Salmon: there isn’t a more contagious topic within aquaculture than salmon farming. With Alf Gøran Knutsen, CEO of Kvaroy Artic, a leader in the world of sustainable salmon farming, we discuss the opportunities to grow a potentially very sustainable source of protein and omega-3 in a way that makes sense. We explore the fascinating world of salmon, mostly open-net pen aquaculture in the ocean in Norway, but also hybrid flow-through models. We discuss biology and technology, feeds- from using wild fish which we could eat like anchovies from Chile to soy from questionable sources in the ex Amazon- and the crazy developments in this very young industry. We also discuss AI and how lasers are shooting sea lice from salmon underwater.
Salmon farming is the biggest success story in aquaculture, at least in the global north, but it is also full of huge challenges like pollution. Picture salmon feces floating out of a net pen, sea lice, and all the chemical solutions used to combat these parasites.
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This episode is part of the Regenerative Aquaculture series, supported by The Nest, a family office dedicated to building a more resilient food system through supporting natural solutions and innovative technologies that change the way we produce food.
WHY THE SALMON INDUSTRY IS SUCH A SUPER YOUNG INDUSTRY
Alf describes the industry’s technology and operations as vastly different compared to when Kvaroy Artic joined, with fewer pens and fish and easier operations.
”When I came in, we didn’t have as many problems as we have now, but you have to remember, it’s a young industry. It’s a little bit over 50 years old. Our company has been doing this since 1976. So soon to be 50, so it’s 48 years. I’ve been CEO for 18 of those 48 years. When I came in, the operational was a lot smaller. We had fewer pens and fewer fish, and it was much easier. I could be a CEO and farm also, and at the same time, I didn’t need to spend the whole day in an office like I normally do now. But, I could participate in the biology and feeding of the fish and learn a lot from my father-in-law. And, luckily for me, he didn’t leave the company for me and then leave the island; he left the company for me, and then he’s still on the island. So, he’s still someone I can ask when I need to learn more about what we’re doing. Because I think, even after 18 years, I’m still learning new things every day. And that’s what makes it so interesting. It’s a young industry with a lot to learn and a lot of potential.” Alf Gøran Knutsen
SEA LICE IS A PROBLEM
Alf explains the sea lice’s life cycle, highlighting their fast evolution and the impact on wild salmon populations.
”Sea lice is a natural parasite that lives on wild Atlantic salmon and travels the waters. It is a parasite that has a very short lifespan between each generation. It takes 14 days before it regenerates from an egg into an egg. So, it goes from an egg that’s floating in the water that will only attach to the Atlantic or to salmon fish. So, when it hatches, it becomes a small larva that will then attach to the nearest host, which is a salmon or trout. And then, on the salmon’s back, it will grow from being a small larva to being a big, mature sea lice in only 14 days and then spawn again and perform the new generation. So, for every lice that spoils and that gets a host, it increases, so every lice lays like a couple of 1000 eggs of all sorts, and that has become a bigger and bigger problem for the industry because it affects the wild salmon back again. It came from the wild salmon, but now the farmed salmon is so densely populated in certain areas that it’s affecting the wild salmon when it comes in to go up the rivers.” Alf Gøran Knutsen
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT VIA BIOLOGY AND LASERS
Salmon farmers use various methods to control lice, including chemical treatments, water temperature, mechanical treatments, and new technologies like lasers.
”Now we don’t use a lot of chemicals; some use oral treatment that goes into the feed that makes the lice die because the salmon pours out a certain chemical. But most of the farmers use a combination of different mechanical treatments. We actually use fresh water as one solution. Hot seawater—that’s a bit of a controversial solution. You heat the water to between 28 and 34 degrees, the salmon can take that temperature, but the salmon lice can’t take the temperature in, let’s say, for example, 30 seconds, they will die.” Alf Gøran Knutsen
” And then you have the new invention, the new technology—the lasers that shoot the lights off. First of all, it’s a technology that is based on the technology that the US Army uses for jungle combat. They have a laser that shoots the malaria mosquitoes. They took that technology, turned it upside down, and put it under water, and it’s a Norwegian company called Stingray. And it’s all about machine learning, of course. So, the first time they came to us and presented the idea, it was, like you said, like a really cool Star Wars thing. […] We decided to go all-in in 2020. And now we have 82 lasers, two in each pen at any given time, maybe more. And now they’re shooting more than 150,000 shots per laser per day. So, in a good week, we could have over 40 million laser pulses on our farms.” Alf Gøran Knutsen
WHY IS FEED SO CRUCIAL TO SUSTAINABILITY IN SALMON FARMING
Innovative feed solutions for salmon farming are now widely adopted by farmers. We are miles ahead of everyone else when it comes to feeding, says Alf.
‘We need a feed that is more sustainable; we want a natural colourant on the feed. That’s one point. And that was possible with something called permafurred, which contains the same ingredients as a synthetic, but is made out of yeast and bacteria. So, it’s the same colour that the fish would get naturally from shrimp. […] But it’s been 10 years now since we really innovated the feed; we actually have a 10-year anniversary this year. A lot of farmers are asking to buy some of the same ingredients that we do; they want them included in their feed.” Alf Gøran Knutsen
WHICH INNOVATIONS HAVE BEEN FUNDAMENTAL WHEN IT COMES TO FEED
”The natural colourant, the cleaning of PCB, and the oxygen in every fish meal and fish oil that’s included, the use of North Atlantic fish is beneficial and only cut off from byproducts that will not be for human consumption. The use of European soil and the use of algae meal have been able to increase the Omega 3 levels to where we are now with wild salmon; we’re actually a little bit over wild salmon in the right balance, and then the krill that we use for that has a double effect on both Omega 3 and colorant. And now we’re looking into adding insect meal and even reducing the fish meal that we use. You know we are a net producer of protein; 0.48 to 1 is the fish in, fish out ratio in our feed. So, we produce almost twice as much protein.” Alf Gøran Knutsen
OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED
Koen and Alf also talked about:
- Why Alf invested in land based salmon farms
- Automation in salmon farming
- Challenges with biology, and fish welfare
- Farming technology and a data-driven approach
LINKS:
LINKED INTERVIEWS:
- Sowmya Balendiran – How to turn seaweed farming into an industry? Start by farming 1000 football fields of tropical seaweed in Indonesia
- Georg Baunach – More than half of the fish you eat is farmed: basics, potential and risks of investing in aquaculture
- Regenerative Aquaculture series
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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.