PD still a major cost
"It is not dangerous to eat, but the fillets are tough, get colour changes and become unsuitable for processing. Farmers slaugthering fish with PD have probably experienced customer complaints on seemingly good fish fillet which turns out to be less delicate. The phase before the scar tissue occurs is often the worst, as one often sees melanin in the fillet, which occurs as brown spots," he told kyst.no.
Hogne Bleie is a trained veterinarian and has extensive research experience in fish health from working with the salmon farming industry to develop processing methods and in marketing. In his present position he provides daily advice to fish farmers and fish health professionals.
Negative practice in Mid-Norway
"Both mortality and quality problems from PD are far lower now compared with ten years ago. Focusing on better farming practice - with good locations, clean nets and lower densities - is crucial," he says.
"When we see some of the same challenges in Mid-Norway as they have had on the west coast, it is not nearly as extensive as when the disease first came to Hordaland in the mid-1990s. Mid-Norway has long focused on optimising the farming environment on large and good locations," he adds.
However, he believes that one negative practice in Mid-Norway is that many producers routinely relocate fish from one site to another. This risks enhancing the effect of PD, and the movement of fish largely stopped over a decade ago on the west coast in order to prevent this eeffect.
