Challenges and emerging technical solutions in on-growing salmon farming

Farming of Atlantic salmon has grown rapidly from its start in the early 1970s until today, with production approaching two million tonnes. Sea cages are the dominant production system for the on-growing stage of salmon farming. It represents an effective production system with lower investment and running costs than land-based systems. The development and improvement of the sea cage farming system has been one of the most important factors for the growth of the salmon farming industry. However, during recent years certain problems related to their placement in the open marine environment have proved highly challenging, increasing operating costs and impacting on industry public relations. The problems are mainly due to parasites, diseases and escape of fish. In this article, emerging technical solutions for solving those problems are described.     

Precision biometrics data of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in commercial grow-out sea-cages: Manual sampling and infrared diode frames compared to processing plant

One of the critical challenges that the global salmon farming industry will confront when upscaling production is accurate biomass control. Commercial salmon farming requires a significant level of certainty regarding fish count, average weight measurement, live weight distribution, and other production indicators. A reliable control system for assessing the biomass of farmed Atlantic salmon is essential for sustainable and cost-effective precision aquaculture. A study was done in four production sea-cages in a Chilean Atlantic salmon marine grow-out farm to estimate the average weight and frequency distribution utilizing the Vaki Biomassdaily® diode frames as an alternate technology to manual weight measurement. From post-smolt reception to fish harvest, diode frames were put in each sea-cage in a secure position for 15 months. There were no significant changes in length or average weight between manual sampling and frame estimate. The mean degree of accuracy for the average weight estimation was 98.83 % for the frames utilized in the four sea cages. The diode frames also achieved a high degree of precision in predicting the frequency distribution of fish. There were no statistically significant variations between the distribution variances of the diode frame measurements and the distribution variances of the fish received at the fish processing facility (FPF). The maximum difference between the average weight calculated by the frames and the average weight of the fish received in the processing facility was 2.4 %, with 99.66 % being the highest accuracy with only 19 g of difference. We determined that diode frames might replace manual weight assessments with greater reliability for growth monitoring and production management. To assure the optimal performance of the diode frames in terms of accuracy and precision for future commercial-scale validations in the salmon farming business, the development of a standard best practice manual is necessary.     

An overview of salmon trout aquaculture in Finland

Abstract

In this case study, we describe the evolution of Finnish salmon trout aquaculture; how salmon trout farming grew as a vital industry, how Finland became the world's leading producer of salmon trout, and how the opening of markets to international competition led to a decline of the industry. The focus is on the continuous interaction between the changing market situation and production decisions. The study reveals the impact of national environmental policy on the competitiveness of the industry. At the moment, the industry is undergoing major structural changes; production has moved to neighbouring countries, and the value chain is concentrated. In future, closer interaction and co‐operation between the actors along the entire fish value chain will be the key factors for success.     

Technology for cultivation of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.: problems and possibilities

Abstract. The concept of farming Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., beyond smolt stage in sea water started in Norway and Scotland in 1967–1968, using natural enclosures or sea water ponds. Cage culture has since 1969 developed to be the dominating method. Atlantic salmon is cultivated in more than nine countries with a production of 235400t in 1990. Incubation of eggs, hatching, first feeding and smolt production have to a large degree been standardized. Various types of incubator systems and holding units are briefly presented and discussed. There has recently been a trend to move ongrowing cage farms from inshore and sheltered waters to more open and offshore locations. The various types of cages and supplemental equipment for the two options are compared and evaluated. The offshore trend is a more expensive and difficult technology than existing inshore farming methods. Sea enclosures and net enclosures are less attractive. There is new interest in pump ashore systems. Large land-based farms have been built in six countries with varying success. The amounts of water required are enormous and constructions costs are high, but running costs are comparable to cage culture. Great improvements have taken place for both smolt farms and pump ashore farms in treatment of water, use of heat exchangers, filtration of water, disinfection, aeration, oxygenation, photoperiod and light control, automatic feeding, internal transport, handling of fish and surveillance and control systems for fish and water. The problems and prospects of farming are discussed in relation to new and old technology.     

The Behavior of Operating Earnings in the Norwegian Salmon Farming Industry

It is well known that salmon aquaculture is a cyclical industry with substantial price volatility. However, limited attention has been given to the economic performance of the firms in the industry or their valuation. In this article we look closer at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the Norwegian salmon farming industry. This is among the most common accounting measures of firm performance, and it is also used extensively in firm valuations. We find that the components of earnings have different time series behavior. Our empirical analysis shows that earnings from the Norwegian salmon farming industry can be characterized as a random walk. However, earnings/kg of fish sold is a more predictable variable and is mean reverting with clear cycles.     

The development of the Norwegian wrasse fishery and the use of wrasses as cleaner fish in the salmon aquaculture industry

Norway leads the world aquaculture production of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and farmed Norwegian Atlantic salmon is currently consumed around the globe. However, sea lice infestation is a major problem faced by the salmon aquaculture industry in Norway and elsewhere. The use of wild-caught cleaner fish, mainly wrasses, has been recommended over the other available methods as the most economical and environmentally friendly option to control sea lice infestation in salmon farming. Here, we review the development of the Norwegian wrasse fishery and the use of wrasses as cleaner fish. In this document, we address the sea lice problem and introduce the main wrasse species employed as cleaner fish, document the cleaning behaviour of wrasses, present the development of a new wrasse fishery associated with the salmon aquaculture industry, and finally, we identify the main challenges associated with the intensive use of wild-caught cleaner wrasses and provide some insight for future directions of the wrasse fishery and further development of aquaculture techniques to supply salmon facilities with domesticated cleaner fish.     

Comparison of growth rate in Atlantic salmon,pink salmon,Arctic char,sea trout and rainbow trout under Norwegian farming conditions

Growth rates of Atlantic salmon, pink salmon, Arctic char, sea trout and rainbow trout were compared under Norwegian farming conditions. During the juvenile, freshwater period, growth was fastest in pink salmon, followed by rainbow trout and Arctic char. Freshwater growth of sea trout and, especially, Atlantic salmon, was slow. After transfer of smolts or fingerling to sea water, Arctic char failed to survive the autumn. Sea water growth of sea trout was slow, but the three species, rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon and pink salmon, all grew rapidly through all seasons. When in sea water, rainbow trout and pink salmon were regularly attacked by vibriosis, while Atlantic salmon were rarely attacked, and sea trout never. It is concluded that, for commercial farming in Norway, rainbow trout are of value for production of fish of any size up to 3–4 kg, and pink salmon for production of small fish of 0.5–1.5 kg. Atlantic salmon is the only species suitable for production of a very large salmonid, i.e., more than 4–5 kg.     

THE VALUE OF INFORMATION IN SALMON FARMING. HARVESTING THE RIGHT FISH AT THE RIGHT TIME

Research on management practices in fish farming has traditionally focused on two topics: production planning and forecasting of prices. This article combines these two areas of research, and illustrates how information on price patterns can change production plans, and hence increase the value of the farm enterprise. It will present a model farm and illustrate, with different levels of price information, how information on future prices alters the original production plan and hence creates extra value for the farmer. Although the specifics and empirical application of the paper are on salmon and salmon farming, the ideas and general results could be applied to all farmed species.     

PREFERENCES FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES OF FARMED SALMON AMONGST SOUTHERN ONTARIO SALMON CONSUMERS

The goal of this research was to shed light on the trade-offs that salmon consumers make between five types of production and health attributes of farmed salmon. In Canada, the major southern Ontario market cleaved into five distinct consumer segments that varied according to age and income, ‘tastes’, and threat perceptions. There was strong consumer aversion to increased levels of PCBs, even when increased contamination levels were well within Health Canada guidelines. Both contaminant avoidance and polyunsaturated fatty acid health benefits were generally more important to consumers than improved environmental performance in salmon farming production practices. The strong consumer preferences for reduced levels of PCBs in salmon flesh suggest that there could be a substantial market premium for farmed salmon produced using reduced levels of fish meal and fish oils in salmon feed. This could, by association, increase the environmental sustainability of salmon farming.     

Economics of fish farming in Saudi Arabia: Analysis of costs of tilapia production

Abstract

Because Saudi Arabia is a substantial importer of fish and its capture fishery is operating beyond maximum sustainable limits, it has a special interest in developing fish farming. It has been encouraging tilapia production. This study examines the costs of tilapia farming in the Central Region of Saudi Arabia using cross sectional data from 23 intensive fish farms. It provides information about the relative importance of different cost items such as variable costs and feed costs in total costs. Also, cost functions are estimated by ordinary least squares and a cubic cost function is found to provide the best fit to the available data. Minimum average cost of production occurs for 201 tonnes of tilapia per year per farm and profit is maximised for a production of 300 tonnes annually per farm. All farms operate at less than profit‐maximising scale and most operate at less than minimum efficient scale. The reasons could be low quality fry, low levels of management expertise in culturing tilapia and the secondary nature of tilapia farming. Lack of water is likely to limit future expansion of tilapia farming in Saudi Arabia.     

The rise of fish oil: From feed to human nutritional supplement

ABSTRACT

This article tells the story of how fish oil has gone from an inferior to a premium oil product. With the growth of aquaculture, fish oil became a valuable feed component. Its value increased further as the belief in the health benefit of Omega-3 opened the market for direct human consumption through nutritional supplements. Strong demand, limited supply growth and weaker substitution between Omega-3 and Omega-6 has led to diverging trends between fish oil and vegetable oil prices, with fish oil now a premium oil product. We also investigated how the salmon aquaculture industry has responded to the challenge of rising fish oil prices. Concerted effort in nutrition and feed research is shown to have allowed a reduction in the share of fish oil in feed from around 25% in the early 2000s to around 12% today. This substitution effort has allowed salmon production to grow without using substantially more fish oil.     

Cardiomyopathy syndrome in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L.: A review of the current state of knowledge

Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) is a severe cardiac disease affecting Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. The disease was first recognized in farmed Atlantic salmon in Norway in 1985 and subsequently in farmed salmon in the Faroe Islands, Scotland and Ireland. CMS has also been described in wild Atlantic salmon in Norway. The demonstration of CMS as a transmissible disease in 2009, and the subsequent detection and initial characterization of piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) in 2010 and 2011 were significant discoveries that gave new impetus to the CMS research. In Norway, CMS usually causes mortality in large salmon in ongrowing and broodfish farms, resulting in reduced fish welfare, significant management‐related challenges and substantial economic losses. The disease thus has a significant impact on the Atlantic salmon farming industry. There is a need to gain further basic knowledge about the virus, the disease and its epidemiology, but also applied knowledge from the industry to enable the generation and implementation of effective prevention and control measures. This review summarizes the currently available, scientific information on CMS and PMCV with special focus on epidemiology and factors influencing the development of CMS.     

The competitiveness of the Chilean salmon aquaculture industry

Abstract

Commercial salmon and trout farming has emerged as a major industry in Chile during the 1990s. Salmon is not a native species to Chile, still excellent climatic conditions are provided for farming. Since 1992 Chile has been the second largest producer of farmed salmon and trout in the world after Norway. This report reviews the development of the Chilean salmonid industry from its early stages until today with respect to production patterns, legislation and main markets. A cost comparison between Chilean and Norwegian farmed salmon is also provided. Finally, the international competitiveness and future challenges of the Chilean salmonid farming industry are analysed.     

Aquacultural development,institution building and research and development policy: Norwegian salmon and Arctic char farming as cases

Abstract

During the past 20 years, Norwegian salmon fanning has grown to achieve export sales of 7 billion Norwegian kroner (NOK). In the same period, Arctic char has been promoted as a lucrative farmed species. Paradoxically, despite the well‐documented advantages of Arctic char farming, this commercial activity has not prospered. Here I study the interaction between research and development and fish farming, and how this interaction affects industrial development within salmon farming and Arctic char farming, respectively. Effective communication between these systems presumes organization by some superior structure that controls the flow of industrial information to the research system, and prepares research results for industrial utility. The focus here is on: the perceptions of industrial actors of tasks for the research community; how researchers interpret and respond to these tasks; how the results are imparted to the fish‐farmers; and how the research results function in practice. I contend that adequate conditions for interaction between research and industrial activity exists for salmon farming, but not for Arctic char farming.     

A review of the environmental effects and alternative production strategies of marine aquaculture in Chile

In Chile, fish, mussel and seaweed cultivation has expanded significantly over the last decade. This review considers the accumulated knowledge on the environmental effects of aquaculture in Chilean coastal areas, analyses the capacity of the industry to treat its waste and also gives some insight into new culture technologies and strategies that are currently under research and discussion in Chile. Data relating to the environmental impact of aquaculture in Chile are scarce and much is subject to severe methodological restrictions with regard to sampling design. Results related to the environmental effects show that seaweed cultivation can have an impact on sedimentation processes, increase of invertebrate assemblages and algal epiphytic abundances. It has also been ascertained that mollusc farming causes biodeposition, faunal changes and possible effects related to the introduction of new species, as well as pathogens and other unforeseen species. It has been affirmed that fish cultivation, in particular that of salmon species, also has an environmental impact related to organic sedimentation and changes in the fauna. However, these results indicate that, in general, the current dynamics of bays and fjords seem to be an important factor for the environmental sustainability of the salmon culture areas. Salmon cultivation has also been associated with phytoplankton blooms, but this point was not supported by a monitoring programme in southern Chile. Furthermore, there is concern related to new pathogen introduction and therapeutical applications to the fish cultures, and further research is required in this field. Regulations to protect the environment from the consequences of aquaculture activities have been adopted during the last couple of years. The main regulations are provided by international market standards. Nevertheless, these regulations can only be effective if other human activities, such as urban discharge, intensive agriculture fertilisation and pesticide utilisation, are taken into consideration, in an integrated perspective. On the other hand, the Chilean salmon farming industry in particular, would be in a position to cover the costs involved in the treatment of waste waters, if feeding management were improved in the future. Finally, active research is currently being undertaken into new cultivation strategies, such as the use of integrated cultivation and the recycling of nutrient-rich waters, which should permit the diversification of this economic activity in Chile, while minimising the environmental impact.     

Submerged light increases swimming depth and reduces fish density of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. in production cages

Artificial photoperiods that postpone sexual maturation and increase growth are now widely used in the Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. farming industry. Few studies have been carried out to examine the effect of this treatment on fish behaviour and welfare in production cages. In this study, echo‐integration was used to observe the swimming depth and fish density of salmon in 20‐m‐deep production cages illuminated by lamps mounted above the water surface (SURF) or submerged in the cage (SUBS). From January to May, SUBS swam at a greater depth (5–11 m) than SURF (1–3 m) at night. SURF descended and SUBS ascended at dawn, but SUBS were still swimming at greater depth than SURF during the day from January to March. The difference in swimming depth resulted in SURF swimming at a median fish density about twice as high as SUBS at night and up to five times the calculated fish density. SURF increased the utilization of the cage volume as the biomass increased, but fish swimming at the highest density did so at up to 20 times the calculated fish density. The results suggest that salmon position themselves in relation to the artificial light gradient to maintain schooling behaviour and that the use of submersible lights may be a precaution to secure the welfare of caged salmon.     

Economic analysis of land based farming of salmon

Abstract

Land-based farming of salmon is emerging for a number of reasons. The demand for salmon is increasing in many parts of the world. In recent years there has been limited growth in production due to binding government regulations and environmental challenges in sea-based salmon aquaculture. This is true both for Norway (sea lice, salmon escapes) and Chile (sea lice, disease problems), the two largest producers of salmon. Growing demand and limited expansion in production have made for a very profitable industry. At the same time, there have been technological developments when it comes to land-based farming (a technology used for smolt production and species such as sole and turbot), and cost of production has changed. Currently, land-based salmon farming is in operation or in development in several countries including the USA, Denmark, and Norway. In this paper, the economics of land-based salmon farming in a Norwegian context is presented, with an emphasis on the relative competitiveness of this vis-à-vis sea-based farming. If successful, land-based farming could potentially have an important impact on the dynamics of the salmon market.     

Salmon aquaculture in Chile

Abstract

Commercial salmon and trout farming has emerged as a major industry in Chile during the last two decades. Salmon is not a native species to Chile; however, excellent climatic conditions are provided for farming activities in the southern part of the country. After negligible production volumes during the early years, the harvest levels accelerated in the late 1980s, and since 1992 Chile has been the second largest producer of farmed salmon and trout in the world after Norway. This report reviews the development of the Chilean salmonid industry from its early stages until today with respect to production patterns, legislation and main markets. A cost comparison between Chilean and Norwegian farmed salmon is also provided. Finally, the international competitiveness and future challenges of the Chilean salmonid farming industry are analysed.     

DETERMINANTS OF INEFFICIENCY IN NORWEGIAN SALMON AQUACULTURE

This article builds on the literature investigating productivity and efficiency in the Norwegian salmon farming industry. The objective of this article is to investigate the determinants of inefficiency. We use a stochastic frontier approach that allows the estimation of a production function and an inefficiency function. The sources of inefficiency can be separated into temporary shocks and factors that lead to permanent efficiency differences. The results indicate an improvement in technical efficiency over time. This improvement can partly be explained by a restructuring of the industry, with firms becoming bigger and more specialized, as well as by improvements in government regulations. The inefficiency that is still present is mainly the result of temporary shocks. Disease outbreaks seem to be the most important of these temporary shocks, as disease problems lead to early harvesting or destruction of the fish and thereby, obviously, increase inefficiency.     

SALMON AQUACULTURE: LARGER COMPANIES AND INCREASED PRODUCTION

Salmon farming is among the most successful aquaculture industries with a production growth that is substantially higher than aggregate aquaculture production in recent decades. It is well known that innovations and productivity growth are the main sources for this development. In this article we look closer at two potentially important factors in production growth, development of farm size and company size directly through economies of scale and indirectly through capacity in R&D, innovation, sales and marketing. In Norway, production per license has increased from 26 tons in 1980 to 1,130 tons in 2010, suggesting a substantial intensification in the industry. In all five leading salmon producing countries, the degree of concentration has increased and the large firms have become bigger over time.