Watch Norway’s Lice-Zapping Robots Protect Salmon Farms

Norway's salmon farms are facing a new threat from tiny, blood-sucking parasites known as salmon lice. These critters attach themselves to the fish, feasting on their blood, mucus, and skin cells. In response, Norwegian farmers have turned to a high-tech solution: zapping the lice with a powerful laser guided by artificial intelligence.

The optical delousing system developed by Stingray Marine Solutions AS consists of robotic "submarines" that float within the net pens. These robots use blue light to make the lice more visible against the salmon skin, allowing the AI to spot them. Once detected, the laser fires five pulses per second, superheating the parasites until they die.

According to a study funded by the company, farms using this system required fewer additional treatments compared to those without. The researchers found that sites with the laser system had a 50 percent lower chance of needing extra delousing treatments. However, a survey by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute found mixed results.

While 75 percent of farmers reported experience with lasers, only 17 percent said they helped avoid some treatments. Meanwhile, 56 percent of laser users felt uncertain about the systems' effectiveness. The survey also revealed that the effectiveness of the lasers seemed to depend on the lice population size, with better results when lice numbers were low.

Some farmers also suspected the software might underestimate the parasite count, making it hard to gauge the systems' impact. Despite these concerns, the laser-based approach offers a promising, albeit imperfect, solution to the ongoing salmon lice issue in Norway's salmon farms.