Factors influencing production loss in salmonid farming

Ruth B.M Pincinato,Frank Asche,Hogne Bleie,Aud Skrudland,Marit Stormoen

doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.736034

Ruth B.M Pincinato, Frank Asche + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.736034

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Abstract

Using a unique dataset, this paper investigates factors influencing production loss in Norwegian salmonid farming. The factors can be grouped into fish-specific factors (e.g. species, genetics, and generation), input factors (e.g. vaccines and smolt quality), environmental factors (e.g. geographical location), and managerial factors (e.g. ownership). The most important result is most likely that production losses to a large extent are explainable, as our best model has an R2 as high as 0.826. This implies that it is possibile to reduce production losses significantly. For the specific factors, vaccines reduce production loss, but their effect varies by production site. Production loss also varies with which smolt plant is providing juvenile fish, indicating that there is systematic quality variation among the providers of smolt. There is also significant variation in production loss between companies and production sites, and on average production losses are lower for larger companies and sea sites holding larger numbers of fish. An important point is that while some factors explaining production loss are controlled by the individual company, others are beyond their control. Some of these external factors are related to the regulatory system.

Highlights

Loss in production is undesirable for any biological industry, because it is economically negative, and because production losses such as diseases may cause unintended environmental externalities and facilitate infestations and transmission of diseases
Model 4 accounting for production sitespecific fixed effects has the highest R2 suggesting that there are sig nificant differences between specific production sites. Whether this is associated with the environmental characteristics of the production site, proximity to other salmon farms or farm-specific managemental factors is not possible to assert with the available data
This paper has investigated potential factors influencing production losses in Norwegian salmonid farming production using a unique dataset that captures several variables that are not available from public collected data such as smolt supplier and vaccine use

Summary

Introduction

Loss in production is undesirable for any biological industry, because it is economically negative, and because production losses such as diseases may cause unintended environmental externalities and facilitate infestations and transmission of diseases. Factors influencing production loss for farmed salmonid produc tion in Norway will be investigated. Salmonids are one of the most successful aquaculture species and are globally the second largest spe cies by production value (Garlock et al 2020), with Norway as the largest producer (Iversen et al 2020). Aquaculture 532 (2021) 736034 surrounding environment facilitates the transmission of disease-causing pathogens This is one of the main causes for production loss directly, or indirectly due to prophylactic or palliative treatments and handling of the fish undertaken to reduce direct losses (Brun et al 2003; Hammell and Dohoo, 2005a, b; Ausnmo et al, 2008; Jensen and Kristoffersen 2015). Access to a unique dataset allows us to investigate the impact of several factors believed to influence production losses at the farm level in the Norwegian salmonid industry.

Data and empirical approach

Empirical results and discussion

Findings

Concluding remarks