Environmental/Biosecurity
IntroductionBiosecurity is the key to sustainable aquaculture. As an operational manager working for multinational companies Ian was heavily involved in the two most significant disease outbreaks in Scottish salmon farming. We therefore wish to assist the Scottish industry in their adoption of appropriate technology and the development of sustainable practices. Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA)The discovery of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) in 1998 on Hydro Seafood GSP farms then owned by Norsk Hydro caused serious financial loss and the compulsory mass culling of many salmon with the loss of 150 jobs. Following this setback the new management team at South Shian led the way from 1999 in delivering sustainable biosecurity solutions for the Scottish industry. Details of this outbreak can be found on the Fisheries Research Website. The recent industry Code of Practice confirms the importance of these lessons. Wellboat HarvestingThe movement of live harvest fish obviously represents a potential high risk to biosecurity. One of the key advantages of closed valve transport and the chilling of harvest fish is that the exchange of water is not permitted. |
Therefore the very factor which is potentially the highest risk in live fish transfer by wellboat, namely the exchange of water, is eliminated through the obvious requirement to keep the chilled water from escaping during the entire harvesting process.Harvest StationsSimilar principles apply to the operation of closed valve harvest stations. By centralising such facilities and employing modern purpose built wellboats using the latest technology, the Scottish industry has done much to eliminate previously poor practice in this key area. Indeed it is currently the international leader in this field. WelfareOptimal fish welfare also requires an excellent standard of biosecurity. One of the key benefits of the RSPCA's Freedom Food scheme is that it cross references the above biosecurity practices into its Scheme. These are compulsory to any participating member. The closed valve harvest stations designed by Nevis Marine take full account of all the lessons learned from the 1998 ISA outbreak. We remain grateful for the useful advice willingly given by the officials of the various government supervisory agencies including FRS and SEPA. |
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Nevis Marine Ltd
3 Ardconnel Villa, Rockfield Road, Oban, Argyll, PA34 5DH
Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1631 564729, Mobile: +44 (0) 7770 815994, Skype: NevisMarine
Email: info@nevismarine.com
Company Registration details: SC 235920
VAT Registration number: 827 5993 77