Promising test of non-chemical lice removal system
Last year, a trial was conducted in British Columbia, using a modified fish grader equipped with spray nozzles designed to remove lice from farmed Atlantic salmon in a way that didn’t cause abnormal stress to the fish, and which also collected all the lice removed from the fish. The idea was to remove sea lice to a level below the regulatory requirements, while at the same time avoiding additional costs by employing the technology during a routine size-grading operation. The results were promising, but some further refinement of the equipment was deemed appropriate.
Last week, a Press Release issued by the General Manager of the Norwegian salmon farming company Salmonor AS- Vibecke Bondø- stated that her company had also achieved good results with a trial of a similar set-up- this one developed by a couple of Norwegian entrepreneurs:
On Monday this week, Salmonor AS tested a new, locally developed method for removing lice. The results were very encouraging. "SKAMIK Lusesenter" developed by Geir Skarstad and Frode Mikalsen in collaboration with Fish Farmers' Environmental Services AS and Norwegian Fish Transportation (NFT) is based on mechanical removal of lice by the use of water flushing. This and similar methods have been at the testing stage for a while. We are not aware of anybody that until now has succeeded in developing a method that provides both effective and high capacity while fish health and welfare is safeguarded. Monday's large-scale test with SKAMIK Lusesenter mounted on the NFT's wellboat "Rune Viking" convinced us that we can now likely face a breakthrough. The flushing itself seems to work well. We experienced some varying effects that we see reflected the flow of fish through the system, but occasionally we removed over 90 % of the lice. The equipment is fitted with a filter that collects the lice. We believe that only small improvements are needed to ensure a more stable flow of salmon through the lice remover. The developers behind "SKAMIK Lusesenter " have done a great job and are already working on improvements to be ready for another trial run a short time from now. The industry each year spends billions on delousing . We may not come completely away from the use of drugs, but removal of lice using this technology can be a good, chemical free alternative to gain control of sea lice. We are proud that the "SKAMIK Lusesenter" is a product developed in the region of Outer Namdal, and we look forward to being able to use the finished product.
