Egersund Net Awarded

Egersund Net has developed an innovative technology to help protect farmed Atlantic salmon against the external parasite commonly known as sea lice. Sea lice are major pathogens affecting the global salmon aquaculture industry and have a significant impact, estimated to account for more than EUR 300 million in losses annually. The technology designed and patented by Egersund Net is a salmon aquaculture net solution that includes a ‘roof’ which holds the farmed fish away from surface water, while still providing surface access for the fish through a tube-like chimney structure called a ‘snorkel’. This innovative technology exploits limitations of the sea lice during its infective stage when it is free-swimming and predominantly occupies water closer to the surface. If sea lice do not locate a salmon host during its infective stage, the sea lice will naturally die. “Snokelmerd,” as Egersund Net refers to this technology, will hold salmon away from the surface water range of sea lice during the parasite’s infective stage and thereby prevent sea lice infection of salmon. DSM is excited to recognise Egersund Net with the ‘DSM Innovation Award in Aquaculture’ and prize for its innovative efforts to reduce the impact of sea lice on salmon aquaculture. DSM Nutritional Products is proud to play an industry-leading role in aquaculture by providing pioneering micronutrients to growing aquaculture operations around the world. DSM has supported the aquaculture industry since the 1960s through developing and deploying micronutrients for aquaculture feeds. The company is excited to continue its dedication to aquaculture nutritional solutions and looks towards the future through encouraging ground-breaking innovation in aquaculture. DSM is pleased to recognise and support transformative innovation in aquaculture by giving the ‘DSM Innovation Award in Aquaculture’ at AquaVision 2014. Applications for the ‘DSM Innovation Award in Aquaculture’, an award that honours transformative innovation within the aquaculture industry, were received from three continents and evaluated by a jury of specialists.