Acoustic Delicing of Atlantic Salmon (<i>Salmo salar</i>): Fish Welfare and Salmon Lice (<i>Lepeophtheirus salmonis</i>) Dynamics
Bibbi Maria Kállay Hjelle | Albert Kjartan Dagbjartarson Imsland | Pablo Vigo Balseiro | Sigurd Olav Handeland
Acoustic lice treatment (AcuLice) is a newly developed system, which uses a composite acoustic sound image with low-frequency sound to remove salmon lice (<i>Lepeophtheirus salmonis</i>) from Atlantic salmon (<i>Salmo salar</i>). This field study documents the stress effects on Atlantic salmon and the effect on salmon lice dynamics during large-scale use of the AcuLice system. The effect of the AcuLice treatment on salmon lice dynamics was measured by weekly salmon lice counting at the facilities from mid-summer 2019 to late-spring 2020. The number of salmon lice treatments in the same period was also compared to a reference group. In addition, the number of weeks until the first salmon lice treatment (mechanical treatment) was compared between the two groups. Apart from a slight increase in plasma glucose, no significant differences were observed in the primary, secondary, or tertiary stress responses measured. For the mature female salmon lice, a significantly lower number (mean ± SEM) was shown for the AcuLice group (0.24 ± 0.03) compared to the reference group (0.44 ± 0.04). In addition, a lower number (mean ± SEM) of salmon lice treatments and a longer production period before the first salmon lice treatment occurred was observed at the AcuLice facilities (33.2 ± 3 weeks) compared to the reference facilities (20.3 ± 2 weeks). These data suggest that the use of the AcuLice system reduces the need for traditional salmon lice treatments with no added stress to the fish.
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