SALMON farmer Scottish Sea Farms has invested more than £800,000 to roll out shields which help protect fish from sea lice, after a trial saw a surge in production.
The shields were first introduced at the company’s farm at Slocka, Ronas Voe on Shetland in May 2017.
In the nine months since, Scottish Sea Farms reported that sea lice levels have remained below the Marine Scotland Code of Good Practice threshold, and the salmon are showing strong growth and biological performance.
Such has been the effectiveness of the shields that the firm has given the go-ahead to William Milne Tarpaulins in Aberdeen and W&J Knox in Ayrshire to roll-out similar protection to 11 of its other farms.
Specially engineered to suit Scottish marine conditions, each shield consists of a permeable fabric that lets water and oxygen move freely into fish pens whilst keeping out natural health threats such as sea lice.
Jim Gallagher, managing director of Scottish Sea Farms: “We strive, wherever possible, to replicate the natural conditions that salmon are known to thrive in. We are continually exploring and investing in new ways of dealing with these challenges, and it’s hugely encouraging to see positive early results such as these at our trial project in Shetland.”
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