Features
Smart farming
Salmon farmers may be slow to experiment with artificial intelligence solutions but Cermaq is one of the leaders, reports Vince McDonagh Norway may be the world leader in aquaculture, but the industry is still too slow in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) into its systems, says a new report. This means Norwegian fish farmers are likely…
Read MoreA slippery problem
A United Nations initiative aims to promote the recovery of the European eel population in the Mediterranean. Is aquaculture helping or hindering? The future of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), an iconic fish species and much appreciated in Mediterranean cuisine, is currently at risk. But a management plan that includes a partial closure of eel…
Read MoreFrom problem to product
Sludge from fish farms and hatcheries is seen as waste, but it also contains potentially valuable resources One of the advantages of fish farming with a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) is that waste – in its various forms – can be collected rather than ending up in the ocean. The bad news is that it…
Read MoreX marks the spot
It’s an election year for the Westminster parliament, so what is the aquaculture industry looking for from the politicians? Sandy Neil investigates Brace yourself for a UK election year. A Labour landslide? A Conservative revival? A king-making coalition? Whatever happens, 2024 will surely become another turning point for the country and, for this short time…
Read MoreThe war on lice
Technology is opening up a number of potential fronts in the struggle to keep farmed fish lice-free Early warning could help salmon farmers take timely action to reduce sea lice numbers before their stock becomes infested with the parasites. Clearly, assessing the levels of sea lice by counting the lice attached to salmon in a…
Read MoreRocks ahead
Is shellfish farming still viable in the UK? Nicki Holmyard reports on a paper that sets out to answer that question The past president of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB), Jeremy Simmonds, has seen the industry go through many highs and lows over the decades, but says he has never seen shellfish aquaculture…
Read MoreScaling up
Bacteria are being put to work, extracting the useful elements from harvested seaweed, as Robert Outram reports We’re in the John Coulson Building at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University, watching macerated sugar kelp spinning furiously in what looks like a sophisticated food processor. The aim of the exercise is not, however, to create a nutritious seaweed smoothie.…
Read MoreSafe to eat
The latest round of testing shows that Norway’s farmed fish are still safe for consumers, as Vince McDonagh reports Farmed fish is free of illegal substances and safe to eat, research by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research has found. The organisation carried out the work, which mostly took place in 2022, on behalf of…
Read MoreTaking on the challenges
Climate change and other factors keep throwing up new threats to fish health, as our expert panel explained in Fish Farmer’s Aqua Agenda webinar. Robert Outram reports THE PANELLISTS Dr Iain Berrill Head of Technical, Salmon Scotland Dr Iain Berrill has always had an interest in the marine and freshwater environment. He studied a BSc…
Read MoreGrow your own
The coastal town of Grimsby has processed salmon for many years but now it will be producing them too, as Vince McDonagh reports Grimsby used to pride itself on being hailed the seafood capital of Europe. But that crown slipped some time ago, partly as the result of Brexit but mainly because the town lost…
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