NeemCo's Innovative Work to Improve Farmed Salmon in Scotland

NeemCo is a micro-SME, based on the shores of Loch Lomond. It has developed Riddance® - a control of ectoparasites of farmed fish. The initial work has focused on the sea louse (Lepophtheirus salmonis) which is the scourge of farmed salmon in Scotland and other countries where the fish are farmed. Riddance® is administered by inclusion in fish feed.

Trials conducted with Riddance® have shown:

  • It reduces the burden of immature lice by more than 95%
  • Egg production by female lice is completely eliminated
  • There is no accumulation of the active ingredient in the fish muscle fillet, eliminating pre-market withdrawal interval

The results so far suggest that other ectoparasites of other species of farmed fish will be susceptible to control by Riddance™. The world market size for a control for sea lice alone is $1bn/year.

However, to be used Riddance® must gain approval in each country as a veterinary medicine, which is harder than a human medicine as the fate in the environment of uneaten feed and fish faeces must be considered, together with any impact on non-target species, such as lobsters and brine shrimp. So NeemCo, as a micro-SME in undertaking what is has been traditionally only achieved by big pharmaceutical companies:

NeemCo has so far been granted patents in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and The Faroes - with Chile, the USA, and Canada well in-progress.

Riddance™ will benefit:

  • Commercial salmon farmers: ectoparasite control, costs, losses, expansion issues, and PR.
  • Wild salmon fishing interests indirectly by reducing overall sea louse numbers – a significant political issue.
  • Regulators by offering a product to reduce the use of current costly and controversial sea lice controls.
  • Governments through resolving competing interests: salmon farmers, fishing, and environmental concerns.

In the background NeemCo have also been doing some work on their Forestry project:

 

For more information about NeemCo, visit www.neemco.uk.

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