Transitioning from a treatment-based to a preventive sea lice combatting strategy could have major positive effects on fish welfare and contribute to reducing treatment-induced mortality.
Documenting the effects of new, preventive measures against sea lice in full-scale field trials is a challenging exercise due to large seasonal and annual variations in infestation pressure, and different hydrodynamical circumstances between sea cages and locations makes direct comparisons of data difficult.
Blue Lice AS supply trap technology to the salmon farming industry which traps free-swimming sea lice larvae before they come in contact with and attach to their host by using specific light signals which attracts the larvae. The system is mounted on the mooring at a large enough distance from the sea cages so that neither the fish nor daily operations are affected.
Five different approaches
The effect of the Blue-Lice technology will be quantified and documented by using five different approaches during a field trial which will last from the salmon are deployed at sea until slaughter at SINTEF ACE’s location Singsholmen which is operated by SalMar. The methods that will be applied are:
1. Real-time monitoring and quantification of sea lice larvae by use of machine vision
2. ddPCR-analyses to quantify the number of larvae which are caught by the Blue Lice technology
3. Weekly lice counting
4. Mathematical population models for salmon lice adapted to the production output data from the location whilst using the Blue Lice system (NRMOD1, NRMOD2)
5. Population model for dispersal of sea lice larvae between production sites (SINMOD)
