The Fish Welfare Prize prize was awarded to Cermaq at last week’s AquaNor exhibition in Trondheim, for the company’s improvement work at Holmvåg fry plant in Steigen, and the good results it has produced.
“Good health and welfare for our fish is fundamental in all our work throughout our value chain across all companies in Cermaq,” said Cermaq Norway managing director Knut Ellekjær
“Good welfare gives a strong and robust fish, good production results and good financial results.”
The newly established prize is awarded by the Fish Welfare Forum, a collaborative platform for the Norwegian Veterinary Institute and the Institute of Marine Research.
Cermaq's Holmvåg fry facility in Steigen has specialised in the earliest stages of the salmon’s life cycle, from roe to fry. The commitment among the staff at the facility is very high, bringing out good ideas for how fish welfare can be improved.
By careful observation of start feeding fry behaviour, and adjustment of tank hydrodynamics, feed distribution and water temperature the staff has improved survival and fry quality significantly.
“By observing the fry’s behaviour closely, we have been able to act and make adjustments that have given very good results. A result of these changes we now start with 5% fewer roe grains, but still produce the same amount of fry at the facility,” said Marit Mehus, fish health and freshwater manager.
Holmvåg is not a new facility, and the tanks in which the fish swim are from the late 80s. But this has been no obstacle for improvements and the excellent results at the facility.
“These results show that we can make important steps for improved fish welfare also on older facilities,” Marit Mehus said.
“What the staff at Holmvåg have done here is impressive and demonstrates how important their strong commitment to the fish is.”
