engineer in marine construction and fluid dynamics, who has been in the fish farming business for 33 years.

He was behind Feeding Systems, which supplied more than 500 installations, including 200 feed barges and steel cages, in Scotland and 35 different countries.

He also had a salmon company in Chile, where the main principles of the Ecocage were developed 15 years ago.

There are six people involved in the company, which has representatives in Scotland and North America.

The new Ecocage closed cage will be the main product of Ecomerden during the coming years.

Simple principles, best welfare The Ecocage consists of a floating collar of aluminium with a large reserve buoyancy designed to withstand rough site conditions.

Attached to the floating collar is a double wall made from a heavy duty offshore fabric on the outside and an ordinary net pen on the inside.

This construction secures a low risk for escapes while making the handling of the fish easy and comparable to that of an ordinary steel cage.

Water is pumped into the cage through four vertical suction pipes with an adjustable intake depth, for example at 25m, beneath the sea lice belt.

The water intakes can easily be fitted at any time with self-cleaning filters to avoid the intake of algae or sea lice larvae. The water enters the cage through four spreaders positioned to create a circular flow.

Oxygen is added to the inflowing water in two stages, resulting in an even distribution of oxygen rich water throughout the entire water column.

The water exchange is high, with a total exchange every 40 minutes. In this way, the Ecocage simulates the pure, current and oxygen rich high seas feeding environment of the wild salmon, with the fish swimming in a continuous circular school at low stress levels.

Given the frequent water exchange, the stable current and high oxygen saturation, salmon can be stocked in densities up to 50kg/m3 while maintaining the highest fish welfare and no growth drop.

The waste is collected at the bottom of the cage, and uneaten pellets intermixed with the waste are monitored in real time.

This allows for a precise regulation of the feeding rate according to the fish appetite at any time, thus avoiding excess feeding.

With this unique solution, the salmon farmers achieve a higher growth rate combined with lowered FCR, compared to open pens.

The Ecocage is delivered in volumes up to 20,000m3 with a yearly production capacity of postsmolts in two cycles, each 1,000 tonnes per cage. The lifetime expectancy is 20 years for the floating collar and 10 years for the flexible membrane wall.

The system is a patented in UK and Norway and is commercially available, with customers already in Norway.

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Eco Merden - PED.indd 49

Low risk The electricity and oxygen systems are secured through a three-level back-up system. Level one is from a land base or from a barge.

Level two is from an emergency generator and an oxygen bank on each single Ecocage, and level three is through connecting the Ecocages to the electric system and oxygen bank of a service vessel.

Combined with the double wall, the three-level back-up system for electricity and oxygen makes the Ecocage a low risk production concept for high quality salmon. .

Waste logistical design The Ecocage can be delivered with a new, low cost solution for the collection and treatment of waste. After collection at the bottom of the cage, the waste is pumped to a de-watering station, either on land or on a barge.

Here, the water content is reduced, resulting in 30 per cent dry matter.

The waste is stabilised and the low odour waste transferred to a container.

The sea “ lice problem is solved without any treatment or cleaner fish

”

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05/11/2018 15:40:48

Containment/Health – Ecomerden advertorial

Given a yearly production of, for example, 1,000 tonnes in an Ecocage, the waste container must be exchanged on average every fourth week.

The waste will be free of smell and may be used as valuable by-products of biogass or fertilizer. The waste system may be added easily at a later stage after installation of the cage.

Impressive biological production Several production cycles in the Ecocage have shown zero adult lice without any treatment or cleaner fish.

If sea lice or algae should turn up at a location, the flexible algae/sea lice intake water filter can easily be fitted retrospectively.

Another major advantage observed in the Ecocage is the high survival rate. On one farm in Norway, the fish were grown from 100g up to 1kg before transfer to open net pens, where they were grown on to slaughter.

Through the entire sea phase, total maximum mortaltiy was five per cent in spite of pancreas disease (PD) and AGD in the open pen site.

The experience so far shows that the postsmolts produced in the Ecocage are stronger and

Table text: Comparison of production costs of open net pens, Ecocages and RAS. Production costs relative to open net pens.

Technology Input 600.000 smolts Full production cycle 100 grams to 5,5 kg Open Net Pens Combination Closed -> 1kg, Open -> 5,5 kg Ecocages only RAS

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Eco Merden - PED.indd 50

Investment (Million GBP)

Depreciation (GBP/kg)

Sea lice (GBP/kilo)

0.5 2.2 6 40

0 0.15 0.25 0.9

0 -0.3 -0.4 -0.4

Relative production costs Mortality FCR (GBP/kg) (GBP/kg)

0 -0.2 -0.45 -0.45

0 -0.07 -0.2 -0.1

Total difference Oxygen + (GBP/kg) Electricity + Maintenance (GBP/kg) 0 0 0.06 -0.36 0.2 -0.6 0.5 0.45

Density (Kg/m3)

25 50/25 50 50

Biomass at slaughter 15 months (Tonnes) 2.600 2.850 2.910 2.800

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07/11/2018 12:28:26

Closed encounters

probably have a better developed immune system than post-smolts from open cages, said the company. The Ecocage will also avoid seal, sea lion and tuna attacks.

Production models The Ecocage can be used in various settings. It can, for instance, be fitted into an existing salmon farm for post-smolt production.

A 20,000 m3 Ecocage will produce two generations of one million postsmolts each per year, totalling two million post-smolts at 1kg per year.

In another setting, a purely Ecocage farm of five cages will produce around 3,000 tonnes for slaughter per year. Due to a waste reduction at around 90 Opposite - (Top): Off-land based Ecocage. (Below): The Ecocage can be used in various settings, Above: The Ecomerden project group (from left): Fredrik Kyrkjebø, project leader, Jan Erik Kyrkjebø, founder and CEO, and Jens Christian Holst, project developer UK and Ireland. Right: The Ecocage waste dewatering and storage station.

per cent, this setting will increase the location capacities significantly.

Favourable economic results Comparing the economy of closed cage production with open pen production, the most evident difference is the elimination of the costs related to sea lice.

Today, sea lice lead to high treatment costs, reduced growth connected with the treatments, and a lower slaughter weight in open pen production.

In addition, better fish welfare means healthier and stronger fish, higher survival rates, lower FCR, quicker growth and, consequently, a shorter production period. It all adds to the more favourable economics of a closed cage production regime compared to open pens.

The extra cost of about 0.3 kWh electricity per kilo fish, 0.4 kg oxygen per kilo fish and higher depreciations for closed cages, all represent small costs compared to the high costs connected to the factors listed above for open pens.

A typical total production cost per kilo round weight at the cage in the Ecocage in 2018 is estimated to be around £2.50 per kilo as compared to about £3.00 per kilo in open pen production.

For more information on the Ecocage contact (in the UK and Ireland): Jens Christian Holst, jens@ecomerden.no or +47 97170960.

For Norway, contact: Jan Erik Kyrkjebø, janerik@ecomerden.no or +47 92620065

Eco Merden - PED.indd 51

05/11/2018 15:41:29

Containment – Morenot advertorial

Front of the grid

Flexilink breakthrough in Canadian and Irish markets

N

ORWEGIAN and Scottish fish farmers have long seen the benefits offered by the Flexilink grid from Mørenot. New installations were recently made in Scotland, as well as on farms in Ireland and Canada.

Mørenot Aquaculture, a company in the Mørenot Group, has a leading global position as equipment supplier to the aquaculture industry.

Earlier this year, FSN Capital became involved in the ownership side of Mørenot and, together with the other existing owners, will further strengthen the company’s overall position.

Mørenot is in an expansive phase and sees great opportunities for further growth and development. The company has approximately 280 employees and a turnover of NOK 450 million.

Its factory in Scalpay had a busy time over the summer, preparing for new deliveries of the ground-breaking, hardware-free mooring grid, Flexilink.

The system is a result of Mørenot’s three-year collaborative project between Norwegian fish farmers and scientists from Norwegian research institute Sintef, and is already in use in Norway and Scotland.

This autumn, further deliveries have been made to farms in Ireland and Canada, as well as new sites in Scotland and Norway.

‘Flexilink is a patented system for a hardware free mooring grid,’ said Iain Macleod from Net Services (Scotland), based in Scalpay on the Isle of Harris and part of the Mørenot Group.

‘It is specifically designed to suit exposed and offshore sites. Mørenot Aquaculture are pioneers in offering this solution.’

New factory According to Macleod, work on the new grids has been ongoing simulta-

neously with the construction of a new factory in Scalpay. Last spring, a fire damaged the factory and the building had to be completely demolished.

‘Production still had to be kept at full speed to make the deliveries. The staff’s dedication has been amazing- they even worked outside for a sustained period.

‘Now the building is finally close to completion.

Recently it was made watertight and now we are just waiting on the accommodation fit-out which will include offices, canteen and changing rooms,’ added Macleod.

Great feedback In the last months, he has been travelling to both Canada and Ireland to assist with installations of the Flexlink grid. Macleod is happy to report that the feedback has only been positive.

James Rogers, infrastructure manager for Marine Harvest Canada, said he was looking for a long lasting grid, which is why he chose the Flexilink system.

‘We approached Mørenot to build a Flexilink grid for us because we were looking for a mooring grid that would last longer than our traditional grids and would reduce our deployment time.’

According to Rogers, the installation was quick

Above: The new purpose built service plant in Scalpay. Left: Connecting the first hardware free mooring system in Canada for Marine Harvest. Opposite - (Left): The whole grid is packed in bags or containers, ready for installation. (Right): A Flexilink mooring system being preassembled in Scalpay.

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05/11/2018 15:36:49

Front of the grid

‘With less hardware, we should also benefit from a longer period between inspections and also a longer lifespan.’

Marine Harvest Scotland installed its first Flexilink mooring system in 2013.

Arthur Campbell, moorings manager, said: ‘Marine Harvest has now installed 27 Flexlink mooring systems within the company.

‘The experience of using and installing these systems gave us the confidence to purchase five for our high energy sites at Rum, Muck, Loch Boisdale, Hellisay and Colonsay.

‘We work closely with the Scalpay factory which builds the systems containerised, which ensures ease of deployment for our mooring contractors.’. FF and easy: ‘The grid was constructed precisely to our specifications and was successfully deployed by our mooring contractor, SeaRoamer Marine Services, in five hours. We’re very satisfied with this result.’

Sean Creelman, skipper for Sea Roamer, agreed: ‘It all went in great, so smooth and fast, just sliding in off the deck. I like this grid in the bag thing,’ he said.

Longer lifespan In Ireland, Mørenot had delivered two Flexilink grids to the organic salmon farmer Bradan Beo Teoranta- near Galway on the Irish west coast.

Bobby Kerr, production manager for the company, said they were very pleased with the new grid.

‘We are all very happy with our Flexlink moorings.

We are particularly impressed that there is so little hardware in the system and this made for a safer deployment than normal.

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Morenot - PED.indd 53

We should “benefi t from a longer period between inspections and also a longer lifespan

”

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05/11/2018 15:37:07

Health– Pharmaqademy

Finding the right genes Genetic approaches to disease and sea lice resistance dominated this year’s ‘Pharmaqademy’ gathering

T

HE salmon industry’s knowledge of drug resistance in sea lice is still very limited, said Armin Sturm, outlining the evolution of resistance during his presentation at this year’s Pharmaqademy, held in Inverness at the end of last month.

Sturm, of the Institute of Aquaculture, has pioneered research into the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance in sea lice over the past ten years and is currently investigating how the parasite adapts to control strategies.

To stay a step ahead, farmers should reduce the number of treatments, monitor drug susceptibility, apply rotation of treatments as soon as the first signs of resistance emerge, and prevent resistance alleles becoming fixed in the population.

But there is also some evidence of resistance to non-medicinal con-

11/2/2018 10:10:11 AM

“

I hope you are not losing patience with us because we have been doing this for a while

”

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Pharmaq.indd 54

trols, he said, with reports of ‘cryptic’ transparent sea lice that may be protected against cleaner fish predation.

A Norwegian Food Safety Authority (FSA) inspector recently reported the development of these transparent lice that are not caught by cleaner fish, and said several Norwegian farmers had seen the same phenomenon.

Sturm suggested these strains of lice are derived from a cross and the research was ongoing. He asked industry representatives to send him samples of cryptic lice so he and his team could identify the genes involved.

The genetic approach to understanding sea lice is an ongoing process, and although genetic markers have been found, the genes are still unknown.

‘I hope you are not losing patience with us because we have been doing this for a while, and we have the genetic markers, but why is it so hard to find the genes?’

They need to fill the gaps in their knowledge, said Sturm, but they now have available the Single Molecule Real-Time Sequencing (SMRT®) technique, and hopefully at the next conference ‘will have some genes for you’.

Still on the subject of sea lice, Claudia

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05/11/2018 15:33:43

Finding the right genes

Above: Delegates at the Phamaqademy curling ‘championships’, a tradtion of the annual health seminars.

Left: Ben North.

Opposite: Diego Ribledo

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05/11/2018 15:34:02

Health – Pharmaqademy

Tschesche, a PhD student at the IoA (jointly funded by the IoA and Pharmaq), discussed her research into the parasites’ resistance to AMX (deltamethrin), used in bath treatments.

She found that resistance seems to be linked to mutations in the mitochondrial DNA, but was unrelated to changes in voltage-gated sodium changes, which have been previously described as resistance factors.

Her investigations focused on four locations (SNPS) affecting the amino acid sequence of mitochondrial genes, as these are more likely to be causally linked to drug susceptibility than other SNPs which do not affect amino acid sequences. Results revealed an increased frequency of these four mitchondrial genetic variants in resistant lice.

She found that resistance seems to be linked to mutations in the mitochondrial DNA, but said that the data was less straightforward than in previous studies.

While lice that are resistant to AMX showed differences at 28 locations (SNPS) on the louse genome, only four of these have been shown to cause amino acid changes and it is the frequency of these four SNPs that appears to distinguish levels of resistance between the lice which carry them.

A genetic approach to improving disease resistance in aquaculture was also the subject of Diego Robledo’s presentation.

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Robledo, a Galician based at the Roslin Institute, said aquaculture’s advantage in selective breeding was the high fecundity of fish (Atlantic salmon, for instance, produce approximately 20,000 offspring per ‘marvellously resistant to sea lice’ as juveniles. mating).

Therefore, there is major potential for the genetic improvement of Opposite: This year’s cake, another Pharmaqademy economic traits. Target traits for such improvements include growth tradition rate, feed efficiency, fillet yield, reproduction and maturation rates, and disease resistance (the latter representing more than 50 per cent of the Above: Pink salmon are

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Finding the right genes selective breeding goal in salmon).

While no sea lice treatments work perfectly, said Robledo, the genetic solution can provide long-lasting, cumulative benefits.

He described a large scale field trial with siblings from 200 commercial families sent to three seawater sites with infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN).

The big difference in mortality rates implied a genetic cause of resistance, and resistance was mapped to a single gene.

There was a big uptake of marker assisted selection by farmers in the UK, Norway and Chile, and mortality levels dropped dramatically (see graph, next page).

The IPN case was highly unusual in that resistance has been found to be controlled by variation at a single gene locus and, of course, thus dramatically demonstrated the potential of genetic solutions to disease in aquaculture, said Robledo. Most diseases, however, are controlled by multiple gene markers.

Recent advances in breeding science have meant that traditional family selection has now, by and large, been replaced by genomic selection.

This means that ‘outlying’ individuals from within families that may formerly have been rejected for breeding can be included in the breeding pool. This both elevates accuracy, as well as maintaining genetic diversity in the breeding population.

The next step is to improve techniques and be able to deliver the technology at lower costs, especially for smaller companies.

Looking at sea lice control from a different angle, Laura Braden considered resistance in coho salmon in her presentation, ‘Subverting molecular subterfuge – Coho find the Achilles heel of salmon lice’.

Although genetically similar, the different salmon species show variable levels of susceptibility to Lepeophtheirus salmonis. Atlantic salmon were the most susceptible, followed by sockeye, Chinook, pink and, lastly, coho.

Braden, originally from British Columbia but now based in Prince Ed-

ward Island, where she works for Aqua Bounty, said she had flown young coho salmon, which are native to the Pacific but not the Atlantic, to the east coast for her experiments.

She described the host-parasite relationship as an ‘arms race’, the result of co-evolution between the host defences and the parasite’s attack responses.

While the evolution of the host involves resistance and tolerance mechanisms, the parasite develops an avoidance of host immunity, but requires a balance to achieve minimal pathology while still exploiting the host – ‘the parasite wants the host to survive’,

“

The parasite wants the host to survive

”

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Research seminar – Pharmaq

said Braden.

In a susceptible species, there is a delayed response to parasitic attack, weak wound healing and chronic infection. But in a resistant species, there is immediate inflammation, followed by regulation of inflammation, rapid wound repair and parasite rejection – an ‘ideal situation’.

How do we make that happen in Atlantic salmon, asked Braden, who described the coho’s engulfing of sea lice by hyperplastic

epithelia as almost like an allergic reaction.

She explained how she is using a dual RNA sequencing approach to assess the transcriptomic response of the host and parasite during the period of rejection. This will determine if resistance accompanies a switch to saltwater, or increases with host size.

Sonia Rey Planellas, of the Institute of Aquaculture, looked at the interaction between immunity, the environment and pathogens in her talk about behavioural fever in zebrafish.

Her research has shown that, given the choice, individual fish will select a preferred temperature to optimise their response to stress and infection. In this way, they maintain homeostsis through a behavioural

Left: The big difference

in mortality rates implied a genetic cause of resistance

To smolt or not to smolt, that is the question IN the first of two talks, Canadian research scientist Laura Braden delved into the mysteries of smoltification.

Her presentation- ‘Should I stay or should I go? Dismantling the molecular decision to smolt in an anadromous salmonid’ – questioned why 40 to 60 per cent of one rainbow trout mother’s offspring will go to sea, but the others will stay.

Steelhead salmon, basically the same as rainbow trout, are the anadromous form that migrate to the ocean.

A highly valued species, there is an impetus to increase populations in the north-west Pacific because, while rainbow trout do very well, steelhead are not so successful, said Braden.

There is a huge variability from population to population and people don’t understand that they are the exact same species and we don’t know why some rainbow trout become steelhead salmon and vice versa.

It’s not predictable, said Braden, and the two can co-breed and exist in harmony. Resident animals are a smaller size at maturation and have smaller fry, whereas anadromous animals get bigger faster – there is higher mortality in the ocean and larger fish will do better.

What mechanism is involved? A previous study found a divergent immune programme in anadromous fish.

Braden’s research tested this hypothesis. She sampled fish pre-release, which could have been resident or migrant, and then tried to determine whether they would be residents or smolts, based on their gene expression.

The divergent immune pathway is an interesting concept because these fish are the same species, in the same environment and some, for whatever reason, are choosing to go to the ocean and smolt and some are staying away.

Focusing on immune response, Braden then looked at pink salmon which, she said, are ‘marvellously resistant to sea lice’ when they are juveniles. But

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they grow quickly and go to sea, and when they come back they are covered in lice.

Their immune programme switches as they mature and they become susceptible. It’s another example of the divergent immune programme, said Braden. When the fish are growing fast they need to be resistant, as all their energy is devoted to smoltification, but once they mature, it no longer matters.

‘We’re not sure how long it takes for that smolting salmonid to switch its immune programmes to become more mature, maybe more perceptive to vaccination strategies.’

The research is in its infancy, but Braden said knowing that the fish are going through the stressful transition at the smolt stage, and their immune cells are immature, this may not be a good time to vaccinate.

Above: Laura Braden

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Finding the right genes response. In controlled infection studies, thermal preferencing has allowed for the induction of ‘behavioural fever’, the benefits of which were measured through the enhancement of key determinants of the innate immune system.

This year’s Pharmaqademy, held at the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness, from October 29-30, attracted an internatioanl cohort of 55 delegates over the two days, and was hosted by Pharmaq’s Ben North and national sales manager Chris Mitchell. FF

Good data and bad plastics BIG Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are some of the buzz words now appearing in scientific literature, and Aaron Reeve of the SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) set about trying to demystify the jargon.

He said it wasn’t until quite recently that he understood what the terms meant, and only after a little investigation did he realise he’d ‘been doing these things for years and just didn’t realise it’.

Data science is just statistics by another name, he suggested, as he explained some of the applications of this discipline to animal health.

The ultimate aim of any data scientist is to generate actionable predictions – for example, in improving animal health.

Data science identifies patterns and correlation, but what it doesn’t do, by itself, is help us with causation, interpretation and explanation.

Advances in the last 20 years and our ability to generate data, for instance in gene sequencing, have far outstripped our ability to fully understand what such data tells us.

Big data is characterised by techniques to identify correlations between different sets of data.

The term, though, is misunderstood, said Reeve, ‘it seems to have taken on a mythical aura that there’s really something very complex and complicated about big data’.

But that’s not necessarily the case. Big data is anything that’s bigger than you’re accustomed to dealing with. And it’s anything that’s too big to be handled on just one computer.

With big data, we’re approaching real time analysis – and in animal health that means moving towards analysis in days rather than months.

There are examples of this technology already deployed in animal production, such as automated milkers that collect information about disease presence in cows; and environmental monitoring in aquaculture.

In Norway, a company is now using facial recognition of salmon with the aim of individualising medicine, and therefore being able to treat sick fish separately.

‘It will be interesting to see over the course of the next several years how practical this is on farms, but the technology exists now,’ said Reeve.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are based on quests to identify associations – we’re giving computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed, said Reeves.

In aquaculture, modern data science techniques are currently being used in a project to investigate the risk factors for complex gill disease, by analysing historic data collected by salmon producers over a number of years.

But while big data science techniques provide clever ways to address problems, their use in animal health still requires subject matter expertise.

Another ‘on trend’ science is the study of marine plastic litter. Lonneke Goddijn-Murphy, based at UHI in Thurso, said our coasts are sinks of plastic litter, and the very remote beaches of Orkney contain similar levels of plastic pollution as the shores of the Clyde and the Firth of Forth.

Fisheries contribute to much of this, with ghost nets, fish boxes, ropes, buoys and floaters discarded at sea but, as one delegate pointed out, a recent study of trout, halibut and mussels had not shown any link between fish farms and marine plastic pollution.

Above: Aaron Reeve

Meeting vaccination challenges BIODEVICES are the key to meeting fish vaccination challenges, said Ben North, managing director of Pharmaq UK. There are increasingly complex combinations of vaccines Above: Ben North required to meet customers’ needs, and all the necessary antigens may not be available in one product or by one supplier.

Co-injection is now commonplace in most established markets, and different vaccine technologies are being combined (for example, water based and oil based).

This presents technical and regulatory challenges, but Pharmaq and its parent company, Zoetis, are committed to investment in biodevices, said North.

The company is also investing in

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the introduction of vaccines for warm water species and after ten years in development, Pharmaq has seen the first commercial sales of pangasius vaccines in Vietnam.

Fish vaccination is not common with warm water species and farmers and regulators typically lack experience with vaccines. Achieving success depends on understanding these markets, and working in partnerships to establish better diagnostic capabilities, disease mapping, training and follow-up vaccination.

Fortunately, Zoetis has access to a huge range of different technologies and molecules, through its research facilities – the latest of which, in Suzhou in China, opened this year.

08.05.2018 12.37.42

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Health – Hydrolicer

Reducing lice burden Mechanical treatment is valuable asset, says Shetland farmer

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HE Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) is supporting the use of new technologies across the Scottish salmon industry, including in non-medicinal sea lice management.

As part of this project, SAIC’s knowledge exchange officer, Sam Houston, went to Shetland to visit Scottish salmon producer, Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, one of several participating companies, to learn about its methods of sea lice management.

Cooke’s area manager, David Brown, hosted a visit on board the Helen

Burnie to demonstrate the treatment of fish using a Hydrolicer.

Operating since April 2017, this technology was purchased by Cooke as part of its integrated pest management strategy, with assistance from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (distributed by Marine Scotland).

What are the traditional and non-medicinal treatments?

Sea lice are a considerable threat to farmed Atlantic salmon and represent a significant financial burden to the sector. Sea lice are actively monitored and managed in Scotland and must be maintained at levels less than three adult female sea lice per salmon.

If this threshold is reached, the salmon farmer must take action to reduce lice numbers.

Traditionally, sea lice have been controlled with medicines, either delivered in the form of in-feed treatments or tarpaulin bath treatments.

While these medicinal treatments are still useful,

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Reducing lice burden additional methods of lice prevention and removal are being developed, with the industry adopting a suite of new methods to keep lice numbers down.

Some of these include: the use of cleaner fish, various types of permeable lice skirts and mechanical lice removal, such as the Hydrolicer, used by Cooke Aquaculture.

How does the Hydrolicer work?

The Hydrolicer is a machine that has been designed to delouse using low pressure water jets creating turbulence in treatment chambers that dislodge lice from the salmon.

On Cooke’s vessel, the fish are drawn into the device through two lines by live fish pumps. Each system line includes a fish counter, two Hydrolicer combi units, the fish pump, water separating units and a filtration system to ensure that all the lice can be removed from the water and destroyed, to ensure no reinfection.

Treatments involve careful planning and experienced staff to ensure the salmon are handled as safely as possible.

Salmon enter the system from their pen and are counted to provide the operator with feedback.

Salmon then pass through two Hydrolicer combi units in series, where water jets remove sea lice from the salmon’s body.

To remove the lice from the water, the fish pass over a water separator before being returned to the cage. The water is filtered so that the lice can be removed and destroyed. The Helen Burnie has two lines, allowing the treatment of up to 80

tonnes of salmon per hour.

The Hydrolicer system was developed by Frank Øren and Odd Einar Grøntvedt in a collaborative project between Marine Harvest ASA and Cflow, a fish handling systems company.

The first prototypes were tested in 2015 and the technology has developed rapidly, with sixth generation models already available for sale.

Although the Hydrolicer is owned by Cooke, the company is willing to hire it out to neighbouring companies, including Scottish Sea Farms, Grieg and Dawnfresh, by charging a day rate for use of the Helen Burnie and gear.

‘The Hydrolicer is a valuable asset to us to control sea lice,’ said David Brown. ‘It is our preferred mechanical treatment in Scotland and has reduced

Left: Salmon pass through the Hydrolicer.

Above: SAIC’s Sam Houston, pictured at Aquaculture UK in May

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Health – Hydrolicer

We feel “that the

system gives us the best possible treatment and it also avoids reinfection on the site

”

Above: The Helen Burnie and Hydrolicer system operated by Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, off Unst, Shetland

the lice burden at our sites.

‘Due to removal of lice from the environment, we feel that the system gives us the best possible treatment and it also avoids reinfection on the site.’

Cooke has already seen the benefits of the system and is keen to invest further in the technology.

With special thanks to Cooke’s staff, in particular, David Brown, Andrei Bordeianu, Lucas, Neil and Glen. FF

Sea lice control strategies THE Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre has helped fund several projects to control sea lice on Scottish fish farms. These include exploring ultrasound technology for use against sea lice; and supporting a PhD project at SAMS (the Scottish Association for Marine Science) to investigate sea lice populations off the west coast of Scotland. The hydrolicer project is part of an ongoing initiative, launched in 2016 and involving 11 companies, examining alternative technologies and approaches to sea lice management.

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05/11/2018 12:39:31

Sea Machines Robotics – Advertorial

Intelligent design Twenty first century technology for workboats

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US based company with its European operation set up in Hamburg, Germany, believes that it is time for the marine industry to ‘upgrade to 21st century technology’ as it launches its brand new intelligent vessel control system for workboats.

Sea Machines Robotics is a forward- ooking, autonomous technology company that specialises in advanced control technology for workboats and other commercial surface vessels. Based in Boston and operating globally,

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Above: Peter Holm, European director

the company is driven by a crew of mariners, engineers, coders and autonomy scientists.

In introducing its new intelligent vessel control for workboats, the company believes it is time for the industry to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’.

‘Sea Machines believes the marine industry should operate with increased productivity, efficiency and safety. For these reasons, the company has launched a series of intelligent autonomous and remote-control products for installation aboard most types of commercial and government workboats’.

Now commercially available and in inventory, the Sea Machines

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Intelligent design

The “ technology

advances operational productivity, predictability, efficiency and safety

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SM200 and SM300 upgrade workboats with autonomous or remote unmanned operations for general transit, offshore surveying, security and surveillance, routine dredging and daughter craft missions, among others.

The flagship SM300 integrates with existing vessel systems and sensors to manage preplanned and dynamically chartered missions through: • A point-and-go user interface • Pilot-by-wire propulsion and steering control • Certified, embedded ECDIS • Situational awareness via electronic charts, ARPA and AIS • Obstacle and traffic avoidance • Remote communications via wireless, 4G and satellite • Real-time data feed to remote operator • Condition monitoring of hull and machinery • Remote payload control Both products can be easily retro-fitted aboard existing workboats or included as part

of new-build packages, typically requiring only ten components to install. Most vessels will be outfitted with a system in a matter of days.

To discover how Sea Machines can help your business more productively, contact European director Peter Holm at pholm@sea-machines.com FF

Top: The SM300 integrates with existing vessel systems and sensors to manage pre-planned and dynamically charted missions Above: The SM300. Left: The SM400.

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Malin Marine – Advertorial

Clydebuilt

Scottish boat builder sees fish farms as key to expansion plans

T Below: Maline Marine’s 16.2m workboat is now operating in Shetland.

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HE THE aquaculture industry is helping to drive a resurgence in engineering in Scotland, with the latest player in this market unveiling ambitious expansion plans last month.

Malin Marine, based in Glasgow & Aberdeen and with construction facilities in Renfrew, wants to establish a new marine engineering hub on the Clyde with the potential to create 1,000 jobs.

Malin, which entered the aquaculture market earlier this year, bringing a 16.2m workboat to the Aviemore trade show in May, has commissioned an economic impact assessment on a 47-acre site in West Dunbartonshire.

The site, formerly the Carless oil storage facility, is land zoned for industrial use. It also has direct access to a deep-water channel via an 80m long quayside berth with heavy lift facilities.

‘It’s a big site to be developed over a few years but aquaculture is a key area we see for growth with such facilities,’ said Graham Tait.

The company operates in other markets – including defence, offshore, oil and gas,

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Clydebuilt

renewables, and marine civils – but is looking to do more workboats for Scotland’s aquaculture sector.

Tait said there was a lot of interest in its workboat from visitors to Aquaculture UK in Aviemore. The vessel, built for a mussel farmer, was transported by road to the exhibition from the company’s Renfrew yard on the Clyde.

That boat is now in the water, and Malin is looking to produce a range of vessels suitable for aquaculture support including larger designs. This is very much in response to industry demand – ‘where deck payload and crane capacity is a key factor’.

Although there are several vessels in build for Scottish farm sites we generally see these being constructed overseas but the impact of Brexit on the exchange rate (& other risks) may dampen imports going forward so that’s a help.’

‘It’s good to see the huge potential there is for our company in aquaculture. We are very proud that our workboats can be both designed and built in Scotland. The idea that we’re based in Scotland is a strong part of our pitch. We’re able to design, build & maintain the vessel in-house and close to the end user.’

Malin has a team of draughtsmen, engineers and naval architects who consider customers operational requirements before completing the design. A good design doesn’t just happen.

There is a lot of experience and operational knowledge that must lead the process.

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Capacity, durability, operability, flexibility are all important,’ said Tait.

‘They work pretty hard over maybe 30 years so they have to be easy to maintain and well built.’

Malin Marine are also well placed to design & construct other major fishfarm equipment including feed barges and offshore structures.

It’s clear the industry are looking further offshore into deeper more hostile locations so there needs to be a step change in technology including cage design and feeding platforms. Our new facility would support these activities.

Phase 1 will include relocating our fabrication facility from Renfrew to the new site on the Clyde, which is much bigger and has direct access on to the deep water berth.

The proposal, which is in an advanced stage of planning with West Dunbartonshire Council, will see a major remediation and regeneration of the contaminated land that is a legacy of the past oil refinery. The quayside also needs to be redeveloped to support heavy lift projects.

Malin Group managing director John MacSween believes the hub, expected to be set up within three to four years, will be a ‘magnet’ for marine engineering and technology organisations and ‘a centre of excellence’ for the sector.

‘The heritage of the Clyde is something of which we should all be rightly proud,’ he said.

‘We have been working in the shipping industry for over 100 years and have a passion for the river and its history, but there is a need to be looking to the future to ensure the long-term success of the Clyde as a maritime centre of excellence.’

Being on potential clients’ doorstep is a distinct advantage, said Tait, and he sees a bright future for Scottish engineering in the aquaculture industry.

‘There’s a strong demand there for a high standard and we have to be able to meet that.’

For more information contact: 01224 288 918, www.malingroup.com/ workboats, or workboats@malingroup.com FF

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Aquaculture is a key area we see for growth with such facilities

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From the archive – July/August 1991

The offshore option

Steel cages – an asset or a liability?

PETER CROOK casts an engineer’s eye over the effect of extreme conditions on the materials used in modern cage structures Square frames Any engineer worth his salt will turn up his nose at a steel frame intended to form a structure, for the simple reason that, in his terms, it isn’t one. Take four rulers and pin them together at their ends, and you have what is technically described as a four bar chain (or it was when I was at night school in 1958).

The frame has no inherent ability to hold its shape. Do the same with three rulers and we demonstrate what any eight-year-old with a Meccano set building his second crane has learnt. Triangulation is the first important step in the design of any efficient structure.

Fish farmers are generally not too keen on the idea of triangular collars, so we keep he square steel frame by adding much reinforcing at its corners to help maintain its intended shape. When wind, wave and tide forces run in alignment with a group of these cages, the forces pulling the square out of shape are small, but if a site suffers a diagonal sea, this inherent weakness will be found out. A well installed mooring system can help prevent diagonal seas pulling a cage out of shape. For the mooring to be most effective in this, the mooring legs need to be evenly distributed and equally tensioned. This is not always easy to achieve in areas with higher tidal ranges. Thus it is almost impossible to completely cancel the forces which distort the cage.

Most experience farmers know that a cage on its own has a much easier time in a storm than a group, because its neighbours are not trying to tear it apart. Heave and snatch forces at cage-to-cage joints are a major source of wear. Explanation of snatch forces is helped by reference to figure 1. As a pair of cages rides over a wave, the pitch of each cage causes the centres of gravity to move towards each other by a distance ‘d’ in the figure. A short time after this wave crest has passed and before the pair sink into the following trough, the centres of gravity move apart again until the cages reach the T’S a year or two now since I closed an article in this magazine with a sughorizontal position. It follows that each cage is accelerating towards the other gestion that cage design was a job for someone a little more experienced at a maximum when on the crest, and those who remember their ‘O’-level than the apprentice draughtsman. This was written in a time when the nice Physics will recall Force = Mass x Acceleration and will be well ahead of me! quiet corners in sea lochs (relatively speaking) were all in use, and steel cagThe snatch force is calculated in this way. If the joint between each cage were es for ‘exposed sites’ were coming into fashion. Some farmers were learning a stout spring, then it could absorb these accelerations and movements, but in to walk on plastic pipes in order to change a net. practice it is more often a hefty pin in an even heftier bracket coping with the Since then, the square, steel-framed cage and the circular collar of concensnatching that results. tric MDPE pipes have become the mainstay systems at the majority of sea Since the pin allows no springing to attenuate the snatch, these forces have farms in Scotland and its islands. But which one to go for? – well, ‘you pays yer to be absorbed by applied stresses in the cage structure. It is not surprising, money…’ as with most purchases of capital goods. therefore, that worn pins and bushes are common on these structures.

On the one hand, the steel cage gives excellent working access and room This source of forces on cages can also cause resonance (remember the one for fish management, while the HSE leaflet on cage safety informs the farmer about soldiers walking in step over a bridge) when the crest-to-crest distance that he should carry out operations round the exterior of plastic ring cages of a wave train coincides with twice the cage length. With a group of cages in from a boat! On the other hand, a plastic, circular cage with its high flexibility this situation, the cages at the down sea end of the group suffer increasingly can ride out storms with ease in sites where a steel structure could be in as the snatch forces increase along the group. It follows, of course, that if cage considerable difficulty. It would obviously be good if the steel units could have length is either much shorter or much longer than the wave pitch, then the the ‘survivability’ of the plastic ones, but there are fundamental limitations in snatch forces are reduced. Unfortunately, however, our Scottish sea lochs genthem which make this difficult. It is these I wish to discuss.

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From the archive – July/August 1991 erate waves which are frequently close to the critical pitch and so the source of trouble is definitely still with us.

Uneven ride In addition to these snatch forces, a cage does not necessarily ride evenly, in a vertical sense, with its neighbours. This is because each wave is not the same size, or even shape, as its predecessor, and a cage pitching up may not do so in quite the same way as one pitching down. Since these heave forces depend so much on the shape and dynamics of both cage movement and wave train, the difficulty of the calculation can reduce engineering to one of its lower levels; make it thick and try it!

Each side of a square steel cage framework is usually made from two substantial main beams with walkway gratings welded across, and extra reinforcing at the ends to form a rectangular, flat panel. Take a sheet of paper – it twists without effort. It is the same with this flat steel panel. Indeed, this high flexibility of the cage sides is sometimes claimed as an advantage of the design.

But what happens when this twisting is taking place? When a piece of paper is twisted, the distortion sets up a diagonal ripple in the paper. The engineer’s description of this is a ‘diagonal tension field’, and, in effect, the paper is doing its own improvements to a four bar chain by reacting as if it were a proper triangulated structure. In practice, it means that twisting a cage side sets up forces which stress the cross members as they prevent the framework becoming slightly diamond shaped. Because they are welded to the side beams it is difficult for them to react in quite the same way as the sheet of paper. While the level of stress may not be high, the effect can be serious if it happens often. In common with the sources of stress described, this stress is also cyclic, which brings us to the main point.

Crystalline Steel is a crystalline structure. If the bond between each crystal were perfect at every interface between crystals, then the strength of steel would be increased by a large factor. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many interfaces are flawed, and cracks exist at this molecular level. These imperfections are at the route of metal fatigue. Any environment which provides an opportunity for these cracks to spread will ultimately lead to failure.

Try bending a 6in nail. Unless you are an Alistair Fraser, this is a bit difficult.

But nick it with a hacksaw and bend it to and fro to start with, and the crack you have initiated quickly spreads until the nail breaks. The imperfection made by the nick on the surface of the metal is a perfect way to set up failure by metal fatigue. Steel with imperfections, subject to reversing stresses, is a ‘dead ringer’ for failure by metal fatigue.

In practice, these imperfections can take the form of such things as a small hole to allow the galvaniser to do his job properly, a weld, or a fold in a steel sheet. Any imperfection is enough to start the insidious crack that leads to failure. Fortunately, the lower the level of cyclic stress, the longer it takes for the cracks to become a sign of future failure. Indeed, if the stresses are low enough, the cracks may not become a problem for many years. Steel does not, however, have an infinite fatigue life at any level of stress.

A steel structure is subjected, during its working life, to all these cyclic stresses, the dead load stresses of its own weight, and those due to wind, wave and tide, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In order to design a structure for an expected life, the engineer needs to have an almost exact knowledge of what the sum of all these stresses is likely to be. Clearly, this is not often possible, as there have been many failures. Indeed, in a situation where the design conditions of applied wave spectra, wind and tide are based on a fairly rough and ready approximation, it becomes obvious that to produce a soundly engi-

Above: Typical fatigue crack just before total failure.

Below: How heave and snatch forces operate on cage-to-cage joints.

neered steel cage is a difficult task, especially when some fundamentals of good engineering practice have been ignored.

One cannot help but question whether steel is up to the task being asked of it. To be successful with steel cages in the long term, the industry cannot afford to ignore the for the application of sound engineering methods, especially if the cages are to be used for long periods in ‘exposed’ sites.

Maybe we need a variation on the flexible concentric tubes that does not require staff to have the self-confidence of 20-year-olds and degrees in sports acrobatics for a day on the job!...But that’s another story.. FF

Vacancy for Head of Workboat Sales Malin Marine is looking to recruit a new Head of Sales for its fast growing range of Scottish built workboats As Head of Sales the candidate will be tasked with identifying new business opportunities and developing existing accounts. The role entails building lasting relationships with workboat operators and owners covering asset procurement and through life support Successful candidates must have a strong sales background supplemented by a good operational and technical knowledge of workboats and their application across civil, marine and aquaculture markets The position requires travel across the UK and Europe, the candidates proximity to Malin’s HQ in Scotland is not therefore essential Successful candidates will benefit from a company car, base salary and sales bonus scheme Interested candidates should apply to workboats@malingroup.com Closing date: December 2018

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

Archive - Nov.indd 69

69

05/11/2018 16:40:13

Processing and Retail News

Salmon processor set for global expansion

Five Star Fish site for sale at £3.75m

One of the largest processors of Scottish salmon has secured £3.2 million funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland to further expand into international markets.

LOSSIE Seafoods, based in Buckie, and part of Associated Seafoods Ltd (ASL), has ambitious growth plans, creating 50 new jobs in the last year, with hopes of more to follow as production increases.

The company, which specialises in the sale of quality seafood including premium Scottish smoked salmon under the brand ‘Pride of Scotland’, is looking to develop its exports around the globe.

Victor West, man-

aging director of ASL, said: ‘Our goal is to produce the finest quality Scottish seafood for customers around the world, and really put Scotland and its products on to

the map.

‘Lossie Seafoods was founded over 100 years ago, and we still use smoking and curing techniques developed over the generations.

‘Our extensive experience makes us stand out in the market, and our focus on quality has seen Lossie Seafoods win many awards for its produce.’

Eileen Tocher, relationship director at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said: ‘Victor and the team at Lossie Seafoods supply the highest quality products possible, which is opening up opportunities for the business, both nationally and abroad.

‘The company has

Focus on quality

“

Our extensive experience makes us stand out in the market

”

expanded at a rapid rate in the last few years, thanks to the team’s ambitious growth plans and their dedication.’

Marine Harvest signs Alibaba deal MARINE Harvest has signed a ground-breaking agreement with China’s Alibaba, the world’s largest internet trading company.

Described as a memorandum of understanding, the agreement is with Win-Chain, the fresh food supply chain owned by the Alibaba Group, which dwarfs the likes of US giants like Amazon when it comes to internet trading.

The aim is to bring more salmon

attended by Norway’s King to China from Marine Harald and Queen Sonja.

Harvest, which is the It came as Marine Harworld’s largest producer vest opened a new plant in of farmed salmon.

Shanghai, the first seafood The two businesses plan factory in China by a Norto co-operate on issues wegian company. such as improving the Marine Harvest chairman supply chain from the Above: Ole-Eirik Lerøy Ole-Eirik Lerøy said: ‘We point of production all look forward to the many the way to the consumer. opportunities ahead to deepen our The memorandum was signed in collaboration with Alibaba.’

Shanghai in October at a ceremony

Smart site shows where fish are sourced

CONSUMERS can find out where the fish they buy is farmed or caught with a new interactive map launched by Marks & Spencer.

The retailer says its website - corporate. marksandspencer. com/seafoodmap - is the first of its kind in the UK and includes

70

Processing News.indd 70

information on the capture or farming method and sustainability information for every fishery or farm.

Some 47 different species (every type M&S sells) are plotted on the map.

For the UK, the map shows that M&S supplies four farmed species – salmon, rainbow trout, blue mussels and rock oysters.

Hannah Macintyre, the company’s marine biologist, said: ‘Transparency is an important part of the trust that our custom-

ers and stakeholders put in us, that’s why we’ve published this smart tool which lays bare our whole fish supply chain, wherever it is in the world and however it is fished or farmed.’

For farmed fish, the map shows the location of the farm by country and region, the farming method, M&S Select Farm status and whether the farm is third party certified.

For wild caught fish, the map shows the location of where the fish is caught.

Seachill owner confirms contracts wins HILTON Foods has confirmed that Seachill, its recent Grimsby acquisition, has won a significant new contract to supply seafood to two of the UK’s leading supermarket chains.

Hilton made the disclosure in a group trading update on November 1. The predominantly meat supply group purchased Seachill from its Icelandic owners for £80 million 12 months ago.

The company said in a statement: ‘In Seachill, we are pleased to have won new business to supply shellfish [thought to be shrimp or prawns] to Tesco, as well as to supply coated fish to Waitrose from March 2019. In the UK, turnover has continued to grow relative to last year, driven predominantly by Seachill.’

THE 2 Sisters Food Group has put its Five Star Fish Factory in Grimsby on the market – with an asking prices of £3.75 million.

The 9,200 square metre site was a major producer of coated fish for Marks & Spencer until April this year, when the parent company decided it should close, with the loss of 400 jobs.

The 2 Sisters group, which is owned by the poultry tycoon Ranjit Boparan, said at the time that the operation was no longer sustainable.

The latest figures from Companies House show that Five Star made a loss of £17.2 million for the year to July 29, 2017, compared with a loss of £6.5 million for the previous year.

This was in spite of a near £6.5 million, or 10.7 per cent, rise in turnover to £57.521 million after it won the Marks & Spencer coated fish contract from Seachill two years ago.

That work has now gone to Young’s Seafood in Grimsby, which is taking on some of the Five Star staff who have lost their jobs.

It may not be long before this bespoke site is sold. It has been described by the selling agents, PPH Commercial, as a modern food production centre.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/11/2018 15:17:23

Technology – BAADER advertorial

Precision process

Showcase for BAADER across the whole value chain

S

OME 200 international customers were welcomed at a recent showcase of BAADER’s state of the art salmon processing technology.

Processors and partners from 25 countries took part in the second edition of salmon@ BAADER, held on September 27 at the company’s Technology Centre in its Lübeck, Germany, headquarters.

As well as displaying single machines, BAADER showed wall-to-wall solutions, highlighting their capabilities within the entire value chain.

This value chain includes cooperation with strategic partners, in the design, planning and installation of complete processing solutions, plus service and after sales.

Single machines BAADER processing machines are built on proven technology over several generations, ensuring great reliability, serviceability and availability.

Machines can further be configured to the customer’s individual demands in terms of speed or functionality.

For example, the BAADER Trim Robot offers six different trim possibilities, differing in thickness and form.

The Waterjet Cutter can lift production to a completely new level of flexibility by allowing changes to be made to the end products, based on the daily demand.

Process solutions BAADER machines offer the highest precision and processing stability when integrated into a BAADER system solution.

The company’s processing solutions can cover the entire salmon processing cycle, from harvesting to packaging.

In addition, they can be configured to the demands of the customer’s parameters: throughput, labour rate, processing stability and product flexibility.

Depending on the processor’s request, solutions can be configured with maximum processing speed, or with the aim of reducing human contact with food items, or with a focus to synchronise interfaces, which ensures minimum interruptions.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

Baader - PED.indd 71

The “service

Tailored service and after sales BAADER provides maintenance that can release the full potential of the customer’s food processing business.

BAADER recognises that making the most of processing equipment is about more than engineering – it’s about capturing the maximum available turnover while ensuring the safety of raw materials.

Its service concept, based on 99 years of industry experience, helps achieve just that.

BAADER offers a flexible service product landscape in three packages that can be individually tailored for customers.

The company is committed to building partnerships that produce lasting results. Throughout the duration of the contract, customers can benefit from a close working partnership with BAADER. BAADER technicians understand the fine details of service and maintenance, and they know how these processes affect the long-term performance of machines and processing lines.

At the BAADER Technology Centre, experienced service engineers offer training to customers’ processing operators, to guarantee high run-time efficiency.

From BAADER’s Lübeck warehouse, spare parts of its past and current products can be delivered around the globe.

In this fast moving world of short lifecycle products, BAADER upholds reliability and long-term lifecycles. FF

concept is based on 99 years of industry experience

”

Top: BAADER staff and customers meet at the conference. Above: Processing machinery on show. Left: Some 200 customers attended salmon@BAADER

71

05/11/2018 15:13:31

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Opinion – Inside track

Farmers on show

BY NICK JOY

O

K, it was me! I admit it.The producer of the BBC Landward documentary, ‘Saving our Salmon’, rang me before he researched the show.

I want to make clear that I did not put him in touch with anyone, but did suggest a few people who would be interesting to talk to. I also gave him a fairly severe ear bashing about making just another programme saying wild good, farming bad.

The result was not a huge success for a large number of reasons but it did show more balance. Actually getting an angler to admit on camera that his killing of wild fish might have influenced their survival is a first, and the anglers, in my view, did not come out well.

It was also wonderful to hear the comment that agriculture has big mortalities, too, but doesn’t get the same trashing that we do.

Sadly, the same tired old face was pulled out of the hat for the wild lobby.

The good news was that his face is very tired and it wasn’t that great in the first place.

Our side did not come out that well either, though seeing our industry through the eyes of a wrasse fisherman or the people of Unst will not have done any harm at all.

I am afraid that we tend to use people from the big companies. In this case, Steve Bracken did the job for Marine Harvest, which always seems to be the butt of these sorts of programmes.

Steve has held that particular poisoned chalice for a lot of years and we will all miss him. He came over as reasoned, reasonable and thoughtful.

We did not win the argument because we cannot. Business is seen these days as inherently bad and corrupt and those who supposedly are defending the environment as good.

Particularly in the UK, underdogs are favoured and seen as needing help. So forgive my defeatism in saying that we cannot win the argument. However, we don’t have to lose it.We must keep stating our case and in the end logic will win.

No one did answer the fundamental problem of why salmon have declined on the east coast at a very similar rate to the west. Nor did they question that fact that there was a decline before salmon farming even existed.

But I do believe that there were some good lessons to learn from this programme. Firstly, the guys on the pens make very good cases for our industry. I thought Lewis Bennett from Loch Duart came across particularly well and it was a brave move to put him in front of a camera.We should do more of this.

Secondly, Brian Smith, the wrasse fisherman, came across brilliantly. He was humorous and made some telling points, and very clearly was not big business.

For me, the lesson here is that our industry affects many small businesses and these connect more easily with the public. It is also true that people tend to believe voices from outside an industry rather than those within.

Lastly, we heard from the community in Unst, with Katrine and Dennis Johnston of Cooke. I know they work on a salmon farm but you could hear the islands in their voices.

Funnily enough, most of us who have lived in the isles or the west coast know we are popular there. It is only in the big towns or among the rich angling or fishery owning sector that we are not.

We need to hear more of those locals speaking about the impact salmon farming has had on the west coast and the isles for those who

74

Nick Joy.indd 74

must “keepWestating

our case and in the end logic will win

”

live there.These are the people who connect with television audiences.

The boss or the PR representative talking to the journalist mostly comes across as bland and makes people think we have something to hide.

So let’s trust the people around us to do the job.

I am old enough to remember the Orkney isles before salmon farming and I was also a very keen angler. So I met many ghillies and I have to say almost to a man they regarded their income from it as secondary because they could not live on it.

I do not criticise the pay levels but let’s not try to suggest that angling brought a thriving economy before salmon farming arrived. It did not and it does not. It does bring wealthy tourists and it does support the local tourist trade.

Salmon farming brings stable, long-term, yearround jobs to areas which have little else. I know that there are plenty of people who don’t work in salmon farming who know that.

Lastly and most importantly, the lesson to learn is that the Landward audience was small, like all programmes about salmon farming.We need to keep this in perspective but we also need to keep thinking about how we are seen. FF

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

05/11/2018 15:06:56

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