An innovative research project in Scotland is exploring how natural kelp can provide enrichment to significantly improve the welfare of farmed fish.
The project is the first of its kind in a commercial Atlantic salmon setting and is being undertaken in Shetland by Cooke Scotland and the University of Stirling.
Commissioned by the RSPCA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), the aim of the project is for researchers at the university to observe fish behaviour and gather data to determine whether interacting with the kelp rings can improve their welfare.
Andrei Bordeianu, Fish Health Manager at Cooke Scotland, said: “As a leading Scottish salmon producer, Cooke Scotland has a culture of innovation and the health and welfare of our fish is a top priority.
“It is important we welcome new research which aims to enhance the welfare of our salmon, and we are committed to using best practices and equipment to support their wellbeing.”
The structural enrichment, provided by Kelpring, is assembled by upcycling feed pipe to form two rings, joined together by rope to create a lightweight, robust frame on which natural kelp will grow. Action cameras are then placed inside the pens periodically to film the fish so that their behaviour and welfare can be analysed.
As well as analysing data based on welfare indicators such as fin, eye, and skin health, the University of Stirling has also developed a scoring system for identifying fish behaviour. They will then compare this data with those from the pens without the structural enrichment to determine whether the fish with the enrichment have seen a positive welfare outcome.
Sean Black, Senior Scientific Officer for Aquaculture at the RSPCA, said: “Hens are provided with perches, cows are given cow brushes and pigs are provided with straw to enrich their environment and help them to express their natural behaviour, but, there is no environmental enrichment provided for salmon as research for fish lags behind terrestrial species.
“Fish are sentient animals and positive experiences are important for improving their welfare but there is currently little research which looks into how we can create these positive experiences for them which is why this project is so important.
“We hope this will be an exciting first step for improving fish welfare and many more studies and further research will follow.”
Professor Sonia Rey Planellas and Dr Tim Wiese from the University of Stirling are leading on the project. Professor Planellas said: “It is essential to promote research on good welfare and environmental enrichment is one of the ways of improving the emotional states of animals. We are excited to see how our qualitative behavioural assessments might capture any positive effects, especially the more subtle behavioural traits, and we hope that this project will contribute towards providing the salmon farming industry with essential guidance on the use of environmental enrichment in future.”