Fish Health and Fish Welfare Policy v. 1.0

Arnarlax value:
Vision, Sustainability It's In Our Nature

Implementation:
Clear guidelines on operational practices and employee training

Fish Health and Fish Welfare Policy
In Arnarlax we live our vision "Passion for salmon". Both fish health and fish welfare are vital to success when producing salmon.

In Arnarlax we consider producing salmon on the salmon's terms as one of the most important guidelines. It involves providing the best environmental conditions adapted to the various stages in the life cycle of the salmon. We use feed of quality, with the necessary nutrient content for good health and growth. We refrain from the use of growth enhancers and are committed to use no antibiotics.

Examples of the ways we promote fish health and fish welfare include:

  • We have dedicated fish health personnel, who work locally, regionally and at the corporate level. 
  • We train all Arnarlax employees on best practices with regards to fish health and fish welfare
  • We carry out systematic efforts at the generational level and down to each individual group of fish, with specifically tailored actions taken
  • We continuously conduct close follow-ups and monitoring of fish welfare indicators, including health monitoring and monitoring of thermal and physical comfort
  • We monitor the proportion of fish with lesions/wounds to ensure that fish welfare standards are upheld
  • We carry out systematic efforts with regard to smolt quality at our hatcheries through a focus on stable supplies of good quality water, a good tank environment for the fish, optimal oxygenation, good sorting and vaccination procedures, temperature control and much more
  • We have specific feeding programmes for each life stage of the salmon
  • We vaccinate all smolt before being transferred to sea farms.
  • We use sites with optimal biological conditions and have dedicated personnel analysing this
  • We do not use antibiotics and use vaccination and biosecurity measures to prevent this use.
  • We use preventive anti-lice efforts as the first line of combat, including cleaner fish and lice skirts. Delousing operations are done only when required by upper bound limits for each site. All delousing treatments are carried out by a dedicated team, with a risk assessment performed before each operation
  • We use specialized cleaner fish feed for our cleaner-fish in all parts of its lifecycle. We use artificial kelp inside the net pens for stress relief and perform humane killing in accordance with local authorities.
  • We have strict routines for handling of fish and transport between different zones and sites to prevent the spread of disease
  • We have protocols to reduce fish fear and stress during handling, and all in all reduce the need for handling of the fish.
  • We have monthly inspections with reports on fish health and fish welfare by an external entity and inhouse fish wefare personnel
  • We investigate and report on all mortalities at sea and their cause
  • We have access to a sufficient harvesting capacity at our own processing facility near our sea farms, with associated wellboat capacity
  • We monitor oxygen levels throughout the transport to processing facilities
  • We perform humane killing by percussive stunning, in compliance with the regulations. Only trained personnel are equipped to perform this task
  • We conduct continuous improvement practices through employee training, as well as participation in different initiatives and projects forgaining knowledge on fish health and fish welfare