Need to fine-tune fish-wash
A Norwegian salmon producer says that the Skamik “fish-wash” has proved to be quite effective for lice removal, although it’s still too early to make a definitive call on the merits of the technology.
Alsaker Group has installed two Skamik Units on their new barge Riga, in a combined investment worth NOK 60 million (£5.5m). The system uses brushes and water spray to remove lice from salmon and, although it has been shown to remove around 80% of the lice present, Alsaker’s operations manager Øystein Brekke says that some fine-tuning may be required.
He told kyst.no: “We are very pleased with the barge and believe that it was a good investment. We can use it all year-round and vary the type of treatment devices to be placed on it. Currently we have the Skamik-washer, but in the long term, this can be changed to other solutions too,” he explains.
Brekke envisages that the barge may have different types of delousing mechanisms onboard, depending on season and demand.
He says that – on average – the Skamik system has removed about 80% of the sexually mature lice, while the remainder can be picked off by wrasse.
“We do not see any major damage to the fish after it has been through Skamik but we have constantly adjusted the pressure on nozzles and brushes for the samples we've taken during treatment. The most important thing for us is that the fish are doing well. It's a strain that the fish are pumped, so we try to keep stress levels on fish as low as possible during the process,” he adds.
He says that it’s still too early to make a definitive judgement on the device, pointing out that the results have differed.
“In some places, the fish have been scratched, meaning we have had to lower pressure on nozzles, which makes the washer less effective against lice. Fish health is important in this process and that is our top priority at all times,” he said.
