Semi-autonomous cleaner fish feeding system

鲑鱼养殖者认为海虱是他们产业的最大威胁。在过去的十年中，挪威和苏格兰的鲑鱼养殖者每年因寄生海虱而损失约26万吨（10%），每年损失约2.75亿英镑。由于苏格兰、挪威和智利的养鱼户试图解决海虱问题，养殖和野生鲑鱼的批发成本比2016年上涨了50%。抗寄生虫疫苗有助于控制海虱，但这种治疗方法对环境有害，对消费者来说还会降低鱼的质量。首选的替代方案是使用清洁鱼（例如濑鱼和斑鱼），它们机会性地以鲑鱼饲料颗粒为食（每2小时一次），并通过吃鲑鱼上的海虱来补充它们的饮食；目前还没有饲料可以满足清洁鱼的营养需求。结果，清洁鱼患上了与饮食有关的白内障，减少了海虱的摄入量——海虱继续繁殖。目前还没有专门满足清洁鱼营养需求的饲料。世界饲料公司的目标是设计一种定制的清洁鱼饮食和喂养站，这将使鲑鱼养殖者能够自主喂养清洁鱼。

Salmon farmers consider sea lice as the biggest threat to their industry. Over the last decade, salmon producers in Norway and Scotland have lost ~260,000T/yr (10%) from parasitic sea lice infestation, costing ~£275m/year. Wholesale cost of farmed and wild salmon rose 50% from 2016, as fish farmers from Scotland to Norway and Chile tried to tackle sea lice.Anti-parasitic vaccines help control sea lice but, treatments are environmentally toxic and reduce quality of fish for consumers. The preferred alternative is to use cleaner-fish (e.g. wrasse and lumpfish) which opportunistically graze on salmon feed pellets (every 2-hours) and supplement their diets by eating the sea lice off the salmon; there are no diets currently available which meet the nutritional needs of cleaner-fish. As a result, cleaner-fish develop diet-related cataracts, reducing sea-lice consumption - sea lice continue to proliferate.Presently there is no feed which specifically meets the nutritional needs of cleaner-fish. World Feeds aims to engineer a bespoke cleaner-fish diet and feeding-station, which will allow salmon farmers to autonomously feed cleaner-fish.