Opportunity to Improve Salmon Farm Performance in 2015 Study
In 2015 a study demonstrated the opportunity to improve salmon farm performance through lower production costs and better environmental outcomes using copper alloy mesh.
EarthShift Global and the International Copper Alliance jointly published a Life Cycle Assessment comparing Copper Alloy Mesh Nets to traditional nylon nets when farming Atlantic salmon in southern Chile.
The study showed that farming with Copper Alloy Mesh nets required lower feed consumption, reduced onsite energy usage, fewer labour hours, curtailed antibiotic usage and improved mortality performance when compared to the nylon nets. The authors were able to quantify the input reductions on a per metric ton of output basis.
This improved farm performance led to a substantial improvement in environmental performance, especially in CO2 Emissions, cumulative energy demand and marine eco toxicity.
The full study can be downloaded here
