Sea lice cost the aquaculture industry worldwide an estimated €6 million-€7 million a year in losses but getting rid of these naturally occurring parasites is not easy. Different solutions have been tried with variable success.
The latest company attempting to nail the problem once and for all is Galway-based B2B start-up Konree which is tackling the infection in the water to prevent the lice getting on to the fish in the first place.
Konree is led by marine scientist Margaret Rae and mechanical engineer Michael Flynn, who previously cofounded the subsea imaging and measuring company Cathx Ocean. Currently working alongside the founders are two R&D biologists with the team set to grow to eight by the end of 2025.
The aquaculture industry is worth approximately €21 billion globally and the biggest problem it faces in terms of expanding to compete effectively against the large meat producers is controlling sea lice. Various treatments are currently in use including medicated/chemical baths, mechanical and laser treatments, lice traps, anti-lice electric fences and “cleaner” fish which graze on the lice. Yet the problem stubbornly remains.
“If sea lice can be reliably and consistently maintained below the regulatory limits, the industry can scale rapidly to offer consumers a way of bringing down their carbon footprint as meat production has a much higher carbon footprint than salmon,” says Dr Rae.
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“Konree is targeting the salmon aquaculture industry first as it’s a wickedly difficult problem for producers that causes a lot of pain from a fish health and welfare perspective while also contributing to a negative public perception of the industry.”
Konree’s technology is patent pending, which means Dr Rae can reveal little about how the company’s solution works, but she says it involves two control modules, one incorporating a camera, and it operates 24/7 in the water to isolate the lice.
“Most existing methods focus on taking the sea lice off the fish so the fish are taken out of the salmon pen at sea and subjected to the treatments. The treatments are stressful but also temporary, meaning the fish will need to be treated again and again,” Dr Rae says. “This leads to salmon mortalities, longer times at sea, higher feed bills and reduced profit margins.
“Konree’s vision is to have happier, healthier, heavier fish and, for us, that means keeping the fish in the water, unstressed by lice, and happily feeding.”
Konree’s technology is at an advanced stage of development and will have a likely launch date in the final three months of this year. The system is already being trialled in Ireland, with further trials scheduled for the third quarter of the year.
The company’s immediate target market will be Norway which is the largest salmon producer in the northern hemisphere. Other potential markets include Scotland, Canada, the Faroe Islands and Iceland as well as Chile, New Zealand and Australia.
“The most sustainable way to farm salmon is still in open-net salmon pens at sea so we expect these producers to be early adopters as they face difficulties in controlling lice numbers and high salmon mortality due to repeated harsh treatments,” says Dr Rae.
She estimates the company’s start-up costs to date at around €900,000 between sweat equity, founder investment, prize money from a number of tech awards and support from Enterprise Ireland, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Galway local enterprise office and Bord na Móna’s Accelerate Green executive programme.
The company is in the throes of raising €1 million and applying for high potential start-up (HPSU) status from Enterprise Ireland.
“Fish aquaculture in 2020 was worth in excess of €140 billion and was roughly split 85 per cent freshwater and 15 per cent marine,” Dr Rae says. “Whether in freshwater or marine aquaculture, lice are a common parasitic infection and around 40 different commercial fish species are seriously impacted by lice.
“Once successful in salmon aquaculture, Konree will turn its attention to other fish species markets.”
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