The Importance of Temperature in Farmed Salmon Growth: Regional Growth Functions for Norwegian Farmed Salmon

Abstract

A reliable growth function is a vital part of deriving the optimal harvesting strategy and production plan for any aquaculture operation. The range of environmental and biological conditions along the Norwegian coast suggests that the growth of farmed salmon will differ from one region to another. We estimate an aggregated regional growth function for three different regions in Norway using monthly data from 2005 to 2011. There is currently some variation for the grow-out period, and Atlantic salmon is raised between 16-24 months to reach weights of 2-8 kg. These results indicate that an increase in sea temperature positively affects the growth in the regions of Northern and Central Norway, while an increase in sea temperatures negatively affect the growth in the Southern region.

Applicability of a food chain analysis on aquaculture of Atlantic salmon to identify and monitor vulnerabilities and drivers of change for the identification of emerging risks

“…In Chile, the life cycle is slightly shorter as the sea water temperatures are closer to the optimum temperature for Atlantic salmon (Marine Harvest, 2015). In Norway, with its extensive, stretched coastline, it has been shown that salmon grows faster to marketable size in the South than in the North, yet this may change upon further warming of the sea over time as caused by climate change (Thyholdt, 2014;Harvest, 2016). Also throughout the year and between years, seawater temperature and consequently production vary, with Norwegian salmon showing the greatest part of the annual feed consumption (67%) and growth (68%) in the months of June-November, coinciding with the annual fluctuation temperature, peaking in August and decreasing from September onwards .…”

“…Also throughout the year and between years, seawater temperature and consequently production vary, with Norwegian salmon showing the greatest part of the annual feed consumption (67%) and growth (68%) in the months of June-November, coinciding with the annual fluctuation temperature, peaking in August and decreasing from September onwards . Another important factor besides temperature is daylight, which depends on the season and latitude, whilst currently artificial light is also applied as compensation for lack of natural light during winter and spring, so as to increase productivity (Thyholdt, 2014;Harvest, 2016).…”

“…Recent studies show that growth is best achieved at colder temperatures between 10 and 14 °C, the most efficient growth was seen at 13 °C. Higher sea temperatures lead to increased densities of algae and parasites in the water as well as a lower level of oxygen, which increase fish mortality (Thyholdt, 2014;Harvest, 2016). Furthermore, the water temperature together with the salinity may influence the occurrence of animal diseases.…”

“…The water temperature also influences the feed intake. Salmon living at 19 °C reduce their feed intake by 50 percent compared to salmon living at 14 °C (Thyholdt, 2014). In a modelling study using data from Norwegian farms on pancreas disease, Stene et al Disclaimer: The present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as author(s).…”

Growth and survival model of Pacific bluefin tuna ( Thunnus orientalis ) for capture‐based aquaculture in Mexico

“…One of the steps to achieve the fishery‐CBA joint sustainability is to determine and use a reliable biological production function able to explain biomass dynamics during the production cycle with the purpose of optimizing feed regimes and harvest dates. These two elements are essential to design an optimal production plan to maximize profitability (Arnason, ; Hernández, Leon‐Santana, & Leon, ; Leung & El‐Gayar, ; Thyholdt, ; Tian, Leung, & Hochman, ).…”