Researchers from Scotland, Norway, and the Faroe Islands have teamed up to create the Sustainable Aquaculture: Validating Ectoparasite Dispersal (SAVED) tool, which aims to standardize and more clearly outline sea lice dispersion models within aquaculture operations.
There are already a variety of sea lice dispersal modeling tools available to the aquaculture sector, but most are not standardized, which leads to differing results across users.
“Different sea lice dispersal models use varying complex mathematical techniques, but it is important to ensure that the same set of input data returns a valid result, no matter which product is used," Scottish Marine Directorate Senior Aquatic Epidemiological Modeler Meadhbh Moriarty said. "To reduce the variability, we are creating a bespoke Python script that can be applied to each model and ensure it is fit for purpose.”
The SAVED project aims to create a free online tool which will combine data from various existing physical and behavioral models, as well as information from various global fisheries, to interpret results more accurately.
“A new, universally accepted tool for cross-comparison between models and data could lead to a more robust, standardized approach to model evaluation, leading to more accurate predictions of potential risk to wild fish populations from sea lice,” the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Center (SAIC), which funded the project, said.
The project will also produce a data dictionary which, as Moriarty put it, “can help guarantee that everyone using these models is interpreting the figures in the same way."
"Having input from so many partners across three of the major salmon-producing nations, each with its own governance system, is a big bonus for the project," she said. "We hope that the end result will be adopted by the aquaculture sector at scale, helping to better manage the threat of sea lice.”
SAIC CEO Heather Jones added that another benefit of the project is with more transparent data on sea lice, the tool has the potential to eliminate some unnecessary regulations facing the aquaculture industry.
“The benchmark could have significant benefits in terms of helping bring about proportionate regulation and enabling the future growth and development of farming,” she said.
The SAVED project is funded by SAIC and brings together a mix of private and public entities, including the University of Strathclyde, Mowi Scotland, Scottish Sea Farms, Bakkafrost Scotland, the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate, the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, Firum, Aquaculture Research Station of the Faroes, and The NW Edge. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is serving as an observer on the project.
