Canadian salmon farm company Cermaq Canada has contracted Neptune Marine to build an environmentally friendly salmon delousing barge to combat the problem of lice infestation of salmon stocks.
Neptune will build the 31m long barge – called a Euro Special Purpose Pontoon – at its yard in Aalst, the Netherlands. The non-self-propelled vessel will be equipped with the 100% environmentally friendly Hydrolicer fish delousing system, which uses no chemicals and can handle 50t of fish per treatment line. Cermaq’s vessel will be initially installed with four lines, with space for an additional two if required.
“We are very excited about the prospect of deploying an unquestionably, environmentally sound solution to sea lice management. We chose Neptune because of their commitment to people, environment and fish friendly innovation,” stated Linda Sams, sustainable development director of British Columbia-based Cermaq Canada. “We are committed to operating at Best Practice and protecting the oceans in which we farm.”
Pressure technique
The Hydrolicer technique, developed in cooperation with CFlow Fish Handling, uses seawater under pressure to gently dislodge the fish lice.
Paul Kriesels of Neptune Marine added: “In terms of manual control systems, Neptune has paid attention to achieving efficient operations. “We have designed this vessel so that fish handling operations and the control of ship’s systems can be performed from one operator’s chair. This will allow Cermaq personnel to prioritise their tasks effectively – and focus fully on the fish.”
Delivery of the vessel, which will include water making and energy generation capacity, is scheduled for Q1 2019.
Neptune Marine delivered a fish delousing barge with Hydrolicer equipment last year.
