RESEARCH RESULTS: lumpfish are one of the methods to fight off lice in the Faroese sea farms. For a while Fiskaaling has, among other things, examined the livers of lumpfish to describe their health condition. The results have attracted attention from abroad, and researchers at Stirling University in Scotland have visited the Faroe Islands on two occasions to study procedures and to conduct further research based on Fiskaaling’s results.
During a conference in Glasgow earlier this year Kirstin Eliasen, researcher at Fiskaaling, and Esbern Patursson, lumpfish coordinator at Luna, presented the results from medical examinations of lumpfish that have lived in Faroese sea farming cages. This was done for the purpose of combating both salmon lice and sea lice, which have a great effect on lumpfish welfare.
The research is carried out among other things by examining the livers of lumpfish, which are categorised into six colours. When the colour is a very vivid orange, the lumpfish in question is often well, but if the colour is either lighter or darker, the health may be worse or even bad.
The results, which the Faroese researchers presented at the conference in Scotland, attracted such great attention at Stirling University that a master’s student came to the Faroese Islands to conduct further research into, among other things, the lumpfish liver. This was done to determine concretely what each colour means for the health of the individual lumpfish.
- When lumpfish have lived freely in nature, the liver often has a very vivid orange colour, which is the colour we would prefer the farmed lumpfish to also have. Among the farmed lumpfish, on the other hand, we often see that the liver has a different colour, which is either too light or too dark. We interpret this as the lumpfish being in worse health, says Kirstin Eliasan.
The Scottish master’s project has now been concluded and the results show that it is especially the dark colour, which should be taken the most seriously. When the liver has this colour there is little fat left in the lumpfish, which are then troubled and unwell. The reason for this is hunger, sickness, or both.
The picture shows Kirstin Eliasan, researcher at Fiskaaling, and Esbern Patursson, lumpfish coordinator at Luna, examining the health of a farmed lumpfish.
