Fish Health and Welfare in Finfish Farming

Upcoming Fish Health & Welfare Workshops in 2024

BIM is running a series of Fish Health and Welfare Workshops for the marine and freshwater finfish aquaculture industry.

Course Tutors

The workshops will be delivered by Aquatic Veterinary Surgeons.

Details for upcoming workshops in May and June

Registration is now open for May and June.

Fish Health & Welfare Workshops – Freshwater (28^th May 2024)

Participants will be given an overview of fish welfare and husbandry and the importance of good fish welfare practices relevant to their duties.

       Who For

• The workshops are open to individuals who wish to enhance their knowledge of fish welfare in the finfish aquaculture sector. It will be of particular interest to new entrantsor as a refresher for freshwater staff working directly with and involved in the handling, transferring, and harvesting of fish.

Location – Galway – Atlantic Technology University (ATU), Galway Campus, Dublin Road, Galway

Duration – Full day (9:30- 16:30)                               Format –  In person

Treatments and Vaccination – Freshwater – Practical (29th May 2024)

Participants will be given an overview of best practice when vaccinating and carrying out bath treatments in freshwater finfish.

       Who For

• The workshop is targeted at freshwater site staff working directly with and involved in fish health management.

Location – Galway – Atlantic Technology University (ATU), Galway Campus, Dublin Road, Galway

Duration – Half day practical (09:30-13:30)                            Format –  In person

Infectious Diseases – Main diseases, current trends, and challenges (Tues 11th June 2024)

This workshop is a round table discussion on new and emerging disease challenges of relevance to Atlantic salmon. Pathology, disease trends, current research, treatments, and mitigation will be discussed.

       Who For

• This workshop is appropriate for any staff working directly with fish health and welfare practice on fish farm sites. Attendance of one of the classroom workshops prior to this might be of benefit for those interested in a refresher on relevant fish diseases, anatomy and physiology.

Location – Galway – Atlantic Technology University (ATU), Galway Campus, Dublin Road, Galway

Duration – Half day (12:00 – 16:00)                          Format –  In person

Plankton Sampling Practical Workshop (Wed 12th June 2024)

Harmful algal blooms and zooplankton swarms are an increasingly consistent challenge to fish health and welfare in Irish marine aquaculture. The aim of this practical workshop is to provide an overview of harmful plankton species (zoo and phytoplankton) and their impact on finfish health and welfare, sampling techniques, species identification and mitigation measures.

       Who For

• Members of the finfish aquaculture industry involved in fish health, plankton sampling and mitigation of harmful algae and jellyfish.

Location – Galway – Atlantic Technology University (ATU), Galway Campus, Dublin Road, Galway

Duration – Half day (09:30-13:30)                             Format –  In person

Cleaner Fish Health & Welfare Practical (Tues 18^th June 2024)

Participants will be given an overview of cleaner fish welfare and husbandry and the importance of good welfare practices relevant to their duties.

Who For

• The workshops are open to individuals who wish to enhance their knowledge of Cleaner Fish health, welfare, and husbandry in the finfish aquaculture sector. It is targeted at marine site staff working directly with and involved in cleaner fish management.

Location – Galway – Atlantic Technology University (ATU), Galway Campus, Dublin Road, Galway

Duration – Full day (09:30 – 16:30)                                                     Format –  In person

Fish Health & Welfare Workshops – Saltwater, including module on Harvesting  (Wed 19^th June 2024)

Participants will be given an overview of fish welfare and husbandry and the importance of good fish welfare practices relevant to their duties and will include an overview of fish welfare at harvest, with a focus on product quality implications. Relevant anatomy, physiology will be included.

       Who For

• The workshops are open to individuals who wish to enhance their knowledge of fish welfare in the finfish aquaculture sector. It will be of particular interest to new entrantsor as a refresher for marine site staff working directly with and involved in the handling, transferring, harvesting, and processing of fish.

Location – Galway – Atlantic Technology University (ATU), Galway Campus, Dublin Road, Galway

Duration – Full day (9:30- 16:30)                              Format –  In person

Full list dates and venues

Fish Health and Welfare Tool kit

• Monitoring of cataracts in farmed Atlantic Salmon and other species
• Wrasse Identification Card
• Gill Score Sheets
• Common Gross Gill Pathology Chart
• Operational Welfare Indicators in Farmed Fish

Fish Welfare Workshops are funded under the Ireland’s Operational Programme under EMFF and is co-funded by the Irish Government and the EU.