Cermaq Chile chooses SFI for mechanical delousing
Salmon farmer Cermaq is to use a new mechanical system to tackle sea lice in Chile.
The system, developed by Faroe Islands company Sea Farm Innovations (SFI), is based on flushing salmon with clean sea water at ambient temperature to remove lice. It will be deployed in Chile from July.
The treatment itself lasts for approximately 0.2 seconds per fish and is effective against both mobile and adult lice.
Challenging situation
“We know that the sea lice situation in Chile is challenging, and we need to expand our toolbox to remain control,” Harald Takle, R&D manager farming technology in Cermaq Group, said in a press release.
“We think SFI have come up with a very interesting concept that safeguards the welfare of the fish and at the same time is both flexible and easy to operate.
“We are cooperating closely with SFI, combining their entrepreneurial approach and competence with our experience to adapt the technology to ensure an optimal effect against sea lice in Chile.
“For safe implementation, we will use Cermaq’s fish welfare scoring system and highly dedicated personnel. If successful here, we will share this knowledge with the industry in Chile and our operations in Canada and Norway.”
High capacity
The delousing system can treat all fish sizes, has a high treatment capacity, is easy to operate and can be installed on multiple boat types.
Javier Herrera, sea water director for Cermaq Chile, said: “We are looking forward to deploying the new tool. This system will enable us to delouse our fish gently and hopefully with high treatment efficiency.”
Eyðbjørn Hansen, managing director at Sea Farm Innovations, said: “We find Cermaq the perfect partner in our quest to make delousing as gentle as possible. Our main focus from the beginning has been fish welfare and for us to be able to work together with a leading company within fish welfare is a perfect match.”
