Cermaq signs agreement with Sea Farm Innovations SFI to support development of the SFI delousing system.
In a press release, the salmon farmer writes about the new tool, a mechanical system that is based on flushing with clean sea water with ambient temperature to remove the sea lice. The system will be deployed in Chile from July.
The new delousing tool, which has been developed by Sea Farm Innovations (SFI), is built around their patented flushing system, which gently removes the sea lice from the salmon and simultaneously collects the sea lice so it can be filtered from the water. The treatment lasts for approximately 0.2 seconds per fish.
“We know that the sea lice situation in Chile is challenging, and we need to expand our toolbox to remain control,” said Cermaq Group’s R&D Manager Farming Technology Dr Harald Takle.
“We think SFI have come up with a very interesting concept that safeguards the welfare of the fish and at the same time is both flexible and easy to operate. We are cooperating closely with SFI, combining their entrepreneurial approach and competence with our experience to adapt the technology to ensure an optimal effect against sea lice in Chile. For safe implementation, we will use Cermaq’s fish welfare scoring system and highly dedicated personnel. If successful here, we will share this knowledge with the industry in Chile and our operations in Canada and Norway,” added Dr. Takle.
The delousing system can treat all fish sizes, has a high treatment capacity, is easy to operate and can be installed on multiple boat types, the Mitsubishi-owned salmom farmer wrote.
Cermaq Chile Sea Water Director Javier Herrera said he was eager to start using the new delousing system.
“We are looking forward to deploy the new tool. This system will enable us to delouse our fish gently and hopefully with high treatment efficiency. We are going to use the SFI system on our sea sites in both region 10 and in region 11,” added Herrera.
Sea Farm Innovations Managing Director Eyðbjørn Hansen said he was looking forward to working with Cermaq.
“We find Cermaq the perfect partner in our quest to make delousing as gentle as possible. Our main focus from the beginning has been fish welfare and for us to be able to work together with a leading company within fish welfare is a perfect match,” said Hansen.
