AKVA Group has signed an agreement with an undisclosed salmon producer for the delivery of its patented Tubenet solution to seven locations in Norway.
The contract has a value of NOK 100 million (USD 9.4 million, EUR 8.7 million), the aquaculture services and equipment provider said.
"Extensive testing over a period of time have shown a significant reduction in lice infestations. It is a great recognition for AKVA Group to deliver Tubenets to several locations in Norway," AKVA Group Nordic Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Hans-Øyvind Sagen said.
The same customer has also ordered the Tubenet concept for a location in Scotland.
"It will be exciting to see the concept put to use outside of Norway," Sagen said.
In development since 2012, Tubenet works by separating salmon from the lice by keeping the fish in a tube in the middle of the pen. This central tube also keeps the fish at depths where the presence of sea lice is minimal. When fish head up to the surface to fill their swim bladders with air, they are protected by tarpaulin that encircles the central tube, all the way up to the water line.
The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (Havforskningsinstituttet) has documented that Tubenet can lead to an 80 percent drop in lice infestations in fish farms.
"We strongly believe in Tubenet as an effective contributor to salmon lice challenges. If you manage to separate lice and salmon during periods of more lice pressure without compromising either fish welfare or production efficiency, it could significantly reduce companies' production costs – and increase fish welfare accordingly," Sagen said.
Sea lice infestations are a significant challenge for the salmon farming industry. It is estimated that in Norway alone, treatment costs related to sea lice are around NOK 15 billion (USD 1.4 billion, EUR 1.3 billion) annually.
These parasites can also have adverse effects for both wild salmon and the environment near fish farms.
Photo courtesy of AKVA
