Wrasse Project

In 2010 Otter Ferry Seafish welcomed wrasse into the tanks and after several years of research and development the hatchery now has capacity for 250,000 deployable wrasse. The main customers and supporters of the project are Scottish Seafarms and Mowi.

Following vaccination before deployment the wrasse are acclimatised for 400 degree days. This involves giving them agar blocks as feed, dropping the temperature in the tanks to match ambient, putting hides in the tanks and changing the light regime – all in an effort to match the conditions in the salmon pens. This procedure is critical for reducing stress at transfer and maximising the efficiency of the cleaner fish.

There are 3 photoperiods, with around 300 fish in each photoperiod. There is a ratio of 3 males to 27 females. It’s a completely different rearing procedure to halibut or cod with weaning being the most critical phase. Wrasse are ready for deployment between April and September, preferring the warmer months. Stocking densities for wrasse are about 8% in number to salmon in the cages. This is reducing and should come down to 2% with improved hatchery performance and conditioning.

OFS continues to expand nursery production with a new building being erected in 2019.

Capacity will increase to 300,000 wrasse.