Salmon
The overall goal for the salmon group in the DECIDE project is to develop a tool (website with dashboard map) that automatically combines the open source databases from Scotland, Norway and possibly Ireland. This dashboard map will show the salmon-producing regions of the participating countries linked to production and disease. The dashboard will show the monthly risk of disease in different regions based on models developed in WP2 and WP3, and show for instance the average monthly lice numbers, and known diseases present based on the open data sources, and above normal mortality (for the time of year and region). Thus, it will serve as an early warning system for other regions, and maybe countries farming salmonids in the North-Atlantic Ocean. The rationale for this is the open contact between farms in different countries, because of water currents, boat traffic and trination operating farming companies.
Methods
Models describing the factors driving mortality is being developed and used as basis for the pilot implementation of salmonids. Included is a state-space model for monitoring. We will test the sensitivity of the monitoring system, using historical data on disease occurrence and mortality and we will explore the possibilities of using this as an early detection system for health monitoring, by transferring knowhow from the system for disease control developed in the pig pilot study.
We will also start investigating how and when stakeholders would use the disease-monitoring dashboard, and how it will help in decision making, such as changing biosecurity measures on boat traffic between regions and between countries. In parallel, we will investigate the incentives for controlling diseases, using the cost of control of sea lice as an example. Control of sea lice is largely performed with the aim of reducing the burden of sea lice on wild fish, but the costs of control are carried by the individual farmers. Finally, we will explore farmers perception of control programs, using the control of Pancreas Disease (which is notifiable in Norway) and of Cardiomyopathy Syndrome (which is not notifiable anywhere) as examples.
Progress
