Fish farmers prepare for warm summer weather
Just as holiday makers are packing for a summer outing to Scotland’s warming waters and beautiful sunny beaches, the country’s salmon farmers are preparing their fish farms for the challenges that summer conditions bring.
So just as sheep farmers are finishing up the spring lambing season, Mowi’s fish farmers are starting their busiest time of year.
Despite sea temperatures in the UK rising more than a degree over the past decade, Scottish waters still remain optimal for salmon feeding and growth. However, even the slightest increase above average can enable blooms of harmful plankton and pathogens that can challenge a fish’s health.
At Mowi, experts like Rosie Curtis and Silvia Viale are using innovative solutions to safeguard the health and welfare of farm raised salmon in an industry that is worth more than 760 million pounds a year to the Scottish economy.
Rosie Curtis, Fish Farm Manager at MacLean’s Nose in Kilchoan, is one of those on the front lines. Rosie has been with Mowi for 23 years, and as a second-generation crofter, she knows first hand how warmer temperatures can affect livestock. From adjusting feed regimes to testing water conditions daily to providing shade that protects animals from sunburn, there is much work to be done at this time of year.
“Crofting on the land and farming in the sea are both very similar,” said Rosie. “I look after the animals on my croft before I come to work, and then I look after the fish on the farm, and while there are different challenges, it’s basically the same. In the springtime and summer, with the warmer weather conditions, we have to watch out for problems in both the lambs and the fish. We’ve had a cooler spring this year, which has been good for the fish. But every year is different and you never know what the challenges will be.”
Another dedicated Mowi team member working tirelessly to care for the well-being of the fish no matter the weather is Silvia Viale, who recently garnered the Rising Star prize at the Aquaculture Awards 2024 for her ‘hard work, passion and resilience’.
With an Msc degree in Sustainable Aquaculture from the University of Stirling, Sylvia has been with Mowi since 2020. As Regional Health Manager, she oversees 25 farms with support from dedicated area health managers and vets.
“It is important to have the highest standards in health and welfare,” Sylvia explained. “It is our responsibility, as we are working with live animals, to ensure that they have the best conditions possible. During my health visits, I make sure both the salmon and cleaner fish are in good health condition and I perform analysis through clinical and diagnostic monitoring.”
One issue that Sylvia deals with is the fact that warmer waters carry less oxygen, along with an increase of plankton and jellyfish blooms- both of which can result in distress or disease to the salmon. Over the years, she and her fellow aquaculturalists have come up with state-of-the-art solutions that range from physical barriers that pests cannot pass through to moving water around in different ways to improve conditions in the pens.
Did you know that salmon can get a sunburn?
Just as we protect ourselves from UV rays by sitting under a
beach umbrella, fish farmers use sunshades to keep fish cool and happy!
“To ensure health and welfare of the salmon and cleaner fish, which help to keep the salmon free of parasites, we are testing new technologies such as bubble curtains to protect the population from plankton, mainly jellyfish,” Sylvia said. “For other environmental changes, such as a drop in oxygen, we are using injections of oxygen, upwelling (bringing water from the bottom of the pen to the top) and aeration systems.”
The hard work that local aquaculture heroes such as Rosie and Sylvia do to safeguard animal health and welfare from a changing climate is key to safeguarding the UK’s top seafood choice and the thousands of rural jobs that the sector supports. Rosie, Sylvia and the entire Mowi team are deeply committed to sustainably caring for the fish that feed us with the highest standard of care - now, and for the future, whatever the challenges.
“I love crofting and I love fish farming,” Rosie said. “I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing- producing good Scottish salmon, good Scottish lamb and good Scottish beef. You’ll do anything that you have to do to do that, and it’s the number one priority for me that all of my animals are healthy.”
For more on Mowi’s Fish Health and Welfare Programme, click HERE
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