Ashleigh Currie – FiiZK Ltd
Fish Health & Business Development Manager
Reduce the cost of lice treatment
A huge amount of farmers choose to use lice skirts in production showing that lice skirts are effective!
A lice skirt is a flexible solution that can be adapted to many different types of weather and location conditions. In addition, evidence suggests that lice skirts are a cheap tool to fight sea lice that are much better for overall fish welfare compared to some other methods.
Reduced growth results in lost earnings for the farmer.
In Norway, regulations on the control of lice in aquaculture facilities require that at any one time there shall be fewer than average 0.5 adult female lice per fish and that measures shall be implemented to ensure that the amount of salmon lice does not exceed this limit. In Scotland, if the average number of female lice exceeds 2, it must be reported and measures taken to maintain lice levels below this.
Most farmers treat for sea lice multiple times throughout a production cycle.
The costs are estimated to be around NOK 1.7 per kg of salmon produced in Norway (Costello, 2009). The cost of a lice skirt – to prevent even just 1 medicinal or mechanical treatment – reduces the sea lice related operational costs and overall better for fish welfare.
Read more about lice skirts here:
When it comes to fish welfare, a reduction in lice premiums will lead to
lower risk of disease, injury and death due to salmon lice.
If the mark-up is reduced so as to avoid de-lice operations,
you will also save the fish from unwanted handling and exposure
to chemicals.
Environmentally, a reduction in lice infestation will both reduce
lice pressure in general in the area and the risk of infecting salmon lice
any wild fish passing the facility as well as reducing chemical use,
which can build up resistance in salmon lice and which are released
into the sea after de-lice operations.