– Play Russian roulette – E24

Breeder Nordlaks received a grand award of free licenses from the state in 2017 to carry out the plans.

The first of the company’s “sea farms” was delivered from the Yantai shipyard in China in June and is now anchored off Ytre Hadseløya in Vesterålsfjorden. In September, 2.3 million fish were released in what has become the world’s largest salmon farm.

Statistics from the Barentswatch fish health website show that the number of salmon lice in the facility has increased steadily during the fall.

In November, a chemical treatment against lice was carried out at Havfarmen by feeding the salmon feed with the insecticide teflubenzuron.

This is a common treatment against lice in the industry, but its use has been drastically reduced due to concerns about the harmful effects on shrimp and other crustaceans.

– It’s about playing Russian roulette with the marine ecosystem. A head lice attack on 2.3 million people, with lice containing chemicals that harm crustaceans, has enormous consequences, Toine C. Sannes, Green Party (ODM) fisheries policy spokesman, tells E24.

She notes that Havfarmen is located in an area where there are shrimp, lobster and redfish.

– Now we see clearly why development licenses should go to those who want to do research in closed facilities. Not those who bet on a misleading name, on a huge construction located in a fjord, says Sannes.

Will build facility number two

– To the extent that lice are produced on salmon, the facility facilitates manual removal of lice. Therefore, we can get a completely chemical-free production, Inge Berg, owner of Nordlaks, told Bladet Vesterålen in 2015.

At that time, it had just submitted the application for 39 development licenses to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Berg got caught and ended up with the top prize of 21 licenses, almost three times the number two on the list.

In mid-September this year, Berg’s dream came true, when the first Havfarmen was launched. The giant structure was built at the Yantai shipyard in China, is 385 meters long and 59.5 meters wide, and has cost close to a billion crowns.

– We believe that the marine farm project and the production method that we are planning in this project will contribute to better prevention against salmon lice, says Lars Fredrik Martinussen, Nordlaks communications manager, to E24.

It explains the need to use teflubenzuron in the feed with the fact that the company’s wells, which are described as an important part of the project, have been delayed from the shipyard as a result of the pandemic.

– The first ship is now scheduled to be delivered around New Years, and not this summer as originally planned, says Martinussen.

It points out that the development in the number of salmon lice has been slow in the facility.

– Nordlaks does not use Cleaner Fish at any of our locations to remove salmon lice from fish. It is a conscious choice, and with the delay in well delivery, we are faced with the decision to use veterinary medications to keep salmon lice levels low. It is a decision that we do not make lightly, but that we consider the responsible decision in this situation, says Martinussen.

Norwegian salmon farmers should stay below the limit of 0.5 lice per fish.

When Nordlaks began feeding teflubenzuron to the salmon in week 46, they had averaged 0.22 lice per fish, according to Barentswatch.

In the following two weeks, the level has dropped to 0.1 lice per fish.

– Can rarely give guarantees

Inge Berg built Nordlaks from a bankrupt estate in the 1990s and, according to Kapital magazine, it is worth more than 10 billion crowns.

Nordlaks will now use the remainder of its development licenses on a second offshore farm and is working to obtain approval for the location of the facility outside of Tranøy in the municipality of Hamarøy.

– Will there also be a need for chemical treatment at Havfarm 2?

– Our strategy against salmon lice is based on better prevention and is firm. Many years of organic production have taught us that we can rarely give guarantees, but we are adamant that Havfarm 1 and Havfarm 2, in combination with increased non-medicinal capacity in the new wells and a continued focus on larger juvenile fish, will make us in a better position to reduce the need for veterinary drug use, Martinussen says.

Havfarm 1 is located on a fjord, and number two is also desired to be located on a fjord. Why is it called an ocean farm when it is located in a fjord?

– Marine farms are designed to use more exposed marine areas than is possible with traditional technology. These development projects are an important step towards dominating agriculture on the high seas as well. As we take new steps, we must also do this technological development in a way that is safe for our employees and in the fish facility, says Martinussen.

Explain that Havfarm 2 is designed to use highly exposed marine areas in Vestfjord.

– For safety and consideration for the fish, we must have a safe area to move around when the weather becomes too severe in the most exposed areas, says the communications manager.

Sannes at ODM hopes Nordlaks will be open about head lice issues.

– They want to set up a giant new facility in Hamarøy, and the municipality should know what they are really opening up to, says Sannes.

Martinussen responds that “Sannes passes a very harsh sentence on a project that has been in operation for five months.”

– We will be open about the challenges we have in the aquaculture industry, and this case is by no means a secret. All salmon lice counts and measures against them are publicly available on Barentswatch.no, says Martinussen.