The Importance of Water Quality for the Mackenzie Basin Salmon Farms

It is a unique situation having freshwater King Salmon farms included in your catchment. In fact, the Mackenzie Basin is the only place in the world where this happens. The reason salmon farming can take place here, is because of the fast flowing, low nutrient waters found in the hydro scheme.

When it comes to freshwater salmon farming, one thing is crystal clear: water quality is everything. As the demand for sustainably sourced seafood keeps rising, we face the challenge of keeping our water in top shape to ensure our salmon thrive.

Let’s dive into why water quality is so critical and how we make it our top priority for success.

The Importance of Water Quality

1. Salmon Health and Growth: Our salmon are pretty sensitive to their surroundings. Factors like temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and ammonia levels play a huge role in their growth and overall health. If the water quality dips, it can lead to stress, diseases, and even higher mortality rates. By keeping an eye on these conditions, we can help our salmon grow strong and healthy and protect our business.

2. Feed Efficiency: Healthy salmon that live in good water convert feed into body mass much more efficiently. This means we spend less on feed, which is one of our biggest costs, and we also minimize waste. The result? A more sustainable farming practice that benefits both our bottom line and the environment.

3. Fish Welfare: High water quality is our first line of defense against diseases. Pathogens love poor water conditions, which can lead to outbreaks that threaten our stocks. By maintaining clean water, we create an environment where diseases are less likely to spread. This is one reason why New Zealand does not use antibiotics on any of our salmon!

4. Staying Compliant: Many areas have strict regulations when it comes to aquaculture, especially regarding environmental impact. Making water quality a priority, and going above and beyond compliance regulations, helps aquaculture companies stay within these rules building good relationships with regulators and the community.

How We Ensure Water Quality

To keep our water quality in check, we use several strategies:

1. Regular Monitoring: We invest in monitoring systems, both water quality and benthic monitoring technologies and have environmental technicians constantly monitoring and analyzing results. This helps us respond quickly to any changes that could affect our fish.

2. Oxygenation and Aeration Systems: We implement oxygenation systems to ensure our salmon have enough dissolved oxygen, crucial for their growth. Aeration systems help maintain optimal conditions, allowing our fish to thrive.

3. Feed Management: Feeding the fish is what has the greatest impact on the environment. We provide on-going training to all staff on effective feed methods to improve nutrient efficiencies. This runs alongside our feed and growth models that allow us to make sure the feed fed is being translated into biomass and not being lost to the environment.

5. Education and Training: Ongoing education for our team is vital. Understanding water chemistry and biology allows us to make informed decisions that directly impact our water quality.

Linking with Agriculture to Preserve Our Waterways

Connecting with agricultural practices is essential for preserving our waterways. By collaborating with farmers, we can develop sustainable practices that minimize these impacts. We will start by having Access 2 Experts take all our available water testing results from the past 5 years and compile them into one tool to help us understand current water quality status with the Basin.

Conclusion

In freshwater salmon aquaculture, water quality isn’t just a concern—it’s essential for keeping our fish healthy and our business thriving. As the industry continues to grow, making water quality a top priority will help us meet market demands while protecting the environment. By investing in technology and sustainable practices, we’re not just producing high-quality salmon; we’re also ensuring that our farming methods are responsible and effective. Keeping our water clean and healthy is our commitment to a successful and sustainable future in aquaculture.