An environmental friendly solution to reduce salmon lice in Norwegian aquaculture has been invented. The process is putting lice-eating wrasse together with the salmon. Research organisation Nofima reported a new large-scale project will be prepared for commercial aquaculture to ensure an adequate supply of the lice eaters. Scientists at Nofima said that when it comes to eating salmon lice from large salmon, the Ballan wrasse is the most efficient wrasse, and it also gathers lice at lower temperatures than the other species.
The research was backed by the Fishery and Aquaculture Industry Research Fund (FHF), which stretches over a three-year period and has a budget of around NOK 26 million (£2.27 million). The objective is to develop the knowledge and experience that is necessary to attain a stable and predictable commercial production of the Ballan wrasse.
Managing Director of the research fund, Arne Karlsen said that the effort which is now commencing is unique in both a Norwegian and global context. Norway is the only salmon-producing country that is using wrasse on a large scale to combat salmon lice. The main purpose of the project is to cover at least 25 percent of the requirements with farmed wrasse by 2013.
Nofima said that it would work for the better control of the reproduction of wrasse. It will work on methods to strip roe and sperm from the broodstock, methods for fertilisation of roe, and methods to prevent the roe from becoming surrounded by an adhesive layer. Research and development director at FHF, Kjell Maroni said that the total Norwegian effort on Ballan wrasse farming is in the vicinity of NOK 100 million.
