Sea Lice Risk Management
Manolin provides salmon farms with data intelligence for clear guidances and structured outcomes to overcome sea lice challenges
Why sea lice are challenging for the farming industry
Floating in the Ocean
Lice naturally floating in the ocean are known as "mobile lice". These lice can are capable of spreading across fish populations, both wild & farmed.
Lice Attaching to Fish
Stationary lice are lice that have attached to a fish's skin or gills. While they can cause damage, it is typically localized around the attachment point on the fish.
Removing Lice from Fish
To relieve the stress on fish, treatments are common on farms such as mechanical, thermal, or bath treatments used to remove lice.
Fish Health Outcomes
While most fish are cleaned of all to most lice and returned into cages for harvesting, sometimes fish can obtain abrasions resulting in wounds post-treatment.
Cost of Sea Lice
Sea Lice Impact on Norwegian Salmon Farms
Sea lice treatments cost aquaculture farms over $1 billion globally each year, significantly impacting the multi-billion-dollar salmon farming sector. Monitoring female lice pressure is a crucial indicator of lice infestation levels, while tracking mechanical treatments helps gauge the industry's response in management.
In this podcast episode we break more on the cost of sea lice, specifically:
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The history, regulations, and industry responses to sea lice
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Challenges faced by salmon farming companies
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What economic and environmental complexities surround sea lice in salmon farming
Sea Lice Challenges
Mortality Related to Sea Lice Exposure
Norway's Traffic Light System, the industry's most advanced sea lice regulation, sets a new standard for maintaining lice pressure on wild salmon populations. Understanding area mortality exposure is a key method for farms to anticipate and adapt to regulatory changes in their region.
16%
Fewer mechanical delousing treatments
52%
Fewer bathing deslousing treatments
70%
Reduction in treatment-related mortality
50 million NOK
Increase in estimated revenue
Case Study
Reducing Sea Lice Risk with Data Intelligence Technology
Looking to improve their sea lice management and reduce mortalities, Hofseth and Cargill teamed up with Manolin to create a multi-layered method of auditing farm sites to improve their overall sea lice strategy backed by data-driven insights.
"In Hofseth, we are responsible and accountable for ensuring the health and welfare of our fish. This project shows that better decisions can be made from analyzing structured data in order improve our sea lice management."
Sven Amund Skotheim
Fish Health Manager, Hofseth Aqua
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