Bakkafrost take fresh approach to lice

BUOYED by a global rise in demand for salmon, the Bakkafrost group, the largest fish farmer in the Faroe Islands, announced a 30 million Danish kroner (DKK) rise in EBIT (earnings before tax and interest) for the final quarter of 2015.

The company delivered a total operating EBIT of DKK 257 million for Q4 2015, compared with DKK 227 million for Q4 2014.

Harvested volumes were 13,675 tonnes gutted weight in Q4 2015 and 50,565 tonnes for the whole of 2015.

Bakkafrost said the farming segment delivered an operational fourth quarter EBIT of DKK 215 million, which corresponds to NOK 19.67 per kg.

CEO Regin Jacobsen said: ‘2015 was an eventful year for Bakkafrost. In the summer, the live fish carrier Hans á Bakka was delivered to Bakkafrost, which we consider a milestone for the salmon farming industry in the Faroes.’

Hans á Bakka has freshwater treatment equipment installed, which has been effective against sea lice, said Jacobsen.

In fact, Bakkafrost has reduced its lice numbers from more than two female lice per salmon to 0.3 lice, without drugs, the company said last month.

The system works by hosing salmon clean of lice in fresh water in the barge, ‘marinating’ it in fresh water for a few hours before a second hosing, then releasing it back into the cages.

Jacobsen said the results were ‘over- whelming’ when tested in November. The salmon remain in good condition and start feeding as soon as they return to the cages after treatment, said Jacobsen.

Bakkafrost said it expects to harvest 48,000 tonnes gutted weight in 2016.