Page 28 - Seafood, Fishing & Aquaculture 2017-2018

profi table sustainable fi sh farming

Norwegian fi sh farmers are incorporating the UN Sustainable Development Goals
into their business strategy. Even fi sh sludge could profi tably save the environment.

By Valeria Criscione

Nearly 200 countries have signed the United dot patterns. The technology then registers Pharmaq, Centrovet, Blumar, Ventisqueros
Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals the number of fi sh, size, amount of sea lice, to combat SRS (Septicemic Rickettsial
(SDG) spanning poverty to partnership. The and possible signs of disease. The company Syndrome) to reduce the use of antibiotics
challenge has been how to incorporate them has applied for 10 Norwegian development by 50%. The deadly bacterial disease is
practically into businesses practice given licenses to mature the technology into an responsible for the majority of salmon
that there are more than 800 standards for industrial product. mortalities in Chile.
reporting sustainable development and no one
wants a red bottom line. “We can reduce treatment when we treat Green Fish Farming
only the fi sh that has lice,” said Cermaq Projects such as iFarm and Pincoy deal
“People want a low carbon society, but not chief executive Geir Molvik. “Similarly, we with one of the main challenges threatening
a low income,” said Idar Kreutzer, leader sort on the basis of weight and remove the the aquaculture industry, i.e. sea lice and
of the Green Competitiveness Committee, fi sh ready for harvest without stressing the fi sh disease. But there are still other threats.
during the launch of the DNV GL report remaining fi sh.” Fish escapes, access to raw materials and
Future of Spaceship Earth: The Sustainable resource management, acreage confl icts,
Development Goals Business Frontiers, this “This is a technological leap for cage-based and organic waste also challenge the sector’s
past October. salmon farming, where we shift from group- sustainability. The integration of different
based operations to individual registration and renewable energies and the wise use of
The iFarm treatment.” the generated organic waste, also known
Seafood producer Cermaq was one of the 17 as sludge, could become a new business
different companies contacted by DNV GL to Under another sustainable initiative, Cermaq opportunity for fi sh farmers, according to CMR
present business case scenarios for achieving is focusing on responsible production (SDG Prototech.
each of the 17 goals by 2030. The Norwegian #12) through its Pincoy Project in Chile.
subsidiary of Mitsubishi has worked the The company has partnered on Pincoy The Bergen-based research group has
past year on implementing fi ve focus areas with Skretting, Aquagen, Blue Genomics, been working on a solution called Green
based on sustainability: SDG #2 healthy
nutritional food; #14 thriving oceans; #8 people
leadership; #12 responsible production, and
#13 climate action.

Cermaq has for example used a new
technology called iFarm to solve the
challenges that restrict growth in salmon
farming through a high-tech sorting method.
This is in line with Sustainable Development
Goal #14, also known as Life Below Water,
which focuses on the conservation and
sustainable use of the oceans, seas and
marine resources.

The sensors of iFarm have computer vision
that can recognize salmon based on their

Cermaq has incorporated sustainable
development goals into its salmon fi sh farms.
© Cermaq

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