FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY
Salmon farmer steps up drive to improve gill health with new UK £1.9m workboat, Scotland by Scottish Sea Farms, UK
Scottish Sea Farms is set to take delivery of a new purposebuilt 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. This, in turn, will enable existing workboat, the Sally Ann, to dedicate itself to the company’s mainland farms, ensuring faster response times across the estate. 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
34 | February 2020 - International Aquafeed