Barbed-wire jellyfish (Apolemia spp.) is a stinging jellyfish that has started appearing along the Norwegian coast in recent years, and that caused welfare issues and mortality events at many Norwegian aquaculture localities in 2023 and 2024. The rising sea temperatures and Northward migration of marine species may mean that their appearance will be more common in years to come.
Ignoring harmful jellyfish is no longer an alternative for the Norwegian salmon industry. During a period of only 3 months, 51 localities reported acute mortality related to Apolemia spp., from production areas PO2 to PO12.
Some localities reported mortality rates bordering on 30% related to Apolemia spp., while others were forced to destruct more than 1 million fish due to welfare concerns. Such enormous losses are neither economically nor ethically tenable.
The JellySafe project (FHF/ 901941) focuses on rapidly testing and developing deployable, functional solutions to monitor, manage and mitigate impacts of Apolemia spp. and other harmful jellyfish.
In the project, SINTEF Ocean will evaluate, develop, and perform full-scale testing strategies and measures to prevent Apolemia spp. from entering fish pens.
SINTEF Nord develops AI-models that identify swarms of Apolemia spp. in images and video, which will trigger risk forecasts and alerts to affected localities. Nord is also investigating impacted sites to understand characteristics of exposure and factors that lead to better or worse outcomes after an attack.
Header image: Erling Svensen CC-BY 4.0