From gut feeling to gut facts
Economic activity will always be associated with uncertainty and calculated risk. Decisions can be made on the basis of experience, on intuition, on traditionally based regulations - and on precise facts gathered through proven methods.
Seawater: Seawater is always a soup of various nutrients, particles, microorganisms and small animals. This is the most demanding environment for a fish. Most often, the skin and gills ”dry” in transition from freshwater to seawater; and can be reduced to less than 10% mucous cells in the barrier. Then the fish try to recover. In fish farming usually 15-30% of the skin is filled with medium-sized protective mucous cells, while the respiratory surface of healthy gills is filled with less than 2.5% small mucous cells. Under adverse circumstances, there may be fewer mucous cells to protect the skin than there are in the gills. The mucous membranes of the fish are by nature very well adapted for seawater survival, but today’s fish farming practices challenge biology.
Precision increases in production management when one includes facts about health conditions and trends in the mucous barrier. In principle, all mucous membranes behave similarly. Each species and tissue/organ has its ”ideal area” for the right amount of health-preserving mucus and robustness. The danger zones can represent both too much and too little mucus. This principle can be illustrated as in the ”traffic light figure” above.
Economic activity will always be associated with uncertainty and calculated risk. Decisions can be made on the basis of experience, on intuition, on traditionally based regulations - and on precise facts gathered through proven methods.
Seawater: Seawater is always a soup of various nutrients, particles, microorganisms and small animals. This is the most demanding environment for a fish. Most often, the skin and gills ”dry” in transition from freshwater to seawater; and can be reduced to less than 10% mucous cells in the barrier. Then the fish try to recover. In fish farming usually 15-30% of the skin is filled with medium-sized protective mucous cells, while the respiratory surface of healthy gills is filled with less than 2.5% small mucous cells. Under adverse circumstances, there may be fewer mucous cells to protect the skin than there are in the gills. The mucous membranes of the fish are by nature very well adapted for seawater survival, but today’s fish farming practices challenge biology.
Precision increases in production management when one includes facts about health conditions and trends in the mucous barrier. In principle, all mucous membranes behave similarly. Each species and tissue/organ has its ”ideal area” for the right amount of health-preserving mucus and robustness. The danger zones can represent both too much and too little mucus. This principle can be illustrated as in the ”traffic light figure” above.
Risk in aquaculture is mainly a question of health. The slime barriers are central to good health, and their status is quantifiable.
How do YOU deal with risk?
How do YOU deal with risk?
