Scottish Sea Farms is set to take delivery of a new purpose-built workboat to increase response times to gill health issues. This is part of a concerted drive by the salmon grower to boost fish welfare and survival and follows on from its UK £750,000 investment in two gill-health related research projects.
Costing £1.9m, the Fair Isle, named after the island, that lies between mainland Shetland and Orkney will service Scottish Sea Farms’ more northerly regions delivering proactive, preventative veterinary treatment for gill health issues as they emerge.
Head of Fish Welfare for Scottish Sea Farms, Dr Ralph Bickerdike, said, “Recent years have seen significant investment in the surveillance of fish health and the farming environment, with water quality monitored on a daily basis and gill health routinely assessed by our farmers to detect any challenges and highlight where pre-emptive action is needed.
“Having a second dedicated workboat takes this ‘prevention over cure’ approach a key step further, enabling us to administer the best veterinary care at the earliest opportunity.”
Gill health is thought to be one of the biggest challenges facing salmon producers around the world, and as such is recognised by Scotland’s 10-year Farmed Fish Health Framework as a priority area for action.
Dr Bickerdike said, “Typically, summer is the most challenging time of year for any salmon farmer as organisms in the marine environment grow more rapidly, posing increased risk to gill health. However summer 2019 has been particularly challenging with an increased number of our farms experiencing gill health issues that have impacted on fish growth and survival.
“The ongoing priority is to prevent gill health from ever becoming such an issue. Investing in our ability to respond swiftly with the addition of the Fair Isle is an integral part of that strategy.”
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The Aquaculturists
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