"Although Target Lice is not a medicated feed, trials show it can help to reduce infection levels by 30-40 % if given at the right time," says Senior Product Manager Evy Kallelid.
"We developed Target Lice as another option for salmon farmers to combat the sea lice, as part of an integrated pest management strategy. Today, there is no longer any single product that is 100% efficient. There are increasing reports of resistance emerging to medications that have only been on the market for 8-9 years but it takes at least a decade to develop new medication. That means it is more important than ever to prolong the lifetime of the few alternatives we have. One of the most efficient strategies is to attack from several angles as part of integrated pest management and Target Lice can be a valuable addition to this strategy.
"Target Lice fits in our proactive feed category. That means you use it when infection is imminent. Feeding with Target Lice when lice copepods are present in the water gives the salmon a form of natural resistance to infection. We believe it influences the composition of the mucus and that reduces the number of sea lice attaching to the fish."
Skretting developed Target Lice using data from trials run by the Aquaforsk research centre to investigate alternative feed raw materials. Various feed ingredients were being assessed for salmon feed when there was an outbreak of sea lice among the test fish. There were notable differences in sea lice infection levels and these correlated with the presence of certain specific raw materials in the feed. These raw materials proved to be suitable for use in salmon feed so Skretting combined them with conventional beta-glucans, which are known to stimulate natural resistance. Following further trials, Skretting brought Target Lice to the Norwegian market this spring.
"The idea of integrated pest management is to use all the weapons you have, alone and in combination, to keep numbers under control without applying a prolonged selection pressure for sea lice that are resistant to any one specific treatment. Target Lice puts another weapon in the salmon farmers’ armoury as a cost-effective, preventive contribution in a holistic sea lice strategy. Target Lice is established on the Norwegian market, and will be launched in Scotland and Ireland in September. At the same time, the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre is continuing to explore this means of combating sea lice."