The case summed up: The farming company Nordlaks uses a laser to fight against salmon lice. The technology, developed by the company Stingray, uses image processing and machine learning to identify and kill the louse. The laser is not harmful to the fish, as the skin reflects the laser while the louse absorbs the energy, according to Stingray. Nordlaks is investing over NOK 100 million in laser technology, which they believe can halve mortality among farmed fish. However, there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of the laser, as there are few studies in the area. The Animal Protection Alliance calls for more documentation, but believes the laser is promising as a milder form of de-lice removal. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Roar Kuntze stands on a breeding shed in Vesterålen in Nordland. The operations manager at the farming company Nordlaks describes a new and gentle method to combat salmon lice with a laser. – The fish that swim past here will be shot, yes, says Kuntze. A green laser sends lethal doses of green light at a troublesome parasite: salmon lice. Operations manager Roar Kuntze shows off a salmon with lice on it. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / Lars-Bjørn Martinsen/news With the help of advanced image processing and machine learning, the lice on the fish are identified and killed. The high-tech laser weapon can halve the mortality rate among farmed fish, claims the company itself. – The fish does not react to the laser beam, it does not. And I don’t think that this would have worked as well as it makes certain that the fish had felt pain, says Kuntze. Here, a lice laser from the manufacturer Stingray shoots salmon lice in the rearing cage of the company Nordlaks in Raftsundet in Hadsel municipality in Vesterålen. Photo: Nordlaks / Nordlaks/Deadline Means the fish are not harmed It is the company Stingray that is behind the all-Norwegian and globally patented technology. Founder and day-to-day manager, John Arne Breivik, believes that lice lasers can halve mortality in Norwegian farming. He gives the following explanation for the salmon not being harmed by the laser. – The skin on the fish reflects the wavelength that we have, but the salmon louse absorbs the energy that comes from the laser unit. John Arne Breivik is the founder and day-to-day manager of the manufacturer of the laser weapon, Stingray. He claims that no damage to the fish has been reported. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / Lars-Bjørn Martinsen/news Thus the lice are cooked and die while the salmon swims on unharmed, according to the producer. – So when there has not been a single report of damage or treatment mortality to the fish and there have been a number of investigations, then there is clearly better fish welfare in laser cages compared to all other facilities. – What have they done to investigate how the use of lasers affects fish health? – It is something we did in the years 2010–2013 when we went through a series of research and development steps, so well before we launched in autumn 2014. Then we had a meeting with both the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Directorate of Fisheries to check that we had done what we should have. John Arne Breivik (left), day-to-day manager at Stingray and Magid Saedi (th), technical manager at Stingray, stand over a so-called lice laser which is turned up so that you can see the inside of the machine. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / Lars-Bjørn Martinsen/news Investing NOK 100 million Salmon lice are a major challenge for the farming industry. There is also mortality among the fish. In 2023, a record number of farmed salmon died in the sea. Every sixth salmon dies in Norwegian farming before it is ready for slaughter. Tough treatment methods against lice, such as chemicals, hot baths and flushing, are an important part of the cause. Farmed salmon jump into cages in Raftsundet in Hadsel municipality in Vesterålen. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / Lars-Bjørn Martinsen/news Nordlaks in Vesterålen is the sixth largest farming company in the country. They are now investing over NOK 100 million in shooting lice with lasers in the cages. Stingray has supplied lice lasers for ten years, but it is only now that the product is really taking off. During the year, it will be used in 25 percent of Norwegian aquaculture production, according to the company. Operations director at Nordlaks, Bjarne Johansen, explains that they use lice lasers because they believe it is a good contribution to combating lice without touching the fish. Bjarne Johansen states that the mortality rate at the plant is around 6 per cent on average during production in the sea farm. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / news – Our experience with laser use is very good. We see that we are able to keep control of the level of lice in the plant as long as we put in the resources that are needed, says Johansen. – But if the laser is deadly to the lice, isn’t it also harmful to the salmon? – What we look at when we assess whether this has harmful effects on the salmon or not, is to compare the locations where we have had lice infestations with those that have not. And in that context, it is our assessment that we see no signs of this type of harmful effect. This is what the law says about salmon lice In the “Regulation on salmon lice control” we find the legislation that lays down the guidelines for how many salmon lice farms are allowed to have. Extract § 8. Limits for salmon lice and measures: “In North Trøndelag and further south, from and including Monday in week 16 to and including Sunday in week 21, at any time there shall be fewer than 0.2 adult female salmon lice on average per fish in the aquaculture facility. From and including Monday in week 22 up to and including Sunday in week 15, there must at any time be fewer than 0.5 adult female salmon lice on average per fish in the aquaculture facility. In Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, from and including Monday in week 21 to and including Sunday in week 26, at any time there must be fewer than 0.2 adult female salmon lice on average per fish in the aquaculture facility. From and including Monday in week 27 up to and including Sunday in week 20, there must at any time be fewer than 0.5 adult female salmon lice on average per fish in the aquaculture facility. Measures must be implemented to ensure that the quantity of salmon lice does not exceed the limits in the first and second paragraphs, including, if necessary, the culling of fish. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority can give permission for a higher limit for salmon lice for breeding fish during the last six months of the year it is in the sea.’ Source: Lovdata.no Researcher: – Not enough knowledge Frode Oppedal is a senior researcher at the Institute of Marine Research in the animal welfare department. According to him, little is known about how effective lice lasers are because there are few studies that have studied this. In a study from 2019, Oppedal and other researchers studied the effect of lice lasers in so-called tube nuts, and not in conventional cages. This means that the study was not done in a conventional, or usual, way. – When we used the laser in tube nuts to the best of our ability and best practice, we did not see any de-lice effect of the laser. – I would like to test the laser in different sized cages, with different sized fish and different amounts of lice on the fish, to find out how effective the laser is, says Oppedal. Photo: Christine Fagerbakke – But at the same time, when you talk to breeders, there are some who use it and say that it works for them. So it must work, but what is the point? says Oppedal, who points out that there is not enough knowledge to show how effective the laser is under different conditions. – Desperate need for milder forms The Animal Protection Alliance calls for documentation with regard to fish health, but says that the lice laser seems promising. – There is a desperate need for milder forms of lice removal, says zoologist Susanna Lybæk. The Animal Protection Alliance is calling for scientific investigations into how the health of the fish is affected. Photo: Magnus Thorén / Magnus Thorén/news They want scientific investigations on the table to see how the health of the fish is affected. – I have requested documentation and I have not received him from Stingray itself with several questions. Therefore, she cannot comment on the extent to which the company’s own claims that the fish are not harmed by the lice laser are true. This is how Stingray responds to the claims from the Animal Protection Alliance – For almost ten years, we have invited them to Stingray several times in order to gain more knowledge about the method, to gain an understanding that it is the most gentle and future-oriented way of doing lice removal and lice control, so I don’t recognize myself in that, says John Arne Breivik. He says it is completely unnatural to start experiments now, because it is something you do before you become commercial. – That is actually the answer to that, we do not see that they are any more neutral than other actors are, says Brevik about the Animal Protection Alliance. Different experiences from the industry Mari Viken Kjønstad has some experience from the farming industry regarding the use of lice lasers in conventional fish cages. She is a trained veterinarian and works as a senior fish health advisor at the fish health service in Åkerblå. In an FHF project on lice practices, she and several others have carried out a literature study where they look at what is documented at the same time as they gather experience from the industry in Western Norway, Central Norway and Northern Norway. In the north, approximately 75% answered that they have either tested or use lasers as a measure to one degree or another. The reason why there are more people who point to good experiences in the north can be related to density, climate and environment. Louse thrives at higher temperatures. Photo: Private – In general, one can say that there are many positive experiences from the north and that there is more variety in the center and west. In addition to this, there are different experiences with the use of lasers, something that can also contribute to the fact that there are geographical differences in the degree of lice pressure, i.e. the occurrence of lice. The experiences from the farming industry: In the FHF project, they have interviewed people who work in various positions related to salmon lice. This means approximately fifty percent fish health personnel and fifty percent from operations and production, in addition to some suppliers. – Some people experience that lasers work very well when the sea temperature is low, but that when the temperature rises, and the development of lice will go faster, they have to remove the lice, says Kjønstad. The project focuses on preventive strategies and de-lice methods. Here, Kjønstad shares his experiences with the use of lasers. They are divided geographically according to north, center and west, because the team has seen that there is variation based on geographical area. – When it comes to fish health in the north, the experiences of those who use it are that the laser does not affect the fish negatively and that there were no experiences with eye damage, says Kjønstad. – When it comes to Central Norway, this is an area with greater lice pressure. There are some here who have tried lasers, but found that they did not have a good enough effect and that they could not justify further use in terms of cost and effect. – Then there are others who have started with lasers and find that they work. Then there are some who experience that laser is a good method, but that in periods of high lice pressure they have to use other measures, lice removal, to keep the lice level at an acceptable level. – There are comments that there are better and better experiences from those who use lasers. Some people use lasers together with cleaning fish and find that it is a good combination, says Kjønstad. Some of the feedback is that lasers require a lot of follow-up. When it comes to fish welfare, no one reports negative effects.
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Here the company counteracts salmon lice with a laser – news Nordland
