Stingray Marine Solutions

Cutting Emissions and Sea Lice: A System-Level Assessment of Optical Delousing Technology

Case

Stingray Marine Solutions AS partnered with the Terravera Foundation to model the emissions impact of replacing fuel-intensive reactive delousing with Stingray’s optical delousing technology. 

The assessment found that continuous and preventive laser-based sea lice removal within net pens could reduce the need for energy-intensive treatment by up to 50%, while also lowering handling-related stress and mortality in farmed salmon.

Stingray’s In-Pen Laser Delousing Technology

Stingray delivers optical laser systems for continuous sea lice removal directly within salmon pens, shifting treatment from reactive vessel-based interventions to on-site, non-contact and presentive control. The objective is to reduce reliance on wellboat operations while addressing both emissions and animal welfare challenges associated with conventional delousing methods.

Key Findings: Emissions Reduction and Biological Impact

The analysis indicates that Stingray’s technology could reduce the need for reactive delousing operations by up to 50%, corresponding to an estimated reduction of approximately 106,000 tonnes of CO₂ (medium calculations). This is equivalent to eliminating roughly 14,800 flights between Oslo and Bergen.

Beyond emissions, the assessment identifies consistent reductions in mortality across production fish, namly salmon and rainbow trout in in scenarios with higher adoption of in-pen laser delousing. Compared to the biological alternativ of using cleaner fish, optical delousing reduces the need for such emission-heavy measures. This suggests that replacing vessel-based interventions with continuous, non-contact treatment can reduce both operational and biological impact.

Sea Lice Management in Salmon Aquaculture

In salmon aquaculture, sea lice infestation continues to require frequent delousing interventions that depend on energy-intensive vessel operations and raise persistent animal welfare concerns through stress and mortality on farmed salmon. 

Conventional delousing practices rely on wellboats to manage sea lice outbreaks, resulting in repeated fuel-intensive operations with high operational emissions and ecosystem impact. These interventions are associated with elevated mortality rates of farmed fish, as well as broader ecosystem impacts linked to disease transmission and population stress.

System-Level Sustainability Modelling

The Terravera assessment quantifies environmental and biological impacts across three system dimensions. The Entry Model maps CO₂ emissions from wellboat-based delousing operations. Milestone 1 assesses mortality in cleaner fish, Milestone 2 evaluates mortality in farmed salmon, and Milestone 3 examines ecosystem-level impacts associated with disease transmission and genetic interaction between farmed and wild populations during delousing events.

System Implications for Salmon Farming

The findings indicate a broader shift in how sea lice control affects aquaculture, where reduced reliance on wellboats lowers both environmental load and animal welfare pressure. The results further suggest that preventive, in-pen treatment models may offer measurable improvements in fish health and ecosystem stability.

Terravera Value Contribution

Terravera provides a system-level sustainability framework that translates operational aquaculture data into comparable environmental and biological impact metrics. For Stingray, this enables quantified assessment of emissions reduction potential alongside animal welfare and ecosystem effects, supporting evidence-based positioning in the transition toward lower-impact aquaculture systems.