“Catastrophic” many farmed fish die, but two companies are praised for good fish health – NRK Vestland

– What is consistent with the breeders who operate well is a strong focus on biosecurity and good de-lice strategies. This results in low mortality, good health and good welfare, says specialist veterinarian Hanna Sæteraas Bjerke in Aqua Kompetance, who is also a board member of the Veterinary Association.

17 percent of all farmed fish in Norway – i.e. every sixth fish – dies before slaughter.

This is shown in the annual fish health report that the state Veterinary Institute presented last week.

It is worst in Western Norway: In the area from Karmøy to Sotra, a full 25 percent of the fish die – that is, every fourth fish.

This area is also a “red zone”, because there are so many salmon lice in the fjords that the state has ordered the farms to reduce production.

But two breeding companies in this particular area have managed to go against the negative tide.

– Learn from the good ones

Lingalaks AS in Norheimsund has had fishing mortality below the national average for the past seven years, and in 2022 was down to six percent.

Alsaker Fjordbruk AS in Tysnes has also remained stable below the average for all fish farming in the country.

Now they receive praise from the veterinary community, which asks all farming companies to learn from those who manage to operate with good fish health.

– Isn’t a focus on biosecurity and good deworming strategies laid out for all farming companies?

– Yes, but there are different strategies out there. Some are closed, while others may not quite make it, says specialist veterinarian Hanna Sæteraas Bjerke in Aqua Kompetanse and the Veterinary Association.

– Is it luck?

– I don’t think it is possible to operate well just based on luck. But you can have bad luck despite good operation and prevention, says Bjerke.

Even animal rights activists praise many breeders:

– Some producers increase the average mortality dramatically, but the vast majority manage to keep the mortality relatively low. Then I need to learn from them, says senior specialist adviser Susanna Lybæk in the Animal Protection Alliance.

– Reduce mortality to five percent

Both are critical of the fact that the fish farmers in their area have a sky-high mortality rate.

– It’s not such a nice number to see, says fish health manager Kari Lillesund at Alsaker Fjordbruk.

– The total figures for the industry have gone the wrong way. It’s unfortunate, and not good for the industry as a whole, says daily manager Nina Møgster in Lingalaks.

– What is acceptable mortality?

– On a national basis, we must be below 10 per cent, and perhaps down to five per cent in the long run, says Møgster.

Lillesund says it is not so easy to answer what Alsaker is doing that is right.

– Avoiding deworming, not getting disease and not spreading disease. And that we are good at turning around when needed.

Measures fish health every week

Møgster says it is difficult to answer why other companies close worse.

– We work in a very targeted manner with preventive fish health work. We monitor welfare in the cage and give the welfare situation a score every week. It helps me to make good assessments and measures. Therefore, I think we catch things quite early, before we possibly increase mortality on the fish.

And then she praises her staff, who she says really care about the fish and that he should be well.

– We are also concerned that the fish should have a good diet: a feed that covers the needs of the fish through all different life phases.

When asked whether Alsaker and Lingalaks have had luck and many other bad luck, Møgster replies:

– Do you feel that other companies can or will learn something from you?

– Yes, other companies are curious about what I do. In our area there is very good cooperation. We share a lot of experiences.

– It is important that as many as possible around us close. For our own part, but also for the industry and our reputation.

– Me is never satisfied

Møgster emphasizes that Lingalaks have also had unfortunate events and challenges.

– We have to learn from that and constantly do things better than before.

Lillesund votes in:

– We are never satisfied – I’m not on target either – as long as I have mortality that I can somehow manage to avoid.

– Do not allow growth if many die

Bjerke in Aqua Kompetance and the Veterinary Association is critical of the fact that good fish health is not a criterion in the so-called “traffic light system” for fish farming.

– Production growth and high mortality are really not connected, she believes.

– This is currently only based on environmental parameters such as the amount of lice, and does not cover fish health as a whole. It has nothing to say if you have high mortality rates or poor health in your facility.

– Why not?

– You have to ask our politicians about that.