Cermaq closed cages ‘will beat lice’
NORWEGIAN company Cermaq has applied for 13 development licences for a floating closed containment system.
FlexiFarm is based on flow-through technology that will treat inflow water for all infections before entering the system.
The goal, said Cermaq, is to reduce losses in sea production, protect the environment against undesired impacts, increase productivity, and at the same time
reduce production costs.
When developed, FlexiFarm can be used
at more than 80 per cent of the existing sites in Norway, depending on the max-
imum wave heights.
Magnus Stendal, general manager at Botngaard System, a partner in the project, said: ‘It is a major goal for the development of FlexiFarm that investment and operation costs will remain low, and that the anticipated effect will ensure that production cost per kg salmon is reduced.’
Incoming water will first be filtered and then treated by UV-light to prevent the intake of lice, algae, bacteria, and viruses.
Harald Takle, Cermaq’s R&D technology manager, said: ‘The most severe challenge for Norwegian salmon farming is the losses during production in the sea, which is mainly due to pathogens and treatments against sea lice.
‘By treating the inflow of water for all pathogens and lice we will be able to dramatically reduce the losses of fish.
‘We have succeeded in designing a solution which addresses both the biological and environmental challenges in the industry.’