MSD Animal Health, a division of North American company Merck & Co Inc, has launched a new generation of its Falcon vision technology to help optimise fish health and biomass production through comprehensive welfare monitoring and the early detection of sea lice.
According to MSD, which unveiled the solution at Aqua Nor 2025 in Trondheim, the new Falcon system integrates cutting-edge vision technology and AI to provide near real-time insights into the prevalence of sea lice and wounds in fish populations, while at the same time monitoring biomass development.
With this technology, actionable snapshots of the health and welfare of stock is delivered directly from the pen to desktop for quick access to the data and insights, it explained.
The technology builds upon Falcon’s predecessor, the Falcon Biomass system, which helped transform fish farming operations for sea and land-based facilities across Norway, Chile, Iceland and the UK. Falcon, the new generation system, also supports sustainability in the aquaculture industry by enabling better production and treatment protocols to be put in place, along with more informed decision making by facilities managers.
“The launch of the new generation Falcon marks a significant milestone in the evolution of sustainable aquaculture practices,” said Dafydd Morris, General Manager of MSD Animal Health Aqua EURAM. “Early detection of fish lice and the data produced by the system means it has the potential to identify lice sooner than traditional sampling methods, allowing for earlier intervention. This approach helps in selecting the most effective treatment products for each lice life stage and assessing treatment effectiveness for continuous improvement. Additionally, monitoring wound prevalence, size, severity and healing status trends enables enhanced health and welfare management for fish populations.”
Key features of new Falcon include:
- High-resolution imaging – utilising advanced stereovision and high-resolution cameras, the system can capture thousands of images daily, enabling comprehensive biomass estimation and fish monitoring
- AI-driven analytics – Falcon employs a neural network to automatically detect sea lice and assess fish welfare, significantly reducing the need for manual sampling and minimising stress on the fish
- Cloud-Based dashboard – users can access actionable insights from anywhere, with data stored securely in the cloud. The intuitive dashboard provides real-time updates on fish growth, size distribution and overall health metrics
- Optimised decision-making – by delivering near real-time data, Falcon empowers aquaculture operators to make more informed decisions about sea lice and health management, harvesting and treatment protocols, ultimately enhancing productivity and promoting sustainability
The system is currently available in Norway but is set to be rolled out in other markets in 2026.
At Aqua Nor, MSD Animal Health also presented research on a new sensitivity test of salmon lice larvae (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) which enables more sustainable use of sea lice medicines.
Morris said: “FAalcon builds upon the breadth of biopharmaceutical and technology solutions within MSD Animal Health’s aqua health portfolio, which also includes CLYNAV, a DNA-based vaccine that protects Atlantic salmon against pancreas disease. The vaccine joined the MSD Animal Health portfolio last year as part of an acquisition highlighting MSD Animal Health’s commitment to delivering enhanced benefits to its aquaculture customers.
“Together, this biopharma and tech approach is helping our clients to create ecosystems that optimise fish health and welfare, which promotes the sustainable production of this high-quality food source. As a business, we will continue to invest in aqua health to enhance the sustainability of fish farming.”
