Health and Welfare of Salmon

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Health and Welfare of Salmon
A presentation from www.laksefakta.no
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Contents
1. Our most important farm animal 2. Healthy
fish 3. Vaccine breakthrough 4. Salmon lice
and wrasse 5. Preventive health work 6. Do fish
feel pain?
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1. Our most important farm animal

• Salmon is our most important farmed animal
  measured in tonnes, numbers and NOK
• Norway produces twice as much salmon as beef,
  poultry, mutton and pork put together
• Norwegian salmon is the worlds healthiest
  farmed fish, which is a good indicator that the
  fish are content
• However, the health and welfare of the fish are
  continuously in focus. Keeping animals in
  captivity is a big responsibility.

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Ethical and legal responsibility

• Fish farmers have an ethical and legal
  responsibility for the welfare of the fish
• The legal responsibility is laid down in a
  number of acts and regulations
• Fish farmers also have a strong personal
  interest in ensuring that the fish thrive.
  Diseased or stressed fish mean increased costs.

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2. Healthy fish

• Salmon is the healthiest farm animal
• in Norway
• All medicines are prescribed by
• a veterinarian or fish welfare biologist
• The fish are only given medicine if
• they are sick
• Use of medicines has decreased by a total of 98
  per cent since 1987 and up to today. At the same
  time, salmon and trout production has grown more
  than tenfold.

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3. Vaccine breakthrough

• The positive trend is due to effective vaccines,
  improved production methods and more knowledge
  about prevention of disease
• Up to the end of the 1980s, the industry
  struggled with major problems with disease
• A large number of fish died from bacterial
  diseases, such as cold water vibriosis and
  fucunculosis
• Today, there are effective vaccines against most
  bacterial diseases

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Vaccination of all fish

• Vaccination is an annual, mammoth effort
• to protect the health of the fish
• Each and every farmed salmon is vaccinated
• The vaccine is injected into the abdominal
• cavity
• The fish are vaccinated when the weigh 25 g or
  more

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The biggest challenges

• Vaccines have helped solve the problem with
  bacterial diseases, but not viruses and salmon
  lice
• Vaccines against viral infections are not as
  effective as vaccines against bacteria
• Virus vaccines are a priority area in the
  aquaculture research
• Work is also in progress to develop a vaccine
  against salmon lice

Photo Norwegian Seafood Export Council /Per Eide
Studio
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4. The battle against salmon lice

• The salmon louse - Lepeophtheirus
• salmonis is a parasite that occurs
• naturally on salmon in saltwater
• The lice can damage the skin of the fish
• This may cause problems with the
• salt balance and increase the risk of
• infection
• Therefore, the industry invests significant
  resources in preventing and combating lice

Foto Anne-Mette Kirkemo, Norsk Friluftspresse
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Eco-friendly lice treatment

• All farms are obliged to prepare a monthly
• report regarding lice, any treatment required
• and use of wrasse
• A growing number of farmers have opted
• to use wrasse to combat lice
• Wrasse feed on the salmon lice and the
• plankton on the nets
• The fish farmer has the same ethical and legal
  responsibility for the wrasse as for the salmon

Photo Kamilla Utgård
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5. Preventive health work

• The authorities set stringent requirements with
  regard to location of a farm
• The fish may be stressed if the environmental
  conditions, such as water, current and depth are
  not optimum
• Stressed fish are more prone to disease

Foto Eksportutvalget for fisk
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Regular inspection

• All farms are obliged to have their own fish
  welfare service, which carries out inspections at
  least 6 times a year
• In addition, a veterinarian or a fish welfare
• Biologist visits each locality twice a year
• The fish farmer is obliged to implement
  extensive health and hygiene measures on the farm
• A number of acts and regulations regulate salmon
  farming and ensure that the fish live in a good
  environment

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6. Do fish feel pain?

• Some researchers believe that fish do not feel
  pain, because they lack cerebral cortex
• Others regard pain as a characteristic that does
  not necessarily depend on cerebral cortex
• Scientists have a divided opinion on this point.
  Therefore, the industry treats the fish as if
  they were able to suffer
• The Norwegian Act relating to animal protection
  states that animals must not suffer needlessly.
  The same applies to salmon as does to pigs and
  cattle.

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Did you know that..

• In 2005, Norway produced 588 000 tonnes of
  salmon
• Translated into dinners, this is 1.4 billion
  skinned and boneless 250 g portions!
• Norwegian salmon is a popular raw material.
• In 2005, Norway exported salmon to 108
  countries world-wide

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Did you know that..

• Norwegian consumers are eating an
• increasing amount of salmon and
• preferably as fillets
• In 2005, Norwegians ate 3 kg salmon (round
  weight) per capita, 11 per cent up on the
  previous year
• Single and urbane consumers eat
• the most salmon, whereas people in rural areas
  and large families eat the least
• Salmon is the favourite fish of young Norwegians

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Eat twice as much fish!

• We should eat fish four times a week
• This is the conclusion in a new report from
• the Norwegian Science Committee for
• Food Safety, VKM
• VKM has compared the health advantages
• Against the health risk of eating fish
• According to VKM, Norwegian seafood is good
• for your health and Norwegians should double
  their intake of fish

Norwegian Minister of Fisheries Helga Pedersen
eating salmon nuggets at the film premiere ofl
En glad laks
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Would you like to find out more?

• Visit www.laksefakta.no
• Articles about salmon and
• aquaculture
• Presentations and fact sheets
• Free material
• Appetising salmon recipes

Use of photographs in this presentation for other
purposes is prohibited.