App tracks louse numbers
Aquabench has recently launched an App that shows sea lice abundances in farms across Chile.
The Chilean company has recently launched CaliMap, an innovative application for mobile devices which alerts the user to the abundance of Caligus rogercresseyi - the louse species that is present in most Chilean salmon farms.
According to Aquabench, the App makes it possible to make a journey through the different neighborhoods and areas of the regions of Aysén and Los Lagos and identify the abundance level of the parasite in each farm. When activated, a map is displayed marking the farms of a certain color, indicating the abundance of gravid females. Green indicates average loads of between 0 and 1; yellow shows abundances between 1 and 2; orange, between 2 and 3; and red, over 3 gravid females per fish.
In addition, it provides details such as size of the farming site (number of fish), average fish weight, temperature and salinity. The information is updated weekly, reflecting the figures of the previous week.
The App, which is available in Google Play and Apple Store, was developed under the sea lice coordinated control project headed by Aquabench, which involves 14 salmon producing companies in Chile: Salmones Humboldt, Ventisqueros, Salmones Camanchaca, Multiexport, Los Fiordos, Aquachile, Salmones Friosur, Salmones Blumar, Cermaq Chile, Salmones Austral, Marine Farm, Marine Harvest Chile, Cultivos Yadrán and Australis.
