Challenges

The 2000s saw a profound improvement in the control of a number of the disease challenges that affected the industry in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Furunculosis had been controlled by the development of effective vaccination in the ‘90s, and although the arrival of ISA and PD and AGD presented new problems, by now there had been significant advances in fish health research, vaccination, and veterinary expertise. Alongside improvements in feed, these helped to facilitate the effective management of disease and other fish health issues.

Sea lice were, and still remain, a significant challenge not just for Marine Harvest but for the Scottish salmon industry in general. The introduction of infeed treatments at the beginning of the 2000s was a huge step forward, and combined with hydrogen peroxide proved an effective method of controlling sea lice. More recently the company has rekindled its interest in the use of cleaner fish for the control of lice.

The early trials with wrasse have so far been extremely encouraging, with excellent results in both Loch Leven and Loch Sunart. For example, Camus Glas in Loch Sunart required only one treatment throughout the whole cycle, and recorded its best ever results in terms of tonnage and FCR for last year’s harvest. Marine Harvest is also involved in two big collaborative projects: the first is a project to upscale cleaner fish production; the second, ‘Wrasse – A Collaborative Approach to an Industry Challenge’, won the Stewardship Award at the recent Scottish Marine Aquaculture Awards.