Mowi leases vessel for full-time salmon farm seabed sampling

Salmon farmer Mowi Scotland has agreed a deal with longstanding marine surveying partner, Benthic Solutions Ltd, to operate a dedicated environmental surveying vessel.

The Benthic Surveyor - equipped with specialist lifting equipment, positioning systems, seabed imaging and mapping capabilities and an onboard wet laboratory - is now permanently mobilised for Mowi’s benthic surveying operations, having commenced operations in mid-March.

The introduction of new regulatory monitoring requirements means Mowi is now carrying out a significantly enhanced programme of benthic compliance surveys and this year anticipates undertaking 35 seabed surveys across its marine fish farms, the company said in the June edition of its staff newsletter, The Scoop.

Sustainability and provenance

“Ensuring that we comply with our regulatory thresholds is essential,” said Mowi Scotland boss Ben Hadfield. “This not only demonstrates the sustainability of our farming operations in compliance with a wide range of aquaculture standards that we are certified against, but also provides clear provenance to our food for both suppliers and consumers.

“Seabed monitoring is an important, often unrecognised activity that is central to the success of the industry. It demonstrates that Mowi, and indeed the wider Scottish aquaculture industry, acts responsibly and sustainably. This cannot be underestimated at a time of enhanced scrutiny of the sector.”

25 years of experience

Mowi’s marine surveying scientific team is led by Dave Young, a leading practitioner in this field, with 25 years of experience of monitoring the environments around our fish farms. Young’s experience and knowledge in this vital area has been acknowledged by his nomination in the Unsung Hero category of this year’s Aquaculture Awards, which will be presented on June 19.

Over 25 years Young has undertaken 425 seabed compliance surveys which have cumulatively resulted in the acquisition of 6,500 environmental samples, producing in excess of 1,000 boxes of samples sent for laboratory analysis. Since 2016, Young has also played an important role in the evolution of seabed compliance monitoring through the collection of environmental data sets that have informed the scientific development of eDNA as a compliance measurement method, reported The Scoop.

Making surveys simpler

Ian Wilson from Benthic Solutions told The Scoop: “We have supported Mowi in benthic environmental compliance assessments for over two decades. Dave’s diligence in supporting all of its field operations has been nothing short of remarkable, particularly considering the extensive logistics needed to cover all of the Western Isles and Highlands, historically combined with having to mobilise and demobilise each survey and vessel from scratch.

“The introduction of the Benthic Surveyor as a dedicated survey vessel will significantly simplify these logistics and provide increased efficiency and safety for all field staff on future operations.”