Tarpaulin "skirt" suppliers ready for summer lice
High sea temperatures in winter and spring have so far created a lot of headaches for farmers in southern districts of Norway. Lice levels have been far higher than normal, and the development of a worrying level of resistance to traditional treatments has forced the farmers to look for alternative solutions.
This has led to more salmon farmers considering the use of tarpaulin skirts, which are fitted around the top few metres of the cages to prevent the lice from entering the pens. The producers behind this concept, Botngård and Calanus, report increasing sales and have predicted sales to double by the end of this year.
"We have built up our production capacity for the demand. We are running two full shifts over the summer," says CEO of Botngård, Kjell Braa to Norsk Fiskeoppdrett/kyst.no.
Calanus has also has taken additional steps to be prepared for a hectic summer.
"We have taken some steps during last winter to prepare for an hectic season, which means we are very well set up, says head of research and development in Calanus," Kurt Tande.