Benchmark is celebrating the first year of CleanTreat's commercial debut © Benchmark
Over the last 12 months, Benchmark Animal Health has collaborated with customers to further enhance the efficiency of the CleanTreat system, increasing treatment water transfer rate and improving overall treatment efficiency.
The approval of Ectosan Vet for use with CleanTreat by Norwegian authorities last year was an important milestone for sea lice management, following 10 years of research and testing. Since commercial launch in August 2021, the CleanTreat system has been used to purify the treatment water from Ectosan Vet treatments, with over 34 million salmon treated to date. This includes more than 60 sites in Norway, covering the entirety of the Norwegian coast.
Working hand in hand with customers to improve efficiency
Collaboration with leading Norwegian producers has led to incremental improvements in the efficiency of the CleanTreat system, further supporting the sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry. Since its launch, CleanTreat users were able to increase the average treatment water transfer rate from the wellboat to the CleanTreat system by 27 percent. This has contributed to a 26 increase in the average tonnes of fish treated per day. These improvements represent a reduction in treatment time of a 3,500 tonnes site by approximately two days, significantly reducing customer costs and increasing efficiency.
John Marshall, head of Benchmark Animal Health, said, “following a decade of research, development and trials, the commercial launch of the CleanTreat system with our new veterinary medicinal treatment in 2021 marked a major milestone for Benchmark and the Norwegian aquaculture industry. One year on, I want to thank all of the team for their commitment to providing the best support to customers and further improving the performance of the CleanTreat system.
CleanTreat allows for the environmentally responsible use of highly efficacious welfare medicines while ensuring animal welfare remains at the forefront of sea lice management. We are proud to play our part in helping improve the sustainability and efficiency of lice treatments across the industry.”
The improvements in overall treatment efficiency and transfer rate have been achieved through collaboration between Benchmark and customers, optimising the wellboat transfer process to reduce wellboat waiting time. With Benchmark’s support, customers have made vessel modifications and procedural improvements to increase the utilisation of the vacuum line on the wellboat, while Benchmark have modified the loading points to the CleanTreat vessels, allowing direct loading of all water to the tanks.
Third party recognition and key milestones
Over the last 12 months, CleanTreat and Benchmark have been recognised for their important role within the industry. Towards the end of 2021, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) included CleanTreat as a mitigation tool in the “Weighted Number of Medicinal Treatments.” This followed their conclusion that any treatments performed in a closed container system, including water purification processes, should receive a score of “zero” – the best score possible. This recognition was an important achievement, reinforcing the importance of CleanTreat as a key part of an integrated pest management toolbox.
Benchmark Animal Health was a finalist in the Aquaculture Awards for the Welfare category © Benchmark
Meanwhile, in 2022, the Norwegian Medicines Agency granted a variation to its Marketing Authorisation for Ectosan Vet, enabling re-use of treatment water for a second batch of fish, supporting farmers with increased efficiency of treatments, and reducing the quantity of medicine required to treat any site.
Benchmark Animal Health was a finalist in the Aquaculture Awards for the Welfare category, recognising the importance of animal welfare in Benchmark’s innovative solution.
Most recently, CleanTreat was trialled in Scotland for the first time with Salmosan Vet, with support from the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC).
